AC MILAN HISTORY FROM 1899-2010

If ever a list was made which included the giants of club football, AC Milan would be seen sitting pretty at the top. With 18 international titles – the most in the history of club football along with Boca Juniors – Milan is the most successful football club ever.
Associazione Calcio Milan was founded December 16, 1899 by Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin (from Nottingham, England) as the Milan Cricket and Football Club.[1] Edwards, a former British vice-consul in Milan and well-known personality of the Milanese high society, was the club's first elected president. Initially the team included a cricket section, managed by Edward Berra, and a football section managed by David Allison.
An open countryside field would become the site for home matches in the championship for Milan, which presently has become a central station. Red and Black were chosen as the official colours of the club. On 11th march Milan played its opening match at this venue against another team from Milan named Mediolanum. Milan started on a winning note with a convincing 3-0 victory.The team played just one official game during their first season of championship against Torino and which they lost 0-3. Milan lifted their first Trophy, the ‘King’s Medal’, in its very first year and regained it for the next two seasons as well. And the team later won three national leagues, in 1901, 1906 and 1907. The triumph of 1901 was particularly relevant because it ended the consecutive series of wins of Genoa, which had been the only team to have won prior to 1901. Although there was no success seen in the national league from 1901 to 1905 Milan won the prestigious ‘Palla Dapples’ for three successive seasons (1904-05, 1905-06, 1906-1907). At the same time, Milan became the most popular football club of the region.

1909-1919

In 1908, issues over the signing of foreign players led to a split within the club with the formation of F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter) on 9th March 1908 and gave rise to one of the greatest rivalries football has ever seen. Historically, AC Milan was supported by the city’s working classes, while Inter was mainly supported by the more prosperous ones. The first Milan derby took place on 18th October 1908 with A.C Milan taking the spoils with.
In 1916, Milan won the Federal Cup, a national trophy which had replaced the Italian league, suspended because of World War I. This cup was never recognized as an Italian title.
In 1919, the team changed its name to Milan Football Club. After their first triumphs, Milan was unable to continue with their former high-level success, obtaining only a number of half-table placements, even if always playing in the top Italian division.

1920-1929

The 1920’s were a time of change for Milan with Pietro Pirelli at the helm of the ship after being appointed as their President. The 1920s are a period of consolidation for the Rossoneri with the team not making a major breakthrough on the pitch. It was in his tenure as the head of Milan during which on 19th September 1926 the San Siro Stadium was inaugurated. In tribute of probably the greatest Italian forward of all time the stadium is also called as “Giuseppe Meazza”. Since then, San Siro has been shared by Milan and Inter as their home ground. AC Milan supporters use “San Siro” to refer to the stadium because Meazza played as an Inter player for majority of his career.
In 1929 Serie A was created, and was then called Girone Unico. 

1930-1939

Between the two World Wars the team didn’t obtain important results. In 1936 the name of the Club changed to Milan Associazione Sportiva.
In 1938 the club finalized their name, as A.C. (Associazione Calcio) Milan. In honour and respect of its origins, the club retained the English spelling of its city’s name, instead of changing it to the Italian Milano.
In 1939 the fascist regime imposed a new italianized name, Associazione Calcio Milano, for the team. However, that name was abandoned immediately after the World War II, but maintaining the initial part: the team was called Associazione Calcio Milan, which is the current official name.

1940-1949

In 1940, after several changes in the top management, Umberto Trabattoni was appointed President and he left the Club in 1954. The team had highs and lows and rarely reached the first four places of the League. The Championship stopped because of the Second World War and started again in 1946/47: in this season Milan reached the fourth position after the great Torino, Juventus and Modena. In the two following seasons the rossoneri reached the second and the third place (the great Torino won both championships): this was the signal of the rebirth.
The club changes its name from Milan F.C. to Milan Associazione Sportiva, and following a number of changes in the top management, Umberto Trabattoni becomes president in 1940. It is a position he will hold until 1954. The team goes through a period of highs and lows but usually finishes the season in mid-table and rarely ends up in one of the top four places.
World War II puts an end to football until the 1946-47 season when the championship returns with each side playing each other just once. Milan manage to finish fourth behind the great Torino, Juventus and Modena. Over the next two seasons there is something of a rebirth as the team finishes in second and third place, with Torino crowned champions on both occasions.

1950-1959

Signing of Olympic gold medalist Swede trio of Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm famously referred as (Gre-No-Li) ended the four decade long dry spell of Milan in the league and led them to their fourth Scudetto in the year 1950-1951.
Nordahl was the overall leading scorer in five of six seasons between 1949 and 1955 in the Serie A. With 225 goals in 291 matches for Milan at a mind boggling rate of 0.77 goals per match Nordhal remains till date, the second highest goal scorer in the history of the Italian league and the highest goal scorer for Milan ever.
Perhaps the most resounding victory of this period was the 7-1 defeat of Juventus in Turin on February 5, 1950, with Gunnar Nordahl bagging a hat-trick. After the 1951 Scudetto, Milan won another three Serie A seasons, in 1955, 1957 and 1959, and two Latin Cups, in 1951 and 1956. In the end, Milan always placed among the top three teams from 1947/1948 to 1956/1957. In 1954, Juan Alberto Schiaffino, nicknamed "Pepe", was bought from Penarol and became one of the leading players in the team for years to come.
Milan reached the semi finals of the inaugural Champions league (then called the European cup) where they lost to the eventual winners Real Madrid. Both the teams would face each other again but this time a notch higher at the finals of the 1958 European cup which Madrid narrowly won 3-2 at completed a hat-trick of European success. Milan would reach the finals again in 1963 at the Wembley Stadium where they would register a 2-1win over Benfica and lift the Eurpean cup for the first time.

1960-1969

While the previous years had been marked by the supremacy of foreign players (Gre-No-Li, Schiaffino-Altafini), in the following years, between 1960 and 1970, Italian players, who would later reach international fame, were the main characters of the rossoneri history. Some Olympic players, such as Trapattoni, Trebbi, Alfieri and Noletti joined the team, together with a young boy named Gianni Rivera who played his first game when he was only 17 against Alessandria, his previous team (Milan won 5-3). The rossoneri were protagonists in the Championship but the last two defeats against Bari and Fiorentina gave Milan the second place. When Nils Liedholm left football and at the same time “Paròn” Nereo Rocco arrived as the new coach, a new era, marked by national and international successes, started. The first trophy was the Scudetto, but the most exciting success was the first European Cup. The final against Benfica, played at Wembley on 22nd May 1963, was a fascinating match: Milan raised the cup after defeating Benfica 2-1 (Altafini scored two goals and Eusebio scored for Benfica). The image of Cesare Maldini who raised the cup together with Nereo Rocco is still imprinted in the memory of all the supporters. However Milan lost the decisive match (1-0) played at Maracanà Stadium against Santos in the final of the Europeran-South American Cup after a troubled final. At the end of the season the Chairman Andrea Rizzoli left the Club after nine years of great successes: 4 Scudetti, 1 Latin Cup and the prestigious European Cup. He is remembered not only for his sports achievements, but also for the training centre of Milanello that is still a very important asset of the Club. After a few disappointing seasons, in 1967/68 rossoneri got their ninth Scudetto and the prestige of the Club grew with the victory of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the first in Milan’s history. In the European Cup final of the following season, the Rivera-Prati axis and the “black spider”, the goalkeeper Cudicini, led Milan to victory (4-1) against Cruijff’s Ajax. Finally Milan also achieved the European-South American Cup despite the defeat (2-0) in the return match played at the Bombonera Stadium against Estudiantes. Milan won the trophy thanks to the score (3-0) of the first match played at San Siro. The Rossoneri also won their first Winners’ Cup in the 1967/68 season. Gianni Rivera, with his inborn and incomparable quality, showed beautiful actions that helped him to win the most prestigious recognition for a football player in 1969, the Golden Ball, because “Gianni Rivera is the only player who gives football a poetry sense”.

1970-1985

In the 1970s, Milan won three Italian Cups and its second Cup Winners' Cup during the 72-73 season. Greek referee Christos Michas, who officiated the final, was later sentenced of match fixing in his home country, though no involment by Milan was ever proved. The real goal of the Rossoneri was the tenth Scudetto, which would have awarded the first stella ("star") to the team. In 1972 they reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup losing to eventual cup winners Tottenham Hotspur. A strong 1972/1973 season provided their first opportunity for the tenth Scudetto, but ultimately proved a failure after a humiliating defeat against Hellas Verona on the last day of the season.

Milan had to wait until 1978/1979 to win their tenth Scudetto, primarily being led by Gianni Rivera who retired from football after this final triumph.

However, the worst was yet to come for the Rossoneri: after the 1979/1980 season, Milan was relegated to Serie B by the Football Federation, together with S.S. Lazio, because of a betting scandal.[2] In 1980-81, Milan easily won the Serie B, and returned to Serie A, where it would suffer its worst season ever, in 1981/1982, being relegated once again.
This period was one of the darkest in the history of the Club and it left few gratifications: the most important was the winning of the “Star” (given for 10 league titles) in 1979. During those years Milan also won three Italian Cups and their second European Cup Winners’ Cup. In the line up, led by Liedholm there was a young football player who would later become one of the undisputed protagonists in Milan’s history and one of the strongest defenders in Italian football, Franco Baresi. His first game with the rossoneri was played on April 23rd, Verona – Milan 1-2. Those years were also characterised by many changes on the bench and in the Club management. Gianni Rivera, one of the main protagonists in the achievement of the “Star”, left football forever, but he became the Vice-President of the Club. The early ’80s weren’t so positive but they saw the debut of Paolo Maldini, the heir to Franco Baresi, the historical captain. The young Paolo played his first official match on January 20th 1985 (Udinese- Milan 1-1).

1985-2007

Nils Liedholm came back on the bench, but this change didn’t improve Milan’s results and a top management turning point was clearly necessary. Finally, on March 24th, 1986 Silvio Berlusconi was nominated the 21st President of AC Milan. He brought a great enthusiasm with an innovative market-oriented management and recently celebrated his 20th Anniversary as AC Milan President (March 1986 – March 2006) when a great party was given in his honour . In the 1986/87 season he signed important contracts, including those with Donadoni, Bonetti, Galderisi, Massaro and Giovanni Galli next to Hateley and Wilkins. Despite underperforming in the Championship, Milan reached the goal of taking part in the European competitions winning the play-off against Sampdoria thanks to a goal scored by Daniele Massaro. 1987/88 was the season of the revival with the coach Arrigo Sacchi, master of the “zone play”, of the total play, of pressing and speed. The team was also strengthened by the arrival of Van Basten and Gullit, together with Ancelotti and Colombo as well as Alessandro Costacurta, who came directly from Milan’s youth team. The beginning of the season was great: the extraordinary affection of the supporters was rewarded with an unforgettable season. Despite some adverse decisions from the sports judge (i.e. the 0-2 defeat by default against Roma), the team reacted with an extraordinary performance at San Paolo Stadium against Maradona’s Napoli: on 18th May 1988 Milan won their 11th Scudetto, the first of the Berlusconi era, defeating Napoli 3-2. After Gullit and Van Basten the third Dutch player, Frank Rijkaard, joined the team: this was the second trio made up by players from the same country after the previous Gre-No-li trio. This led to successes and victories: Milan established itself in Italy, in Europe and in the world. In 1988/89 Milan won the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final against Steaua Bucarest.in Barcelona. Over one hundred thousand Rossoneri supporters arrived in Barcelona, the most impressive exodus in football history. With the coach Arrigo Sacchi Milan won a league title, two European Champion Clubs’ Cups, two European-South American Cups, two European Supercups and one League Supercup. In 1992/93 Fabio Capello, a former Milan player, substituted Arrigo Sacchi and led the Club to many successes, especially at a national level: four league titles (three titles in a row), three League Supercups, one European Champion Clubs’ Cup (won in the unforgettable Athens’ final against the favourite Crujiff’s Barcelona) and one European Supercup.

The 1986-1996 season was the most prolific period as regards the Rossoneri’s trophies and the so-called “Immortal” and “Invincible” team showed excellent performances and played exciting matches. But the late ‘90s weren’t as positive as the early ‘90s: Milan wasn’t as prestigious as it had been in the past both in Italy and in Europe. Some coaches alternated on the bench (Tabarez, then Sacchi and Capello again): with the arrival of Zaccheroni in 1999 Milan won its sixteenth Scudetto in the same season as the Club’s Centenary celebration. In 2001 Ancelotti came back to Milan as a coach and a new period of successes started. The first triumph was on May 28th, 2003, when the Rossoneri won the UEFA Champions League in an unforgettable Italian Final against Juventus. Three days later Milan won the Italian Cup for the fifth time and the European Supercup in August. In the 2003/2004 season the Rossoneri conquered the 17th league title and the League Supercup. In the two following seasons the Rossoneri were ready for new great achievements. In spite of the quite peculiar start of the season due to summer events related to Calciopoli Italian football scandal, Milan were determined to pass the UEFA Champions League qualification rounds to which they were relegated by rulings of the Sports Justice Bodies. Many players had to interrupt their holidays, but none of them missed the training sessions. The team succeeded in qualifying for the 2006/2007 Champions League group stage by defeating the Red Star in both legs. The Rossoneri started the Championship brilliantly, in spite of the penalisation, but during winter break they showed signs of fatigue and their performances dropped down. In Europe, on the contrary, the team performed quite well and even qualified for the UCL competition’s knock-out stage two matchdays in advance. During the Championship break the team spent fifteen days in Malta to fully recover, assisted by the technical staff on an individual basis. Specific individual and group training sessions efficiently contributed to the season’s final sprint. Milan succeeded indeed in reaching important objectives: the fourth place in the league and the extraordinary UEFA Champions League victory in Athens. A night of magic and emotions that made the red and black colours triumph in Europe once again, for the 7th time. The last conquered trophy is the European Supercup won on 31st August 2007 in Montecarlo in the final played against Seville, the Uefa Cup title holder: a match played without enthusiasm due to the premature death of the Andalusian player Antonio Puerta. Finally AC Milan added to their Prize Record the first FIFA Club World Cup that was won on December 16th at Nils Liedholm came back on the bench, but this change didn’t improve Milan’s results and a top management turning point was clearly necessary. Finally, on March 24th, 1986 Silvio Berlusconi was nominated the 21st President of AC Milan. He brought a great enthusiasm with an innovative market-oriented management and recently celebrated his 20th Anniversary as AC Milan President (March 1986 – March 2006) when a great party was given in his honour .

In the 1986/87 season he signed important contracts, including those with Donadoni, Bonetti, Galderisi, Massaro and Giovanni Galli next to Hateley and Wilkins. Despite underperforming in the Championship, Milan reached the goal of taking part in the European competitions winning the play-off against Sampdoria thanks to a goal scored by Daniele Massaro. 1987/88 was the season of the revival with the coach Arrigo Sacchi, master of the “zone play”, of the total play, of pressing and speed. The team was also strengthened by the arrival of Van Basten and Gullit, together with Ancelotti and Colombo as well as Alessandro Costacurta, who came directly from Milan’s youth team. The beginning of the season was great: the extraordinary affection of the supporters was rewarded with an unforgettable season. Despite some adverse decisions from the sports judge (i.e. the 0-2 defeat by default against Roma), the team reacted with an extraordinary performance at San Paolo Stadium against Maradona’s Napoli: on 18th May 1988 Milan won their 11th Scudetto, the first of the Berlusconi era, defeating Napoli 3-2. After Gullit and Van Basten the third Dutch player, Frank Rijkaard, joined the team: this was the second trio made up by players from the same country after the previous Gre-No-li trio. This led to successes and victories: Milan established itself in Italy, in Europe and in the world. In 1988/89 Milan won the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final against Steaua Bucarest.in Barcelona. Over one hundred thousand Rossoneri supporters arrived in Barcelona, the most impressive exodus in football history. With the coach Arrigo Sacchi Milan won a league title, two European Champion Clubs’ Cups, two European-South American Cups, two European Supercups and one League Supercup. In 1992/93 Fabio Capello, a former Milan player, substituted Arrigo Sacchi and led the Club to many successes, especially at a national level: four league titles (three titles in a row), three League Supercups, one European Champion Clubs’ Cup (won in the unforgettable Athens’ final against the favourite Crujiff’s Barcelona) and one European Supercup. The 1986-1996 season was the most prolific period as regards the Rossoneri’s trophies and the so-called “Immortal” and “Invincible” team showed excellent performances and played exciting matches. But the late ‘90s weren’t as positive as the early ‘90s: Milan wasn’t as prestigious as it had been in the past both in Italy and in Europe. Some coaches alternated on the bench (Tabarez, then Sacchi and Capello again): with the arrival of Zaccheroni in 1999 Milan won its sixteenth Scudetto in the same season as the Club’s Centenary celebration. In 2001 Ancelotti came back to Milan as a coach and a new period of successes started. The first triumph was on May 28th, 2003, when the Rossoneri won the UEFA Champions League in an unforgettable Italian Final against Juventus. Three days later Milan won the Italian Cup for the fifth time and the European Supercup in August.

In the 2003/2004 season the Rossoneri conquered the 17th league title and the League Supercup. In the two following seasons the Rossoneri were ready for new great achievements. In spite of the quite peculiar start of the season due to summer events related to Calciopoli Italian football scandal, Milan were determined to pass the UEFA Champions League qualification rounds to which they were relegated by rulings of the Sports Justice Bodies. Many players had to interrupt their holidays, but none of them missed the training sessions. The team succeeded in qualifying for the 2006/2007 Champions League group stage by defeating the Red Star in both legs. The Rossoneri started the Championship brilliantly, in spite of the penalisation, but during winter break they showed signs of fatigue and their performances dropped down. In Europe, on the contrary, the team performed quite well and even qualified for the UCL competition’s knock-out stage two matchdays in advance. During the Championship break the team spent fifteen days in Malta to fully recover, assisted by the technical staff on an individual basis. Specific individual and group training sessions efficiently contributed to the season’s final sprint. Milan succeeded indeed in reaching important objectives: the fourth place in the league and the extraordinary UEFA Champions League victory in Athens. A night of magic and emotions that made the red and black colours triumph in Europe once again, for the 7th time. The last conquered trophy is the European Supercup won on 31st August 2007 in Montecarlo in the final played against Seville, the Uefa Cup title holder: a match played without enthusiasm due to the premature death of the Andalusian player Antonio Puerta. Finally AC Milan added to their Prize Record the first FIFA Club World Cup that was won on December 16th at Yokohama International Stadium against Boca Juniors.

Over the last few seasons the Rossoneri, four-times semi-finalists of the top European competition in five years, have certainly reaffirmed themselves as key players in the national and international scenarios, and are prepared for new achievements supported by the enthusiasm of their numerous fans In Italy and abroad, and by over one hundred year tradition of emotions and successes.

2007-2008 

Hot off the heels of winning a seventh Champions League title, Milan continued their international success by winning the 2007 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla FC in a game marked with sadness over the recent on-field death of Sevilla player Antonio Puerta. Milan's Champions League success also made the club eligible to compete in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup where they would win their 18th officially recognized international trophy - tied for most club international trophies in the world. Ironically, Milan won their 18th title in a match against Boca Juniors, the team they are tied with in total international trophies.

However, these two trophies only served as consolation for a very disappointing season for Milan. The club had a slow start in Serie A, often finding it difficult to score after a pre-season injury to Ronaldo. This coupled with their aging backline and some deteriorating performances by Dida, found the club in mid table for much of the season. New signing Alexandre Pato was a bright light for an otherwise dark season for Milan. By the end of the Serie A campaign, Fiorentina edged Milan out for fourth place in the standings and thus Milan failed to qualify for the 2008-09 Champions League - their first failure since the 2001-02 season.

Milan's involvement in the 2007-08 edition of the UEFA Champions League was also forgettable. While the club won its group, they were quickly eliminated by a much younger opponent, Arsenal F.C. in the first knockout round. Prior to this season, Milan had made it to at least the quarterfinals of every Champions League going back to the 2002-03 edition.

2008-2009 

After a poor domestic season that finally resulted in Milan missing out on the Champions League, the club made numerous additions during the offseason signing Ronaldinho, Andriy Shevchenko, Gianluca Zambrotta, Marco Borriello and Mathieu Flamini, amongst others. They also added international sensation David Beckham during the January transfer window on loan from MLS's LA Galaxy. The season started poorly with two consecutive losses. However the team bounced back, rising to first spot in the table for one week in the first half of the season, before dropping behind Inter (who would go on to win their fourth straight Serie A championship).

The team also fared poorly in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup competition. After winning their group and advancing to the knockout stage, the team was eliminated by eventual UEFA Cup finalist Werder Bremen.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the 2008-09 season was the retirement of footballing legend Paolo Maldini who played each of his club games for Milan, in a career that spanned a remarkable 25 years.

2009-2010 

The season started with the dimission of the head coach Carlo Ancelotti, the new appointed Head Coach was Leonardo. During the transfer season, the club's mayor activity was the sale of Kaka for 64.5 Million Euro's to Spanish team Real Madrid C.F.

The start of the season was not so good, they weren't able to win several matches, and the fans were really uncomfortable with the results. But the results started to change in the victory against A.S. Roma, and the crucial victory over Real Madrid, in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The season included the resurgence of Ronaldinho, Marco Borriello, and the new players as Luca Antonini or Ignazio Abate. Although the Rossoneri achieved some important results, they were eliminated from the Uefa Champions League, by English club Manchester United F.C.; and lost the Serie A race to F.C. Internazionale Milano, and A.S. Roma and subsequently finished 3rd.. At the end of the season, the coach Leonardo resigned, despite A.C. Milan's wishes to keep the manager.