Inzaghi and Shevchenko ‘went at each other’ before Champions League Final, says ex-midfielder

Former Milan midfielder Samuele Dalla Bona reveals Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko had a big argument before the 2003 Champions League Final against Juventus: ‘Paolo Maldini walked over and told them to stop.’

Dalla Bona spoke about his career in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday.

The former Italian midfielder made his professional debut at Chelsea after joining the Blues from Atalanta in 1998. Dalla Bona even revealed he “ran away” from La Dea’s boarding school that summer to sign for the Blues.

A former Milan midfielder, Dalla Bona, only made 16 appearances with the Rossoneri but was part of the team that won the Champions League under Carlo Ancelotti in 2003.

The Rossoneri secured a win on penalties against Juventus at Old Trafford.

“I watched the Final against Juventus from the stands. I remember an argument between Inzaghi and Sheva during the final training session; they really went at each other. Maldini walked over and told them to stop,” said Dalla Bona.

“[Maldini was ] A true captain, he always made me a bit uneasy, to be honest. Pippo, on the other hand, was a cannibal. Before the Final, he practised his runs alone on a golf course.”

Dalla Bona’s Milan spell was quite brief, and according to the ex-midfielder, it was entirely defined by a specific game.

“The match against Real Madrid, when I started at the Bernabeu, marked me,” he said.

“I played just one half, badly. Ancelotti put me on the right wing, and I had Roberto Carlos in front of me, going a thousand miles an hour. I got a yellow card after 15 minutes and then came off. It was a test. If I had passed it, I would have carried on. Unfortunately, Italian football is like this. You get judged immediately.”

Dalla Bona also played for Milan, Bologna, Lecce, Sampdoria, Napoli and Verona in Serie A but had been very critical of Italian football in the past, saying that it made him “sick.”

“Maybe I exaggerated, but what surrounds this world is toxic, harmful,” he insisted.

“Here, one day you are terrible, and the next day you are the best. Yes, that’s disgusting.”

On the other hand, Dalla Bona experienced “a different kind of football” at Chelsea, “without pressure.”

“Panucci and Ranieri had warned me not to come back. Anyway, in 2001, I turned down an offer from Venezia, and the club froze me out. After two months, Claudio brought me back into the squad, but at the end of the season, I left. I still think about it today. I should have stayed there for life,” he admitted.