AC Milan and Manchester United are two European heavyweights that share the colour palette of red, white and black — arguably the two biggest clubs to prominently use the three. Executed in their own styles, United typically go with red shirts, white shorts and black socks; Milan red-and-black striped shirts, white shorts and black or white socks.
‘Typically’ because that has not always been the case, namely with legwear. The English Red Devils used each colour for their stockings during the 1950s and ’60s whilst the Italian Diavolo are more frequent changing theirs, occasionally they switch the shorts to black pairs too, like with this season.
The first meeting in 1957-58 European Cup Semi-Final was an emotional one, being United’s first continental game since the Munich air disaster decimated their squad three months prior.
For logistical reasons, it was common for the home team to change in European competitions. In both ties, the English side dressed in all-white whilst the Rossoneri stayed in their scudetto-borne stripes but opted for black shorts.
United won the first leg 2-1 at Old Trafford but Milan turned on the flair at the San Siro and came out 4-0 winners on the night, booking a place in the final to face Real Madrid. The Spaniards came out on top in the showpiece to win their third of five consecutive titles.
Next time was again in the semi-finals, 11 years later in 1969, and both had established themselves amongst Europe’s elite with one triumph apiece. United were the defending champions and Milan, who were also holding Cup Winners’ Cup winners, got their hands on the prize in 1963.
Convention was properly applied, with the hosts in white. This meant clashing shorts in both instances but that wasn’t the big deal it is today to UEFA.
And again, the home side won their leg but Milan scored one more goal to take it 2-1 on aggregate, en route to their second European Cup where they dispatched Ajax.
We only had to wait the 36 years for the next competitive match, in the 2004-05 Champions League Round of 16. Despite it being well-established at this point that the home team has first pick on kits, United opted against their white continental bottoms (for the third time that season) to allow the visitors to fully be in such.
This allowed a rarity in the modern game; their goalkeeper sharing the same legwear as his outfield teammates.
Milan did have a third kit comprising of gold and black in reserve that would have mitigated the situation, though it would be out of character for them to wear anything else unless absolutely necessary.
A problem arose in the second leg as United’s shotstopping wears, one in light grey and the other black, weren’t really suitable. The solution was for Tim Howard to wear the dark top with the teal bottoms from the grey one — an inverse of what he did two months prior at Chelsea in the League Cup.
Other than that, there was nothing else to write home about on the night. Milan’s black shorts and socks allowed United to wear their all-white third, featuring horizontal pinstripes in red and black on the jersey, unaltered.
The Italians won both legs 1-0 and reached the final yet again, where they famously threw away a 3-0 half-time lead as Liverpool triumphed in a penalty shootout. On the way, they chose white instead of gold at PSV in the semis, probably meaning they didn’t register the third with UEFA.
It only took two years for the next encounter, yet another semi-final. United stuck to their guns at home and went with their white legwear, forcing the visitors to deviate their lucky white strip by going black below the waist. Both added a fourth colour into the mix in 2006-07; gold accentuations.
Milan could have gone all-black like they did against Red Star in qualifying — which they were lucky to start from in the first place following the Calciopoli scandal — if they did not want to taint their hallowed attire.
Just like last time at the San Siro, no alterations were needed with the strips but one can note Milan’s white shorts seem better suited to their change, matching that kit’s overall template. It could be that the black third shorts were intended for the home, sharing the socks also, but an executive decision pre-season was made to switch to white ones.
If Milan’s home did have white socks however, it would allow United to feature some red in the second leg by virtue of the domestic home socks.
A quirk with the respective home shirts had the Italians use a gold typeset domestically but for the sake of legibility, were forced to wear a white set by UEFA. The Englishmen did the opposite, going white at home but gold abroad.
An entertaining first leg in Manchester saw the hosts scrape a 3-2 win but Milan had their foot firmly on the throttle at home, cruising to a 3-0 victory and overcoming the Red Devils for the fourth time without reply. Liverpool stood in their way once more but there was no repeat of Istanbul, winning 2-1 in Athens and claiming European Cup number seven.
Like buses and that phrase regarding their inconsistent frequency, the third clash in six seasons was again in the Round of 16, of 2009-10. United were the first to blink and ruin the established aesthetic with the heavy use of darkish blue on their white third outfit.
In an ideal world, they would have ditched this kit after the 2009 Champions League Final and kept on the sentimental all-blue 1968 European Cup tribute ensemble for one more season instead.
Seeing that the new 2009-10 strips were of a commemorative nature too, supposedly celebrating 100 years at Old Trafford, the seldom-seen white goalkeeper top mimicked what the team wore for their first FA Cup win in 1909, being more apt outfield than black with a blue chevron.
Likewise somewhat, as it still kept within the colourway, Milan opted for their black third kit in the second leg to avoid tarnishing their unpacked white maglia fortunata once more.
Perhaps it brought some luck for United as they finally overcome the Lombardians after five attempts, winning both legs by a 7-2 aggregate scoreline. The white-and-blue got another outing in the next game, away to Bayern Munich, but the Germans prevailed on away goals and reached the final themselves only to lose to the San Siro’s other occupants, Internazionale.
March 2021 was the next and latest meeting, in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Europa League while both sides try to recapture those dizzying heights of yesteryear. Another Round of 16 fixture, it’s the second knockout round in UEFA’s secondary competition.
Maybe because the bianco was blighted by a red pattern prominently featuring, Milan had no qualms with black shorts this time. Since dabbling with black shorts and red socks in 2018-19, United seemed to have be done with their tradition of white bottoms in Europe, although they have appeared at home on occasion since.
One thing to note is that their home socks were supposed to have the same flecked pattern as the shirts, which was seen during the resumption of the previous season’s tournament and just once domestically in 2020-21. Teamwear pairs, intended as backups for the third strip, were favoured instead.
United’s third ‘dazzle’ shirt had enough white on it to be deemed acceptable in Italy, their home and ‘legend dark green’ away would have been much more problematic.
If the officials were in an overzealous mood, it may have resulted in the good old days of the hosts changing. Barcelona got away with a similar stunt at the ground in the 2013-14 Champions League, sporting red stripes that time with another contrasting colour. Probably more notable would be from the 2003 semi-finals, between the two Madonnina rivals.
A cagey first leg finished 1-1 but United edged it 1-0 away to get one over the Rossoneri for the second time in succession, have the tables turned for future match-ups? They reached the final themselves but a resilient Villarreal held their own and were victorious on penalties, giving manager Unai Emery his fourth Europa League crown.
Believe it or not, the 12 meetings between each other aren’t either club’s most common continental fixture. AC Milan have played Barcelona 19 times, Real Madrid 15 times, Ajax 14 times and Celtic as many times. Man United’s more frequent opponents are Juventus with 14 meetings and Barça with 13.
Kitted Off 