Milan champions 2021-22: Djokovic's first Wimbledon title, the launch of Game of Thrones – how the world looked when Rossoneri last reigned

By Sports Desk May 22, 2022

Milan are top dogs in Italy for the first time in 11 years after holding off fierce rivals Inter to finish top of Serie A.

The Rossoneri finished the season with six wins in a row, and no defeat in 16, culminating in a 3-0 victory over Sassuolo on Sunday.

After falling just short in Stefano Pioli's first campaign at the helm when finishing second, Milan can finally celebrate a first Scudetto since 2010-11.

While it may only have been a little over a decade since Milan last reigned, a lot has changed both in a sporting and non-sporting sense.

Here, Stats Perform looks at how the world looked around the time of the club's most recent triumph in 2011.

 

First of many for Djokovic, McIlroy makes his mark

Novak Djokovic is favourite to win Wimbledon for a seventh time next month, though he was yet to claim his first crown at SW19 when Milan last lifted the Scudetto.

The Serbian went on to add the US Open to the Australian Open he also won that year, overtaking Rafael Nadal to become world number one in the process.

Tiger Woods was the highest-earning sportsman that year – some things never change – yet it was Rory McIlroy's name on everyone's lips after taking the world of golf by storm.

McIlroy carded a 69 in the final round to break the US Open scoring record with a 268 as he became the youngest winner of the tournament since Bobby Jones in 1923.

A number of major sporting events took place that year, with New Zealand beating France in the Rugby World Cup final and Japan triumphing in the women's football equivalent.

India saw off Sri Lanka to celebrate Cricket World Cup success on home soil, meanwhile, and Netherlands beat Cuba in the Baseball World Cup.

Deposed leaders fall

In the world of politics, hundreds were killed and thousands more injured during violent clashes in Egypt to protest against government corruption and poverty.

Fidel Castro resigned as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after serving in the party for 45 years. He died in 2016 at the age of 90.

A 10-year search for Osama bin Laden came to an end when the al-Qaeda founder was killed by special forces in Pakistan.

Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed during the civil war, leading to widespread ramifications.

A year of world-shifting events culminated in the United States withdrawing its last troops from Iraq, eight years after the war had begun.


Winter is (almost) coming

Television has come a long way over the past decade, not least in terms of the countless streaming services and wide array of boxsets to appease anyone and everyone.

Back when Massimo Ambrosini lifted the Scudetto in 2011, arguably the most popular series of all time, Game of Thrones, was still midway through airing its first season.

Suits, Homeland and The Killing also premiered that year, while over in Italy, 48-year-old painter Fabrizio Vendramin (us neither) won the second season of Italia's Got Talent.

Beyond painters, erm, painting to an audience of millions, the big TV talking point that year was Charlie Sheen being fired from Two and a Half Men for "self-destructive conduct".

Relight My Fire

The importance of certain technology, not least smartphones, has only grown in the past 11 years.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, played a huge part in that up until his untimely death at the age of 56 in October 2011 after battling pancreatic cancer.

One of the standout product launches of the year was Amazon's Kindle Fire, which undoubtedly helped chairman Jeff Bezos on his way to becoming the world's richest man.

Whether Milan's current crop can stand the test of time, unlike the Kindle, remains to be seen.

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  • Steven Naismith wants his Hearts players to thrive under pressure Steven Naismith wants his Hearts players to thrive under pressure

    Hearts head coach Steven Naismith has told his players they have to use the pressure and expectation that comes with playing for the club to spur them on to Hampden.

    Naismith faced the wrath of some Hearts fans on Saturday when a 1-0 reverse against St Mirren left them with five defeats in their last six games.

    The former Scotland international views Tuesday’s Viaplay Cup quarter-final at Kilmarnock as the perfect opportunity to atone.

    “Being at a club like Hearts, when you don’t win on a Saturday, there’s that frustration and that’s something that builds,” the 37-year-old said.

    “I’m comfortable and confident that by the end of the week we can look back on it being a good week and that starts on Tuesday night.

    “The game at the weekend was small margins, we don’t take our chances and give up a cheap goal.

    “This game coming so quickly is good because it gives us a chance to react but the bigger picture is it’s a chance to get to Hampden and one step closer to getting silverware which is something as a squad we are desperate to get. But also that expectation from the club is there, that we should be getting into these positions.

    “It’s something you become aware of when you come to the club, it’s not so much any single person letting you know that.

    “The crowd that travel to every away game, the crowd that are in the stadium for home games, they are there because they have a right passion for the club and want to see success.

    “You could argue that over the last 10-15 years there has probably not been enough silverware.

    “In terms of being in the later rounds of competitions, that has been pretty successful over the last five or six years but taking that next step to win something is the most important one and one that us as a squad need to show we are capable of.”

    Naismith won six major trophies with Rangers and also played in cup finals with Kilmarnock and Hearts, the latter resulting in defeat by Celtic in one of three Scottish Cup finals Hearts have reached in the past five years.

    “We were two or three penalty-kicks away from winning the Scottish Cup and never managed to do it,” he said.

    “That element of pressure for me is something I have managed throughout my career to some ways enjoy and push you forward. As players that is what you have to do.

    “The week to week, day to day of signing a new contract and of playing x amount of games is one achievement but if you want real success then that’s defined by winning trophies.

    “As a player fortunately I managed to do it and I know what it takes, so hopefully us as a squad can do it.”

    Hearts have failed to score in four of their past five matches but Naismith believes there are encouraging signs.

    “The frustration from my side is that we have picked up injuries to more attacking players,” he said.

    “One positive is, in the chances we have created, it’s different players that are getting on the end of them.

    “It’s not as if we are relying on one player to get on the end of crosses and through-balls. We are getting plenty of men forward. It’s just converting them really.”

    Nathaniel Atkinson drops out through injury for Hearts but Andy Halliday is back.

  • Chelsea owners ‘need to support plan’ despite rocky run – Mauricio Pochettino Chelsea owners ‘need to support plan’ despite rocky run – Mauricio Pochettino

    Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea’s owners must look past their disappointment and back him to implement the plan he was hired to draw up in order to lift the club out of their slump.

    Defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday means the team have taken an average of 0.85 points per game over the last 35 matches, three short of a full league season.

    Over a single campaign they would have won 32 points, a tally that would have seen them relegated in every Premier League season since the league became 38 games in 1995, and would have left them bottom of the table in five of them.

    That run goes back to October 19 last year when the team, then managed by Graham Potter, drew 0-0 away at Brentford.

    Pochettino is the fourth manager to have led the side in that period, with Potter having been removed on April 2 and Frank Lampard taking over until the end of the campaign, with a single game in charge for caretaker boss Bruno Saltor.

    Despite the turnover of coaches, the Blues have won only six times in the league in the 11 months since, drawing 12, giving them a return of 30 points from 35 games.

    The squad assembled by co-owner Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium at a cost of more than £1billion over the last 16 months are currently 14th in the table after six games and have not scored in 285 minutes of play.

    Pochettino encouraged supporters to keep faith and focus on the quality of recent performances rather than the club’s relegation form over the last year.

    “It’s about learning, it’s about the process,” he said after Ollie Watkins’ second-half goal for Villa condemned his side to their third loss of the season.

    “We are a young team (in) a process that they need to learn all together. It’s difficult to talk about positives because when you lose it’s difficult, but we need to talk about positive things.

    “No doubt that with time the team is going to perform, but of course now we cannot hide the situation. It’s a situation that disappoints all the fans, the club, us and the players.

    “They (the owners) are disappointed, they arrive to the club and (were) so excited to build some project. Of course they feel disappointed, but at the same time they need to support the plan.”

    If there was a bright spot for Chelsea it was the return of striker Armando Broja after nine months out with an ACL injury.

    The Albania international came off the bench in the second half and headed wide in the closing minutes as the team sought an equaliser.

    “It was good to see Broja after nine, 10 months,” said Pochettino. “Again I think to have the possibility to have different options is good for the team. But he needs to build his confidence also.”

    Watkins’ goal was his first in the league this season and the striker admitted it was a weight off his shoulders.

    “The first one is always hard to get,” Watkins told VillaTV.

    “I’m delighted to get off the mark now.

    “It’s a bit of a relief, really, because the more the games go by, there’s a lot of talk and pressure.

    “But I just try and block that out and I back myself in front of goal no matter what anyone says.

    “I’m looking forward to the games coming up now and plenty more goals for the season.”

  • Thomas Tuchel wary of history as Bayern Munich face huge underdogs in DFB Cup Thomas Tuchel wary of history as Bayern Munich face huge underdogs in DFB Cup

    Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has vowed his side will not be taking lowly Preussen Munster lightly on Tuesday in the DFB Cup.

    Tuchel’s side sit top of the Bundesliga and head to third division Munster on the back of last week’s Champions League win over Manchester United and Saturday’s 7-0 thrashing of Bochum.

    The Bayern boss recalled the club’s embarrassing 1-0 defeat to German minnows Vestenbergsgreuth at the same stage of the DFB Cup in 1994 when the fourth-tier side caused one of the competition’s biggest upsets.

    Tuchel told a press conference: “I remember the name Vestenbergsgreuth. I couldn’t believe it at the time. We won’t underestimate the opponent.

    “We’re preparing seriously. We’ll play like Bayern want to play. It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side.

    “We’re the favourites. There’s not much for us to win. We want to win. We want to get to Berlin and be in the final. We have to keep winning games for that.”

    Bayern have won all 28 of their DFB Cup first-round ties since that defeat to Vestenbergsgreuth – a current record – which included a 4-1 win against Munster in the two sides’ only previous meeting in the 2014-15 season.

    “Munster can play without pressure,” Tuchel added. “We want to be dominant, want possession, want to use our individual quality.

    “We’re expecting an opponent who fights as a unit for an upset. They’ll probably focus on set pieces. They’ll probably also look to use their fans.”

    England captain Harry Kane maintained his fine start to life in Munich in Saturday’s defeat of Bochum, scoring a hat-trick and providing two assists.

    Kane has eight goals in nine appearances for Bayern and Tuchel praised his partnership with former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.


    “Leroy speaks fluent English, communicates a lot with Harry,” Tuchel said. “Harry makes his teammates better, with his character, his style.

     

    “Leroy is in very good form, with good body language and a very good mindset. Both are combing very well at the moment.”

    Tuchel said he expected Portugal midfielder Raphael Guerreiro to return to the squad after being sidelined since mid-July due to a calf injury.

    “I haven’t made a decision yet about who’ll play,” Tuchel added. “Matthijs de Ligt is unfortunately out and we need to see with Dayot Upamecano and Min-jae Kim.”

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