“Milan: The End” — the headline from Wednesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport says it all. Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League loss at home to Arsenal certainly signals the end of an era for the Rossoneri. As the Guardian’s Paolo Bandini points out, Milan’s starting XI had an average age of over 30, which means the time is right for the old guard to make way to a younger generation next season. Next season could also mark the beginning of a new coaching regime. “[Carlo] Ancelotti’s era is over,”boomed the headline from the Corriere dello Sport, which went against comments from club owner Silvio Berlusconi indicating that he plans to stick by the Milan manager even if the team fails to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The Italian press was nearly uniform in its pronouncement of Arsenal as the deserved winner of the second-round series. “Neither [Cesc Fabregas — who scored the game winner] nor his teammates stole anything,” said the Corriere della Sera’s Mario Sconcerti. “They dominated the game. In the first leg and the second.”
Finally, the Gazzetta’s Franco Arturi delivered what sounded like a eulogy for the defending European champion, the most consistent team in the Champions League over the past five years. “Now that it is finished … let’s have a round of applause for the exit of the champions of everything. Milan deserves it,” he said.