AC Milan legend talks about facing Barcelona in the 2006 UCL semis: “Did not understand what was happening”

The golden era of Barcelona is still fondly looked back at to this day. For fans of the Catalan giants, the period of sheer dominance beginning in the 21st century invoked great joy.

But opponents who had to bear the brunt of witnessing Barcelona run rings around them shared a different experience.

Gennaro Gattuso, who now coaches Ligue 1 club Marseille, reminisced about the time he had to face the Blaugranes with AC Milan in the Champions League 05/06 against Rijkaard’s Barça.

Chasing shadows

He opened up to L’Équipe (h/t MARCA), sharing his experience of locking horns with legendary figures of Barcelona’s past, which included Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, and Messi.

“When I was 27 or 28 years old we started playing games against the Barça of Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, and Messi. Something happened inside me. We ran ninety-five minutes; I did a marathon in each game against them and touched the ball three or four times.

“We did not understand what was happening to us. I began to be interested in the issue; I studied it; I looked,” he remarked.

Barcelona impressively kept Milan scoreless through two legs in the semi-finals, winning the tie 1-0.

After triumphing against Milan during one of their most formidable eras, the Catalan giants went on to win the Champions League trophy, defeating Arsenal in the finals.

Gatusso shared another interesting anecdote regarding the legendary former Barcelona coach and player, Pep Guardiola.

Gatusso mentioned that he spent nearly three days waiting at the gates of Bayern’s training center in freezing temperatures, hoping to catch a glimpse of Guardiola’s car.

Without seeking any favors, he endured the wait, mentioning that Guardiola only recognized him after the second day.