The RFK Stadium in Washington, 21 August 1993
21st August 1993
The first act of USA ’94 was… AC Milan v Torino in the final of the Italian Super Cup. There was great excitement stateside ahead of the first World Cup to be held in the country. Paolo Taveggia, having left AC Milan to enter the world of American sports organisations, arranged for the final to take place at the Robert Francis Kennedy Stadium. The teams played under the sun and the onlooking local sports enthusiasts were treated to a tasty appetizer of European football.
It’s no coincidence that the three teams that finished behind Brazil in the final World Cup standings were all European teams: Italy, Sweden and Bulgaria. Against the Granata, who took the pitch with vigour, it was Marco Simeone who quickly opened the scoring. This was an AC Milan team that was used to winning, so it was a normal occurrence for the Rossoneri to see out the match with just a one-goal advantage: over the course of the season, there would be plenty of 1-0 victories for AC Milan. The Rossoneri arrived in the US and made the headlines, and the trophy lifted in Washington would be the first of three that season.
