Rossoneri Advent Calendar Day 29: Pietro Vierchowod and the Unlucky Spell

Pietro Vierchowod played for AC Milan for a single season back in 1996/97 and in his own words joined the historic club at the wrong time. Vierchowod was a Calcio legend by the time he joined the club as he was 37 years old at the time and had a storied career with AS Roma, Sampdoria and Juventus winning multiple Scudetti.

Photo by Venturelli/WireImage

Vierchowod joined Milan to add some depth and experience to Milan as he came off a Champione League winning campaign with Juventus. The experienced centre back was quite old at the time but was a good cover option for the likes of Costacurta, Maldini, Baresi and Panucci. The seasoned defender was unlucky to join Milan when the club struggled for form and were in a bad place coaching wise as Oscar Tabarez failed and Arrigo Sacchi could not turn things around. Vierchowod did not achieve any significant victories with Milan and moved on at the end of the season but he did manage to don the red and black jersey as part of a historic career. He was known as 'The Tsar’ in Serie A for his tenacity, awareness and his Ukrainian descent. He won two Scudetti, 5 Coppa Italias and a Champions League prior to joining Milan as part of a starred 24 year career.

Achievements with Milan

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Top Highlight

During his single season with Milan, Vierchowod played off the bench mostly but did manage to start against Roma and score the opening goal with a header from Roberto Baggio's free kick. The goalgave Milan a key draw that helped the club go on a five games loss-less streak. This was huge for a season where Milan struggled and finished 11th. Watch his goal from the set piece here or below.