| Club: | AC Milan |
| Season: | 1961–62 |
| Manager: | Nereo Rocco |
| Chairman: | Andrea Rizzoli |
| League: | Serie A |
| League Result: | Winners |
| Cup1: | Coppa Italia |
| Cup1 Result: | Second round |
| Cup2: | Fairs Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Round of 32 |
| Cup3: | Coppa dell'Amicizia |
| Cup3 Result: | Semi-finals |
| League Topscorer: | Altafini (22) |
| Season Topscorer: | Altafini (22) |
| Stadium: | San Siro |
| Average Attendance: | [1] |
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| Prevseason: | 1960–61 |
| Nextseason: | 1962–63 |
The 1961–62 season saw AC Milan compete in Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Fairs Cup. The club went on to win the Serie A. In the Coppa Italia they were knocked out by Mondena who played in Serie B.
The 1961–62 season gave way to Nereo Rocco as newly appointed manager [2] and Dino Sani's arrival[3] (replacing Jimmy Greaves in November) that provided President Andrea Rizzoli with the right amount of talent to aim for a championship win.
Young star Gianni Rivera initially struggled 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, but 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.[4]
The season started with 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 Sad.
(Captain)[5]
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See main article: 1961-62 Serie A.
See main article: 1961-62 Coppa Italia.
See main article: 1961-62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
| Competition[7] | Points | Home | Away | Total | GD | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 51 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 18 | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 83 | 36 | +47 | ||
| – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | ||
| – | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | ||
| 1961-62 Coppa dell'Amicizia | – | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 10 | +10 | |
| Total | – | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 60 | 23 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 26 | 43 | 28 | 7 | 8 | 103 | 49 | +54 | |
Mario DavidGiorgio GhezziGianni Rivera 29.Paolo Barison 29.Luigi Radice 24.Gino Pivatelli 23.Ambrogio Pelagalli 22.
Dino Sani 20.Giancarlo DanovaOliviero Conti
Mario LiberalatoMario Trebbi 7.Giovanni LodettiLuciano Alfieri 6.Antonio PasinatoOrlando Rozzoni 4.Sergio Tenente 2.Emanuele Del Vecchio 1.Bruno Beretti 1.Paolo FerrarioJosé Altafini 9.Paolo Barison 6.Oliviero Conti 8.Giancarlo Danova 3.Mario David 2.Emanuele Del Vecchio 8.Jimmy Greaves 3.Giovanni Lodetti 1.Cesare Maldini 1.Ambrogio PelagalliGino Pivatelli 1.Luigi Radice 10.Gianni Rivera 4.Orlando Rozzoni 8.Dino Sani 1.Francesco Zagatti