Story behind iconic Champions League photo as Milan derby descended into chaos

Most remember the 2004-05 Champions League campaign for it's memorable final, when Liverpool recovered from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AC Milan in Istanbul.

Yet that wasn't Milan's only eventful European game that season. On April 12, Carlo Ancelotti's side faced local rivals Internazionale at the San Siro in the second leg of their quarter-final clash. Milan won the first leg 2-0 and were confident of repeating the feat.

After all, they were probably the best team in Europe at the time. Milan were blessed with the talents of Dida, Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Andriy Shevchenko and Hernan Crespo. How Liverpool overcame that fabulous side in Istanbul remains a mystery.

It's always a huge affair when two teams from the same country - let alone the same city - meet in Europe. Local clubs are kept apart until the quarter-final stage. By that point, there are just a handful of games left in the season and both teams are bursting with momentum and desire - making those big European nights all the more intense.

And Inter would've been desperate to stop Milan from succeeding, as they hadn't won the Scudetto since 1988-89. During that time, Milan had lifted six Serie A titles - including the most recent one - and three European Cups. Inter were living in their shadow.

Despite this, the underdogs failed to stop Milan in the second leg. Shevchenko opened the scoring after 30 minutes - handing the eventual runners-up a priceless away goal - and Inter needed four goals in the second half to overturn the deficit. Not even Liverpool's comeback would be as good as that.

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The contest was done and dusted when it all turned sour in the 73rd minute. Milan goalkeeper Dida was struck by a flare thrown from the stands and required treatment for first-degree burns on his shoulder. Inter players pleaded with their fans to stop the madness, yet they continued and referee Markus Merk had no choice but to suspend the game.

Both sets of players returned to the pitch 25 minutes later, but more flares started raining down on the San Siro pitch shortly after. Inter's Marco Materazzi and Milan's Rui Costa were photographed gazing at a sea of burning red in front of them, in disbelief at what they were seeing. It became one of the most iconic images in Champions League history.

With the police unable to stop the chaos, Merk abandoned the game. "The referee took the right decision," said Milan skipper Maldini. "I was surprised that he tried to restart the game but it was good because so many supporters had paid to watch."

Ancelotti added: "What happened will not just discredit Inter but all of the city. The reaction of the Inter fans was completely unexpected. I was really surprised because I have never seen something like that in all of the Milan derbies that I have taken part in. Now we have to refocus on football so that people can calm down after this disgraceful episode."

Questions were also directed at the police after their failure to stop the madness. "There were two or three hundred hooligans who were involved in throwing the flares," said the Milan police chief Paolo Scarpi. "They have been caught on video camera. They were the usual hotheads from the Inter sector."

Unsurprisingly, Milan were awarded a 3-0 victory for chaos - securing a 5-0 aggregate win and their place in the semi-finals. Inter, meanwhile, were ordered to play their next six European games behind closed doors - two of those being suspended for three years - and were fined £132,000 by UEFA.

"This is the highest fine in the history of UEFA and the loss of four home games will mean they lose out on revenue for around €8m [£5.5m, at the time]," said UEFA director of communications William Gaillard. Inter were fortunate not to be banned from the lucrative competition.

Although Milan went on to lose the final to Liverpool, they would defeat the same opponent two years later in Athens to claim their seventh European crown. That would prove to be the end of an era, however, as the impact of the Calciopoli scandal kicked in.

In July 2006, Milan - along with several other Italian clubs - were alleged to have pressured Italian officials into appointing referees who were more likely to award dubious decisions in their favour. Milan were initially chucked out of the 2006-07 Champions League for their role in the scandal but were later allowed to compete.

Other clubs were punished. Juventus were stripped of their 2004-05 and 2005-06 Serie A titles and demoted to the second tier, Fiorentina were booted out of the Champions League, Lazio were banned from the UEFA Cup and Reggina were fined.

Inter were not implicated in the scandal and took advantage. They were handed the 2005-06 Serie A title and dominated a weakened Italian top-flight the following season. Inter went on to win five consecutive titles under Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho, becoming the first Italian club in history to complete the treble in 2009-10.

As Inter became the finest team in Europe, Milan were left to remember the glory years under Ancelotti. Yet it's unlikely anyone from the glamorous Italian city will look back on the shocking events of April 12, 2005 with any fondness.