It was a chance meeting, at a provincial airport in Italy. It would change the lives of a football dynasty. The story goes that Pierre-Francois Aubameyang bumped into Ariedo Braida, the then sporting director of AC Milan near the check-in desk at Trieste.
The two retired players got talking, and Braida gathered quickly that Aubameyang had an unusually sharp eye for young potential and some useful connections.
Milan promptly took Aubameyang on as a payrolled talent scout. They were guided by him towards promising footballers, many of them in France, where the ex-Gabon international was based. Best of all, Aubameyang senior had as close ties as possible with a trio of gifted footballers: Three of Pierre-Francois’s sons would join Milan.
The oldest, Catilina, played a handful of games for the senior team in the early 2000s. His brother, Willy, was deemed an exciting prospect in the youth ranks. But the real treasure was the whippet-fast Pierre-Emerick.
At the Milanello training ground, he was timed sprinting 30 metres in under 3.9 seconds. He was reckoned over that distance to be as quick as Usain Bolt. In his practice outings with the first-team he proved a hard-to-tame tearaway for the club’s veteran defenders, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta.
Unfortunately for Milan – who were reigning European club champions when the 18-year-old Aubameyang joined legends such as Maldini, Nesta, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and Brazil’s Ronaldo – the closest the precocious striker ever came to a first-team start was an Italian Cup game he spent on the bench.
The Milan of that period, 2007-08, tended to favour the tried-and-tested rather than their tyros. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was loaned out to a series of clubs in his native France and eventually sold to Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2011. Milan have been regretting letting him go for more than a decade as he advanced his career at Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and then Barcelona.
Chelsea 1 RB Salzburg 1: player ratings
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CHELSEA RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga - 7: Poor pass out almost handed early chance to Salzburg. Not much to do until five minutes before break when he did well to tip Sesko’s low shot wide for corner. No chance with goal. Reuters -
Reece James - 7: Technically a right wing-back but didn’t feel like a defender he played so far forward. Pace and crossing always a threat. Linked up well with Mount for Sterling goal. Getty -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 7: Took a painful arm in the face off Cesko in 20th minute but had little other problems for until Okafor shot through his legs to level for Salzburg. EPA -
Thiago Silva - 6: Powerful header at goal from Cucurella cross blocked after 10 minutes. One perfectly timed tackle when Salzburg threatened midway through second half. But guilty of poor sliding challenge in run-up to Austrian side’s leveller. PA -
Marc Cucurella - 7: Started on left-side of back three but always looking to push forward and combined well with Sterling. Getty -
Mateo Kovacic - 7: Saw appeals for penalty waved away just before half-time when header appeared to strike defender’s arm. A solid shift from Croatian. Getty -
Jorginho - 7: Put into trouble early on by Kepa’s pass out but rescued by referee’s whistle for foul. Dominated from base of midfield. Usual fine display of passing. Reuters -
Mason Mount - 7: Sliced glorious opportunity to open scoring wide of target late from just inside of penalty area five minutes before half-time. His ball into box led to Sterling’s goal. AFP -
Raheem Sterling - 8: New manager Potter started Sterling as left wing-back, although – like James on other flank - was basically an out and out winger. Salzburg couldn’t handle his pace. Brilliant curling finish to open scoring in front of watching England manager Southgate. Getty -
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 4: Had first chance of game but couldn’t keep shot down and nearly got on end of one fizzing James cross. But doesn’t look match-fit and failed to offer any cutting edge up front. Getty -
Kai Havertz - 4: Very little threat in opposition box from German. Shot blocked in first half and made right mess of difficult volleyed chance after being set up by Jorginho, but that was about it. Reuters -
SUBS: Armando Broja (On for Aubameyang 66’) 6: Found himself through on goal within minutes of coming on but saw shot deflected wide and offside flag had gone up anyway. Blazed good chance over in injury time. More of a threat than Aubameyang and Havertz. AFP -
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (On for Havertz 66’) 6: Nearly won Chelsea a penalty when brought down on very edge of box. AP -
Conor Gallagher (On for Kovacic 82’) N/A. EPA -
Hakim Ziyech (On for Azpilicueta 82’) N/A. Almost scored straight after coming on but denied by fine Kohn block. Miss-hit a volley into ground and straight to keeper and looks short of confidence even in brief cameo. EPA -
Christian Pulisic (On for Sterling 84’) N/A. Reuters -
SALZBURG RATINGS: Philipp Kohn - 7: Would have been expecting more to do in first half when Chelsea failed to register shot on target. Beaten by brilliant Sterling finish but produced fine block to deny Ziyech. Reuters -
Amar Dedic - 5: Important block on Sterling volley in 39th minute but generally found it hard work up against pace of England man. Booked late in second half. Reuters -
Bernardo - 5: Brazilian defender should have done better with Mount’s cross that ended up at feet of Sterling before England attacker scored. AFP -
Strahinja Pavlovic - 8: Good block from Serbian denied Havertz early strike at goal and an even better one on Aubameyang midway through first half. Booked for foul on Loftus-Cheek that was dangerously close to being a penalty. Immmense for Salzburg. AFP -
Andreas Ulmer – 6: Captain and 36-year-old veteran in what is a very young Salzburg side. Struggled up against James and Mount at times but never allowed his head to drop and should be pleased with his night’s work. EPA -
Nicolas Seiwald - 5: Started in centre midfield where he was generally given the run-around by likes of Jorginho and Mount. Moved out onto left when Gourna-Douath came on at break. Found space just after hour mark in box but couldn’t find teammate with pass. AFP -
Nicolas Capaldo - 5: Argentine certainly put in a shift albeit without any game-changing moments. Booked late in game. Getty -
Maurits Kjaegaard - 5: Made no impact on Chelsea backline going forward and spent 45 minutes chasing Chelsea shadows. Hooked at break. Getty -
Luka Sucic - 5: Highly-rated midfielder has been linked with move to Liverpool – amongst other clubs – during the summer but 20-year-old made little impression here. AFP -
Noah Okafor - 6: Barely had a sniff of goal and until later in game with header straight at Kepa. Did score not long after when he shot through legs of Azpilicueta to level. Getty -
Benjamin Sesko – 7: Teenage Slovenian attacker in right place to block Silva header at other end of pitch. Had Kepa scampering across goal to palm shot from distance wide of target just before break – the game’s first effort on target. EPA -
SUBS: Lucas Gourna-Douath (On for Kjaegaard 46’) 6: Helped Salzburg get some kind of hold in a midfield battle they had been losing. AFP -
Junior Adamu (On for Sesko 70’) 7: Evaded challenge of Silva to supply cross for Okafor goal. Booked soon after. EPA -
Dijon Kameri (On for Sucic 70’) 7: Impressive cameo where he was thorn in Chelsea side and helped turn tide of game. EPA Sekou Koita (On for Okafor 85’) N/A.
On Wednesday evening at Stamford Bridge, the superstar of the Aubameyang clan will confront the club where he learnt from greats – he used to study Ronaldo’s finishing closely, even if, as Pierre-Emerick reflected at the weekend, that late-career version of the iconic Brazilian “was a bit fat” – aiming to remind them they were mistaken in allowing him to leave.
The Gabonese will likely lead Chelsea’s forward line in a fixture of high jeopardy for the London club. Chelsea are bottom, with a single point, of a Champions League Group E led by the Italian champions, who have four points.
Safe to say, this was probably not the scenario the much-travelled Aubameyang, who scored his first Chelsea goal at the weekend, envisaged when, at the tail end of the summer, he made Chelsea the ninth club of his senior career.
Nor the situation Thiago Silva would have anticipated as he approached his 38th birthday last month. The Brazil defender won the Champions League at the end of his first season at Stamford Bridge, a trophy he chased in vain while at Paris Saint-Germain and, before that, during three seasons at Milan, where, up until 2012, he persuaded milanisti he was a worthy successor to the likes of Maldini and Nesta.
Thiago Silva’s arrival in London in the summer of 2020 was Chelsea’s vote for experience, a wise one as it turned out, but there were consequences for the club’s then up-and-coming defenders, jostling in the queue for regular spots in the starting XI. Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen left in successive summers. Marc Guehi, now an England international, moved on.
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Olivier Giroud celebrates with the trophy after AC Milan won the Serie A title, in May, 2022. Reuters -
AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli and his players celebrate after winning the Serie A title. Getty -
Rafael Leao, left, Olivier Giroud, centre, and Fikayo Tomori celebrate after winning the Serie A title. AP -
Olivier Giroud holds the Serie A trophy after AC Milan's win over Sassuolo. AP -
AC Milan fans celebrate in Piazza Duomo square after the club won the Serie A title. AP -
Fans celebrate on a tractor in downtown Milan after AC Milan won the Serie A title. AFP -
Zlatan Ibrahimovic puffs a cigar as he celebrates winning the Serie A title. AP -
Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates with the Serie A trophy. AP -
Olivier Giroud celebrates with the trophy after AC Milan won the Serie A title. AP -
AC Milan midfielder Alessandro Florenzi celebrates with the fans. AFP -
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and teammates celebrate with the Serie a trophy. AFP -
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his AC Milan teammates celebrate winning the Serie A title. AFP -
AC Milan fans celebrate after winning the Serie A title. Reuters -
AC Milan fans pack the city centre to celebrate the club's Serie A title. Reuters -
AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli lifts the Serie A trophy. AFP -
Alessandro Florenzi celebrates with the fans after AC Milan won the Serie A title. Getty
So did Fikayo Tomori, who had already won the first of his three England caps while at the Bridge. Twenty months after an initial loan to Milan, Tomori is a rossonero mainstay, and will probably be charged with marshalling Aubameyang.
Maldini, now technical director at Milan, was among those who enthusiastically endorsed the club’s initial €20 million payment to Chelsea to make Tomori’s transfer permanent. The fee seems more and more modest as the 24-year-old matures, especially when it is framed by the amount Chelsea invested in the young centre-back Wesley Fofana in the last transfer window. Fofana cost more than €80m when he moved from Leicester City.
To Thiago and Fofana falls the task of containing another ex-Chelsea man. The last act of Olivier Giroud, three seasons a Blue, was watching the 2021 Champions League triumph from the bench, having contributed six goals to the club’s journey to the final. He joined Milan that summer.
The 36-year-old would spearhead the club’s first Serie A triumph for 11 years. He’s been among the goals this term, too, with six from eight starts. Like Aubameyang, Giroud has a point to make to his former employers about being too hasty to discard an enduring talent.
