GEORGE WEAH broke his arm during AC Milan's shock 3-0 defeat to Bordeaux in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals last night, AC coach Fabio Capello said.
Weah played the entire match but was plainly carrying his arm awkwardly for much of the time. AC Milan, who had won the first leg in Italy 2-0, crashed out of the competition 3-2 on aggregate to the unrated French side.
Capello said central defender Alessandro Costacurta had also broken his nose during the game. Costacurta sustained the injury in the first half and was twice treated for a bleeding nose.
With Roma losing to Czech league leaders Slavia Prague on the away goal rule - though they won 3-1 last night - it means that Italy will not provide a UEFA Cup finalist for the first time since 1989.
In the other quarter-final, Barcelona survived the last half hour of their tie with 10 men to beat PSV Eindhoven 3-2 in Eindhoven and 5-4 on aggregate.
Bordeaux, who qualified through the much-maligned Intertoto Cup and whose best performances in Europe are two semi-final appearances compared to Milan's seven European trophies, made the Italians look an ordinary side.
Bordeaux, playing their 90th game in Europe, a French record, sent their 35,000 fans wild with their remarkable display.
Their first goal came in the 15th minute when Richard Witschge, recently recalled to the Dutch squad, picked out Bixente Lizarazu on the left flank with a 35-yard crossfield ball. He swept the ball across the face of goal for Didier Tholot to hit home.
Only Weah, Milan's World Footballer of the year, played up to his billing. Twice Bordeaux goalkeeper Gaetan Huard foiled the Liberian, brilliantly parrying a vicious drive before the break and then, at 3-0 and with Milan looking to retrieve the situation with an away goal, twisting in mid-air to push over a towering header.
In between times, Christophe Dugarry had sent the fans into raptures with two goals midway through the second period. First, he, lashed in a 29-yard right-foot drive after 64 minutes and then accepted a through-ball from Zinedine Zidane.
"The result will go down in the annals of European football," said an exultant Huard afterwards. "It's extraordinary. We knew we could do it and we really wanted it."
In Rome, substitute Jiri Vavra scored the crucial goal for Slavia Prague against Roma five minutes from the end of extra time after the Italians had wrested back control of the tie with second-half goals from Francesco Moriero on the hour and Giuseppe Giannini eight minutes from the end of normal time.
Moriero swept home a 30-yard-right-foot drive for the first. Giannini, a former Italian captain, then struck with a brilliant header past former Czech national goalkeeper Jan Stejskal to force the extra half hour and send the crowd in the Olympic Stadium wild.
Nine minutes into the first period of extra time, Moriero fired in the third after a centre from Francesco Totti. However, the Czech's late strike gave them their first ever European semi-final slot and ensured Italy's proud run of winning six of the last seven UEFA Cup's was terminated.
In Eindhoven, Barcelona's veteran midfielder Jose Maria Bakero shocked the 30,000 Dutch crowd when he opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Portuguese international Luis Figo made it 2-0 after 23 minutes following a cross from the left by Gheorghe Hagi.
Eindhoven, who thought they had done the hard part after a battling 2-2 draw in Barcelona refused to lie down and Boudewijn Zenden put them back in the match seconds before the break.
Barcelona, three-times winners of the UEFA Cup's predecessor the Fairs' Cup, had Spanish international sweeper Miguel Nadal dismissed for a foul on 57 minutes.
Rene Eykelkamp finally made the pressure tell with an equaliser after 65 minutes firing in after taking a cross from the right by Luc Nilis. Barjuan Sergi ensured that Barcelona made it to the semi-finals with a close-range effort in the 80th minute.
