JEDDAH, 8 January 2003 — Al-Ittihad turned in a superlative display against a star-studded Italian club AC Milan in the friendly match here to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Saudi football club.
In a match replete with action, Ittihad, though defending on most of the occasions, showed verve and panache, that has made them a leading club in the Kingdom, against the premier Italian team.
For those academically inclined, the final score was 3-1 in AC Milan’s favor.
The Prince Abdullah Faisal Stadium reverberated with the thunderous cheers of over 20,000 fans who had thronged the stadium to witness the historic clash between Ittihad and AC Milan.
Danish player Jon-Dahl Tomasson scored two goals, in the 39th and 42nd minutes, for AC Milan and Brazilian Leonardo struck the third in the 89th minute. For Ittihad Hamza Idrees pulled one back in the 75th minute.
AC Milan dominated the proceedings from the start and created many openings. But Al-Ittihad soaked up the pressure in the early part of the game and effected some good counter thrusts. Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Zayed was called upon to ward off many threats and he rose to the occasion with some acrobatic and brilliant saves.
But Milan finally went ahead in the 39th minute when Tomasson, latching on to a Manual Rui Costa pass, beat Zayed for his side’s first goal. Three minutes later he was on target again, but this time he was put ahead by Massimo Ambrosini.
After the change of ends, Ittihad proved more venturesome and the coach infused fresh life into the proceedings with the introduction of Marzouk Al-Otaibi in place of Brazilian Marileo. He combined well with Idrees and Manaf Abu Shuqair and the Ittihad attack suddenly had more bite.
Ittihad translated this domination into a goal when Idrees struck, effecting a superb right-footer past goalkeeper Dida. But Milan proved far stronger in the midfield and when Leonardo added the third a minute from time, the match as a competition effectively ended. Serginho and Inzaghi combined well to set up Leonardo.
