In a stunning revelation that\u2019s sending shockwaves through the football world, former Italian criminal Giampaolo Manca has disclosed a bizarre kidnapping plot targeting AC Milan legend Marco van Basten in the late 1980s or early 1990s.<\/p>\n
Manca, known as \u201cIl Doge\u201d of the Mala del Brenta criminal organization and a self-described reformed bandit, shared the details in a recent interview as reported by Corriere della Sera. According to Manca, notorious Italian criminal Renato Vallanzasca \u00a0a fellow AC Milan supporter confessed the plan to him while they were imprisoned together at Opera prison.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vallanzasca, a high-profile figure in Italy\u2019s criminal underworld, reportedly orchestrated an elaborate scheme to abduct the Dutch superstar. Van Basten, one of the greatest strikers of his generation and a key player in AC Milan\u2019s dominant teams under Silvio Berlusconi, was followed by Vallanzasca\u2019s associates for several months. The goal was straightforward: kidnap the player and demand a hefty ransom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The plan was meticulously prepared. However, in a twist that highlights the eccentric intersection of football passion and crime, Vallanzasca ultimately called it off. As a die-hard AC Milan fan, he reportedly didn\u2019t want to \u201cdo Inter a favour\u201d by removing their fierce rival\u2019s star player from the pitch, which could have shifted the balance in the Serie A title race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Manca recounted<\/b>: \u201cHe confessed to me that he had prepared a plan to kidnap Marco van Basten and ask for ransom. His men had been tailing him for months. He gave it up because he didn\u2019t want to do Inter a favour.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marco van Basten, now 61<\/b>, enjoyed an illustrious career with AC Milan from 1987 to 1995, winning multiple Serie A titles, European Cups, and Ballon d\u2019Or awards. Known for his elegant style, lethal finishing, and unforgettable goals \u00a0including his iconic volley in the 1988 European Championship final van Basten remains a club icon despite injuries cutting short his playing days.<\/p>\n This revelation adds a surreal chapter to the already dramatic history of Italian football in the 1980s and 90s, an era marked by intense rivalries between AC Milan and Inter Milan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a stunning revelation that\u2019s sending shockwaves through the football world, former Italian criminal Giampaolo Manca has disclosed a bizarre\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":502,"featured_media":52914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4057],"class_list":["post-52912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-top-stories"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/502"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52912"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52916,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52912\/revisions\/52916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Audacious Kidnapping Plan<\/h3>\n
Marco van Basten: AC Milan Icon<\/h3>\n