The 1961–62 season saw AC Milan compete in Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Fairs Cup. The club went on to win the Serie A. In the Coppa Italia they were knocked out by Mondena who played in Serie B.
Summary The 1961–62 season gave way to Nereo Rocco as newly appointed manager and Dino Sani's arrival (replacing Jimmy Greaves in November) that provided President Andrea Rizzoli with the right amount of talent to aim for a championship win.
Young star Gianni Rivera initially struggled to gain playing time under new manager Nereo Rocco during the 1961–62 season, his second at the club, also being linked with loans to Vicenza and Juventus, but won his way back into the starting line-up and played a decisive role, scoring 10 goals in the league. Throughout the season, Rivera formed an important relationship with the legendary manager and catenaccio mastermind; he played a key role in the club's successes under Rocco, who subsequently built a hard-working, winning team around Rivera that complemented the midfielder's creative playing style.
The season started with success at home against Juventus (5-1), and then created an unstoppable winning streak for Milan, that would see them only lose once in twenty-one matches. It would also be a defeat for Juventus back in their own home town that year, as Milan delivered a 4–2 win.
It would seem Rocco's only regret of the 1961–62 season would be in the Milano Derby as Inter won with the result 2–0. In spite of those who accused the father and pioneer of the real catenaccio, Milan gave way to dominate the field with eighty-three goals scored in thirty-four games (an average of 2.4 goals per match) and with thirty-four goals conceded. While Juventus was nowhere near the top contention that year, Inter, Fiorentina, and Bologna were the only true runner-ups for the scudetto race.
That same year, Milan played in the Fourth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (this was the predecessor of the UEFA Europa League Cup), however, Milan did not go far and lost in the first round against the Yugoslavian team Novi Sad.
Season squad
(Captain)
Transfers
In In Pos. Name from Type FW Oliviero Conti Vicenza - FW Giancarlo Danova Torino - FW Emanuele Del Vecchio Padova Calcio - FW Paolo Ferrario Lazio - FW Alcides Ghiggia Roma - FW Jimmy Greaves Chelsea F.C. - GK Mario Liberalato Mestrina - DF Antonio Pasinato Lecce - MF Ambrogio Pelagalli Atalanta - FW Gino Pivatelli Napoli - FW Orlando Rozzoni UdinesePlayed only in May and June 1962. - MF Dino Sani Boca Juniors - MF Sergio Tenente Ascoli -
Out Out Pos. Name to Type FW Giovanni Fanello Napoli - FW Carlo Galli Udinese - DF Luigi Garagna Grosseto - FW Jimmy Greaves Tottenham Hotspur - MF Nils Liedholm - retired FW Mario Maraschi Lazio - DF Gilberto Noletti Lazio - DF Pierluigi Ronzon Napoli - FW Santiago Vernazza Vicenza -
Loans
Competitions Serie A
League table
Results by round
Matches
Coppa Italia
Second round
Coppa dell'Amicizia
Eightfinals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Fairs Cup
Round of 32
Statistics Squad statistics Competition Points Home Away Total GD 1961-62 Serie A 53 17 14 1 2 51 18 17 10 4 3 32 18 34 24 5 5 83 36 +47 1961-62 Coppa Italia – 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 1961-62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 2 -2 1961-62 Coppa dell'Amicizia – 3 2 1 0 9 4 3 2 0 1 11 6 6 4 1 1 20 10 +10 Total – 22 16 3 3 60 23 21 12 4 5 43 26 43 28 7 8 103 49 +54
Players statistics Appearances 36.Cesare Maldini 35.José Altafini 34.Giovanni Trapattoni 33.Sandro Salvadore 32.Mario David 31.Giorgio Ghezzi 30.Gianni Rivera 29.Paolo Barison 29.Luigi Radice 24.Gino Pivatelli 23.Ambrogio Pelagalli 22.Dino Sani 20.Giancarlo Danova 17.Oliviero Conti 16.Francesco Zagatti 13.Jimmy Greaves 12.Mario Liberalato 12.Mario Trebbi 7.Giovanni Lodetti 6.Luciano Alfieri 6.Antonio Pasinato 5.Alcides Ghiggia 4.Orlando Rozzoni 4.Sergio Tenente 2.Emanuele Del Vecchio 1.Bruno Beretti 1.Paolo Ferrario
Goal scorers 22.José Altafini 9.Paolo Barison 6.Oliviero Conti 8.Giancarlo Danova 3.Mario David 2.Emanuele Del Vecchio 8.Jimmy Greaves 3.Giovanni Lodetti 1.Cesare Maldini 1.Ambrogio Pelagalli 9.Gino Pivatelli 1.Luigi Radice 10.Gianni Rivera 4.Orlando Rozzoni 8.Dino Sani 1.Francesco Zagatti
References
External links