Above Below

Kaka gets his revenge over Liverpool in 2007

Sheva saw off Deco, Henry, Ronaldinho and... Theo Zagorakis to win gold in 2004

The striker’s ill- fated switch to Chelsea that summer enabled a new role for Kaka at San Siro. Previously used at the front of a midfield diamond featuring Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo, he moved forward to become a virtual second striker, top- scoring in the 2006- 07 Champions League with 10. Two majestic strikes at Old Trafford powered Milan past Manchester United in the semis, allowing them to gain revenge over Liverpool in Athens.

That year, Kaka bagged the Ballon d’or. He is one of only eight footballers in history to have claimed that individual honour, as well as the World Cup and European Cup – Bobby Charlton, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho are the other magnificent seven.

“For two or three years, Kaka was the best player in the world,” Pirlo once admitted of his Brazilian team- mate.

Kaka joined Real Madrid for £ 56m in 2009, just three days before the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. Beset by injuries, it didn’t work out – Shevchenko and Kaka each returned to Milan for a second spell, desperate to recapture past glories. By then the magic had run dry, but for a few seasons they had left Europe spellbound.

In a quarter of a century between 1982 and 2007, the Ballon d’or went to a player in Italy on 16 occasions. Thirteen years on, no Serie A star has won it since Shevchenko and Kaka.

• Milan ’ 88: The inside story of Arrigo Sacchi’s all- conquering kings, as told by the players

• Why Kaka didn’t join Manchester City in 2009 – in his own words

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