1961–62 A.C. Milan season

The 1961–62 season gave way to Nereo Rocco as newly appointed manager [1] and Dino Sani's arrival[2] (replacing Jimmy Greaves in November) that provided President Andrea Rizzoli with the right amount of talent to aim for a championship win.

Youngstar Gianni Rivera after initially struggling to gain playing time under new manager Nereo Rocco during the 1961–62 season, his second at the club, also being linked with loans to Vicenza and Juventus, Rivera won his way back into the starting line-up and played a decisive role, scoring 10 goals in the league. Throughout the season, Rivera formed an important relationship with the legendary manager and catenaccio mastermind; he played a key role in the club's successes under Rocco, who subsequently built a hard-working, winning team around Rivera that complemented the midfielder's creative playing style.[3]

It started with the grand success at home against Juventus (5-1), and then created an unstoppable winning streak for Milan, that would see them only lose once in twenty-one matches. It would also be a defeat for Juventus back in their own home town that year, as Milan delivered a 4–2 win.

It would seem Rocco's only regret of the 1961–62 season would be in the Milano Derby as Inter won with the result 2–0. In spite of those who accused the father and pioneer of the real catenaccio, Milan gave way to dominate the field with eighty-three goals scored in thirty-four games (an average of 2.4 goals per match) and with thirty-four goals conceded. While Juventus was nowhere near the top contention that year, Inter, Fiorentina, and Bologna were the only true runner-ups for the scudetto race.

That same year, Milan played in the Fourth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (this was the predecessor of the UEFA Europa League Cup), however, Milan did not go far and lost in the first round against the Yugoslavian team Novi Sud.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ITA Luciano Alfieri — GK  ITA Giorgio Ghezzi — GK  ITA Mario Liberalato — DF  ITA Cesare Maldini (Captain) — DF  ITA Antonio Pasinato — DF  ITA Luigi Radice — DF  ITA Sandro Salvadore — DF  ITA Giovanni Trapattoni — DF  ITA Mario Trebbi — DF  ITA Francesco Zagatti [4] — MF  ITA Mario David — MF  ITA Giovanni Lodetti — MF  ITA Ambrogio Pelagalli

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Gianni Rivera — MF  BRA Dino Sani — MF  ITA Sergio Tenente — FW  BRA José Altafini — FW  ITA Paolo Barison — FW  ITA Bruno Beretti — FW  ITA Oliviero Conti — FW  ITA Giancarlo Danova — FW  ITA Emanuele Del Vecchio — FW  URU Alcides Ghiggia — FW  ITA Gino Pivatelli — FW  ITA Orlando Rozzoni[5]

Loan out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  ITA Paolo Ferrario (to Lazio from November 1961) — FW  ENG Jimmy Greaves (to Tottenham from November 1961)

In
Pos.	Name	from	Type
FW	Oliviero Conti	Vicenza||}} || -
FW	Giancarlo Danova	Torino	-
FW	Emanuele Del Vecchio	Padova Calcio	-
FW	Paolo Ferrario	Lazio	-
FW	Alcides Ghiggia	Roma	-
FW	Jimmy Greaves	Chelsea F.C.	-
GK	Mario Liberalato	Mestrina	-
DF	Antonio Pasinato	Lecce	-
MF	Ambrogio Pelagalli	Atalanta	-
FW	Gino Pivatelli	Napoli	-
FW	Orlando Rozzoni	Udinese[6]	-
MF	Dino Sani	Boca Juniors	-
MF	Sergio Tenente	Ascoli	-

Out
Pos.	Name	to	Type
FW	Giovanni Fanello	Napoli	-
FW	Carlo Galli	Udinese	-
DF	Luigi Garagna	Grosseto	-
FW	Jimmy Greaves	Tottenham Hotspurs	-
MF	Nils Liedholm	-	retired
FW	Mario Maraschi	Lazio	-
DF	Gilberto Noletti	Lazio	-
DF	Pierluigi Ronzon	Napoli	-
FW	Santiago Vernazza	Vicenza	-

• Almanacco illustrato del Milan,ed=2,2005. Panini.
• Almanacco illustrato del Milan,ed=1,1999. Panini.

• "Stagione 1961-1962". Milan.com.
• "Stagione 1961-1962". Magliarossonera.it.