Rúben Amorim's Historic Chance Against Juventus
Rúben Amorim walks into Turin on Sunday night with history tugging at his sleeve.
Two games, two wins, six points. Milan have eased into the new Serie A season with a 2-1 victory away to Torino and a controlled 2-0 success over Venezia at San Siro. The football has been sharp, the mood optimistic. Now comes the first real examination of this new era: Juventus away, under the lights, with the weight of the club’s past looking over his shoulder.
Because this isn’t just another early-season trip to Turin. Win, and Amorim will do something that even the giants of Milan’s bench never managed.
Chasing ghosts of Sacchi, Capello and Ancelotti
Arrigo Sacchi. Fabio Capello. Carlo Ancelotti. Three names that define modern Milan, three coaches who built dynasties and lifted European Cups, three men who never started a league campaign like this with the Rossoneri.
Sacchi’s revolution did not begin flawlessly. In his second Serie A match in charge, Fiorentina cut through Milan with goals from Ramon Diaz and a young Roberto Baggio. The project would go on to change Italian football, but the opening chapter carried a blot.
Capello came closer. In 1991, he won his first two league matches, setting an immediate standard of authority. Then came his third game, away to Juventus, and the run stopped with a 1-1 draw. The irony is hard to miss: Amorim now stands at the same crossroads, against the same opponent, with the chance to go one better.
Ancelotti’s Milan tenure, which would eventually bring a Champions League double, began in far more modest fashion. His first Serie A match in 2001 ended in a 0-0 stalemate with Piacenza. No flying start, no three-from-three, just a slow burn that later exploded into silverware.
Amorim, by contrast, has hit the ground running. Two matches, two convincing scorelines, and a team that already seems to understand his demands. Beat Juventus, and his name joins a very different list.
A record untouched since 1958
Only three coaches in Milan’s long history have won each of their first three league games in charge. None of them are part of the modern pantheon. None of them have done it in nearly 70 years.
Mario Sperone managed it in 1952. Gipo Viani repeated the trick in 1956. Cina Bonizzoni was the last to achieve the feat, back in 1958. Since then, Milan have hired legends, innovators, serial winners. None opened with three straight league victories.
That is the scale of the opportunity in front of Amorim. A win in Turin would not define his tenure, and it will not guarantee trophies, but it would place his name alongside Sperone, Viani and Bonizzoni in a small, curious corner of club history that even Sacchi, Capello and Ancelotti never reached.
For a coach only just unpacking his bags at Milanello, it is a tantalising marker. The kind that can turn a promising start into a statement.
