In the match against Atalanta, Dejan Lu sat on the bench for the entire game. Milan only managed to beat Atalanta 2–1 late on thanks to a goal from substitute Van Basten.
Atalanta's scorer was none other than Filippo Inzaghi.
Albertini had an outstanding match, scoring and assisting to help his team defeat their opponents.
This was hardly major news.
Every year around this time, the Ballon d'Or race began to heat up.
Perhaps because there were so many players performing well this year, France Football released a list of fifteen in November instead of the usual ten.
Dejan Lu, Ronaldo, Šuker, Cantona, Djorkaeff, Desailly, Sammer, Shearer, Piero, Klinsmann, Redondo, Beckham, Schmeichel, Paolo Maldini, Batistuta, and Romario.
These were basically the players who had stood out in their leagues, the Champions Cup, and major tournaments.
Although Djorkaeff had not been particularly famous before, his European Championship performance had been exceptional. He had scored the first golden goal, so it did not matter that he had previously played in lower divisions.
There was no real doubt about Paolo Maldini being selected again.
The Manchester United contingent needed no explanation. With so many Seven Sisters players selected, this was already a rather small number.
Beckham's selection had been a harsh slap in the face for the England manager, who had always backed McManaman.
At this time, the rivalry between players from derby clubs was still quite intense. After Neville became captain, Manchester United and Liverpool players barely interacted either.
The younger generation later did not feel that way. Players like Greenwood and Foden could even make the national team together.
Dejan Lu felt that he had a very good chance.
His former Manchester United teammates had failed to bring football home.
Schmeichel's situation was similar to Paolo Maldini's. Their positions made it