On 5 November 2000, at San Siro, they played first in the league. And it’s not Shevchenko’s Milan, but Vavassori’s Atalanta. Because the Nerazzurri started very well, driven by the youngsters who were playing in Serie B a year earlier. A fun and exciting match, on Sunday afternoon, with the Bergamo players coming close to winning at San Siro, taking a 1-3 lead at the end of the match. first forty-five minutes, only to then fall back and end at 3-3 which keeps the standings intact.
“Pista track the leaders” sang the seven thousand Atalanta supporters following the team. The collective was even better than Zaccheroni’s team, with Doni breaking the deadlock and Serginho equalizing immediately afterwards, beating a Pelizzoli who would quickly become Roma’s goalkeeper (paid a lot) but who had just replaced Pinato. Doni again scores the two-one, then Rossini scores with a header from Damiano Zenoni’s cross for the 1-3 which seems like a verdict.
In the end Bierhoff and Shevchenko arrive and close the draw, mortifying Bergamo’s dreams of glory. It will still be a great season for Atalanta, while Milan will finish sixth, finishing with Cesare Maldini on the bench. Berlusconi was instead criticized for his low investments: seeing it twenty-four years later we might think of a paradox.