AC Milan

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the men's football club from Milan, Italy. For the women's team, see AC Milan
Women. For other sports teams called Milan, see Milan (disambiguation) § Sports.

Milan
Full name Associazione Calcio Milan S.p.A.[1]

Nickname(s) I Rossoneri (The Red and Blacks)

Il Diavolo (The Devil)

Founded 18 December 1899; 125 years ago,[2] as

Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club

Ground San Siro

Capacity 75,817 (limited capacity)

80,018 (maximum)

Owner RedBird Capital Partners (99.93%)[3][4]

Private shareholders (0.07%)[5]

Chairman Paolo Scaroni

Head coach Sérgio Conceição

League Serie A

2023–24 Serie A, 2nd of 20

Website acmilan.com
 Home colours Third colours

Away colours

Current season

Associazione Calcio Milan (Italian pronunciation: [assotʃatˈtsjoːne ˈkaltʃo ˈmiːlan]), commonly referred
to as Milan or AC Milan (Italian pronunciation: [a tˌtʃi mˈmiːlan]) mainly outside of Italy,[6] is an Italian
professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A,
the top tier of Italian football. In its early history, Milan played its home games in different grounds
around the city before moving to its current stadium, the San Siro, in 1926.[7] The stadium, which was
built by Milan's second chairman, Piero Pirelli, and has been shared with Inter Milan since 1947,[8] is the
largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 75,817.[9] The club has a long-standing rivalry with Inter,
with whom they contest the Derby della Madonnina, one of the most followed derbies in football.[10]

Milan has spent its entire history in Serie A with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons. [11]
[12]
Silvio Berlusconi’s 31-year tenure as Milan president was a standout period in the club's history, as
they established themselves as one of Europe's most dominant and successful clubs. Milan won 29
trophies during his tenure, securing multiple Serie A and UEFA Champions League titles. During
the 1991–92 season, the club notably achieved the feat of being the first team to win the Serie A title
without losing a single game.[13] Milan is home to multiple Ballon d'Or winners, and three of the club's
players, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard, were ranked in the top three on the podium
for the 1988 Ballon d'Or, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the prize.[14]

Milan is one of the most successful football clubs in the world in terms of total trophies won.
Domestically, Milan has won 19 league titles,[15] 5 Coppa Italia titles and 8 Supercoppa Italiana titles.[16] In
international competitions, Milan is Italy's most successful club.[nb 1][16][17][18][19] The club has won seven
European Cup/Champions League titles, making them the competition's second-most successful team
behind Real Madrid, and further honours include five UEFA Super Cups, two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, a
joint record[nb 2] two Latin Cups, a joint record[nb 3] three Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World
Cup.[16]

Milan is one of the wealthiest clubs in Italian and world football.[20] It was a founding member of the
now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club
Association.[21]

History

Main article: History of AC Milan

Foundation and early years (1899–1950)

Herbert Kilpin, the club's first captain and one of its founding members

The AC Milan formation that won the Italian championship in 1901

"Saremo una squadra di diavoli. I nostri colori saranno "We will be a team of devils. Our colours will be
il rosso come il fuoco e il nero come la paura che red like fire and black like the fear we will invoke
incuteremo agli avversari." in our opponents."

— 1899, Herbert Kilpin[22][23] — 1899, Herbert Kilpin

AC Milan was founded as Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club in 1899 by English expatriate Herbert Kilpin.
[12]
The club claims 16 December of that year as their foundation date,[24] but historical evidence seems
to suggest that the club was actually founded a few days after, most likely on 18 December. [2] However,
with the club's charter being lost, the exact date remains open to debate.

In honour of its English origins, the club has retained the English spelling of the city's name, as opposed
to the Italian spelling Milano, which it was forced to bear under the fascist regime. Milan won its first
Italian championship in 1901, interrupting a three-year hegemony of Genoa, and a further two in
succession in 1906 and 1907.[11] The club proved successful in the first decade of its existence, with
several important trophies won, including, among others, the Medaglia del Re three times,[25] the Palla
Dapples 23 times[26] and the FGNI tournament five times, a competition organized by the Italian
Gymnastics Federation but not officially recognized by the Italian Football Federation.[27]

In 1908, Milan experienced a split caused by internal disagreements over the signing of foreign players,
which led to the forming of another Milan-based team, F.C. Internazionale.[28] Following these events,
Milan did not manage to win a single domestic title until 1950–51,[16] with some exceptions represented
by the 1915–16 Coppa Federale[29] and the 1917–18 Coppa Mauro,[30] two tournaments played during
the First World War which, especially the former, received a lot of attention and proved to be highly
competitive, despite them not being officially recognized by the Italian federation.

Return to victory and international affirmation (1950–1970)

The 1950s saw the club return to the top of Italian football, headed by the famous Gre-No-
Li Swedish trio Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm. This was one of the club's most
successful periods domestically, with the Scudetto going to Milan in 1951, 1955, 1957 and 1959.[16] This
decade witnessed also the first European successes of Milan, with the 1951 and 1956 Latin Cup triumphs
against Lille and Athletic Bilbao. Milan was also the first Italian club to take part to the newly
born European Cup in the 1955–56 season, and reached the final two years later, when they were
defeated by Real Madrid.

AC Milan celebrating after winning the European Cup Winners'

Cup final in 1968
The 1960s began with the debut of Milan's legend Gianni Rivera in 1960:[31] he would remain with the
club for the rest of his career for the following 19 seasons. In 1961, Nereo Rocco was appointed as new
coach of the club,[32] which under his leadership won immediately a scudetto in 1961–62, followed, in
the next season, by Milan's first European Cup triumph, achieved after beating Benfica in the final.[33]
[34]
This success was repeated in 1969, with a 4–1 win over Ajax in the final, which was followed by
the Intercontinental Cup title the same year.[16] During this period Milan also won its ninth scudetto, its
first Coppa Italia, with victory over Padova in the 1967 final, and two European Cup Winners'
Cups in 1967–68 and 1972–73, after defeating in the last match Hamburg and Leeds United respectively.
[16]

10th Scudetto and decline (1970–1986)

Franco Baresi in 1979

Domestically, the 1970s were characterized by the pursuit of the 10th Serie A title, which grants the
winner the Scudetto star. For three years in a row, in 1971, 1972 and 1973, Milan ended up second in
the league, after some memorable duels with Inter and Juventus. Finally, the achievement was reached
in 1979. The same year saw the retirement of Gianni Rivera and the debut of Franco Baresi, at his first
full season with the club.

After this success, the team went into a period of decline. The club in 1980 was involved in the Totonero
scandal and as punishment was relegated to Serie B for the first time in its history.[35] The scandal was
centred around a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches. [35] Milan
achieved promotion back to Serie A at the first attempt, winning the 1980–81 Serie B title,[16] but were
again relegated a year later as the team ended its 1981–82 campaign in third-last place. In 1983, Milan
won the Serie B title for the second time in three seasons to return to Serie A, [16] where they achieved a
sixth-place finish in 1983–84.

Berlusconi's ownership and international glory (1986–2012)

On 20 February 1986, entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi (who owned Fininvest and Mediaset) acquired the
club and saved it from bankruptcy after investing vast amounts of money,[11] appointing rising
manager Arrigo Sacchi at the helm of the Rossoneri and signing Dutch internationals Ruud Gullit, Marco
van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.[11] The Dutch trio added an attacking impetus to the team, and
complemented the club's Italian internationals Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Alessandro
Costacurta and Roberto Donadoni. Under Sacchi, Milan won its first Scudetto in nine years in the 1987–
88 season. The following year, the club won its first European Cup in two decades, beating Romanian
club Steaua București 4–0 in the final. Milan retained their title with a 1–0 win over Benfica a year later
and was the last team to win back-to-back European Cups until Real Madrid's win in 2017.[36] The Milan
team of 1988–1990, nicknamed the "Immortals" in the Italian media, [37] has been voted the best club
side of all time in a global poll of experts conducted by World Soccer magazine.[38]

Mauro Tassotti (left) holds the UEFA Champions League trophy along with
manager Fabio Capello, following Milan's victory in the 1993–94 edition of the tournament.

After Sacchi left Milan in 1991, he was replaced by the club's former player Fabio Capello whose team
won three consecutive Serie A titles between 1992 and 1994, a spell which included a 58-match
unbeaten run in Serie A (which earned the team the label "the Invincibles"), [37][39][40] and back-to-
back UEFA Champions League final appearances in 1993, 1994 and 1995. A year after losing 1–0
to Marseille in the 1993 Champions League final, Capello's team reached its peak in one of Milan's most
memorable matches of all time, the famous 4–0 win over Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final.
[39]
Capello's side went on to win the 1995–96 league title before he left to manage Real Madrid in 1996.
[39]
In 1998–99, after a two-year period of decline, Milan lifted its 16th championship in the
club's centenary season.

Milan captain Paolo Maldini lifting the European Cup after they
won the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League

Milan's next period of success came under another former player, Carlo Ancelotti. After his appointment
in November 2001, Ancelotti took Milan to the 2003 Champions League final, where they
defeated Juventus on penalties to win the club's sixth European Cup.[41] The team then won the Scudetto
in 2003–04 before reaching the 2005 Champions League final, where they were beaten by Liverpool on
penalties despite leading 3–0 at half-time.[41] Two years later, the two teams met again in the 2007
Champions League final, with Milan winning 2–1 to lift the title for a seventh time.[41][42] The team then
won its first FIFA Club World Cup in December 2007.[43] In 2009, after becoming Milan's second longest
serving manager with 420 matches overseen,[43] Ancelotti left the club to take over as manager
at Chelsea.

Milan celebrates winning the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League.

During this period, the club was involved in the Calciopoli scandal, where five teams were accused of
fixing matches by selecting favourable referees.[44] A police inquiry excluded any involvement of Milan
managers;[45] the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) unilaterally decided that it had sufficient evidence to
charge Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani. As a result, Milan was initially punished with a 15-point
deduction and was banned from the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League. An appeal saw that penalty
reduced to eight points,[46] which allowed the club to retain its Champions League participation.

Following the aftermath of Calciopoli, local rivals Internazionale dominated Serie A, winning
four Scudetti. However, with the help a strong squad boasting players such as Zlatan
Ibrahimović, Robinho and Alexandre Pato joining many of the veterans of the club's mid-decade
European successes, Milan recaptured the Scudetto in the 2010–11 Serie A season, their first since
the 2003–04 season and 18th overall.[47][48]

Changes in ownership and decline (2012–2019)

Jerseys of Paolo Maldini (number 3), Kaká (number 22) and Zlatan
Ibrahimović (number 11) in the San Siro museum
After their 18th Scudetto, the club declined in performance. Milan failed to qualify to European
competitions for a few years, and the only trophy won was the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana, achieved
under Vincenzo Montella's coaching after defeating Juventus in the penalty shoot-out.[citation needed]

On 5 August 2016, a new preliminary agreement was signed with the Chinese investment management
company Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co., to which Fininvest sold a 99.93%
stake of Milan for about €520 million, plus the refurbishment of the club financial debt of €220 million.
[49]
On 13 April 2017, the deal was completed and Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux became the new
direct parent company of the club.[50] In order to finalise the deal, American hedge fund Elliott
Management Corporation provided Li with a loan of €303 million (€180 million to complete the payment
to Fininvest and €123 million issued directly to the club).[51][52] On 10 July 2018, Li failed to keep up with
his loan repayment plan, neglecting to deposit a €32 million instalment on time in order to refinance the
€303 million loan debt owed to the American hedge fund. As a result, In July 2018, chairman Li
Yonghong's investment vehicle Rossoneri Champion Inv. Lux. was removed as the shareholder of
Rossoneri Sport Inv. Lux., the direct parent company of the club, making the investment vehicle majority
controlled by Elliott Management Corporation the sole shareholder of Rossoneri Sport Inv. Lux. [53][54][55][56]

On 27 November 2017, Montella was sacked due to poor results and replaced by former player Gennaro
Gattuso.[57] Milan qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League group stage after finishing 6th in
the 2017–18 Serie A season, but were banned by UEFA from European competition due to violations
of Financial Fair Play regulations for failure to break-even.[58] Milan appealed to the Court of Arbitration
for Sport and the decision was overturned on 20 July 2018.[59][60][61]

In Gattuso's first full season in charge, Milan exceeded expectations and spent much of the campaign in
the top 4. Despite winning their final 4 games, Milan missed out on the Champions League by one point.
[62]
After Milan's failure to qualify for the Champions League, Gattuso resigned as manager.[63] On 19 June
2019, Milan hired former Sampdoria manager Marco Giampaolo on a 2-year contract. On 28 June 2019,
Milan was excluded from the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League for violating Financial Fair Play regulations
for the years 2014–2017 and 2015–2018.[64]

Recent history (2019–present)

Rossoneri fans celebrating their 2021–22 Serie A win in Piazza del

Duomo, Milan
After four months in charge, Giampaolo was sacked after losing four of his first seven games, which was
exacerbated by poor performances and a lack of supporter confidence. Stefano Pioli was hired as his
replacement.[65] After the restart of the Serie A campaign due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Milan went on
a 10 match unbeaten streak, winning 7 in the process including matches against Juventus, Lazio and
Roma. This streak led to Milan abandoning their plans of hiring Ralf Rangnick as their new manager and
sporting director, and instead extended Pioli's contract for a further 2 years.[66] Following a stellar start in
the 2020–21 Serie A, which was a continuation of the second half of the previous season, Milan under
Pioli in his first full season were led to a second-place finish in the league which was the highest finish
for the team since the 2011–12 Serie A. This result allowed Milan to qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA
Champions League for the following season, which would become their first appearance in the UEFA
Champions League in seven years since their last appearance in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.

Milan secured their 19th Italian championship title on the last round of the 2021–22 season, with a club-
record tally of 86 points. It was their first league title since the 2010–11 season. In the Serie A
Awards, Rafael Leão was named as the league's most valuable player, Mike Maignan as the best
goalkeeper, and Pioli as coach of the season.[67][68][69] On 1 June 2022, RedBird Capital Partners agreed to
acquire AC Milan at $1.3 billion, meanwhile Elliott Management Corporation would keep a minority
stake.[70] After five seasons with Milan, Pioli stepped down at the end of 2023–24 season and Paulo
Fonseca was named as his replacement.[71]