A.C. Milan

Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmiːlan]), is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others.^[2][5] The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982-83 seasons, in the top-flight of Italian football, known as Serie A since 1929.^[2]

They are the current Italian football champions, and are the most successful club in world football in terms of international trophies along with Boca Juniors, with 18 officially recognized UEFA and FIFA titles.^[6] Milan has won four world titles,^[6] more than any other club in the world, having won the Intercontinental Cup three times and the FIFA Club World Cup once.^[6] Milan also won the European Cup/Champions League on seven occasions,^[6] second only to Real Madrid.^[7] They also won the UEFA Super Cup a record five times and the Cup Winners' Cup twice.^[6] Milan won every major competition in which it has competed, with the exception of the Europa League. Domestically, with 18 league titles Milan is the joint-second most successful club in Serie A behind Juventus (27 titles), along with local rivals Inter.^[8] They have also won the Coppa Italia five times, as well as a record six Supercoppa Italiana triumphs.^[6] Furthermore, Milan is the only team to have won the Serie A without losing a game, doing so in 1991-92 during a 58-match unbeaten run.

Milan's home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium, which is shared with Inter, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 80,018.^[9] Inter are considered their biggest rivals, and matches between the two teams are called Derby della Madonnina, which is one of the most followed derbies in football.^[10] As of 2010, Milan is the third most supported team in Italy,^[11] and the seventh most supported team in Europe, ahead of any other Italian team.^[12]

The owner of the club is former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and the vice-president is Adriano Galliani. The club is one of the wealthiest and most valuable in Italian and world football.^[13] 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.^[14]

History

The club was founded as a football and cricket club on December 16, 1899 by British expatriates Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin,^[5] who came from the British city of Nottingham. In honor of its British 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 and a further two in succession in 1906 and 1907.^[2]

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, Internazionale.^[15] Following these events, Milan did not manage to win a single domestic title until 1950–51.^[6] 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. In 1963, Milan won its first continental title by beating Benfica in the final of the European Cup.^[16] This success was repeated in 1969, and followed by an Intercontinental Cup title the same year.^[6] After the retirement of Gianni Rivera in 1979, Milan went into a period of decline, during which it was involved in the 1980 Totonero scandal and relegated to Serie B as punishment,^[17] for the first time in its history. The scandal was centered around a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches.^[17] Milan quickly returned to Serie A, but was again relegated to Serie B one year later as the team ended its 1981–82 campaign in third last place.

On February 20, 1986 entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi acquired the club and saved it from bankruptcy investing vast amounts of money,^[2] appointing rising manager Arrigo Sacchi at the helm of the Rossoneri and signing the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.^[2] This was the beginning of arguably the most successful era in Milan's history, as they won eight domestic titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five Champions League trophies, five UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.^[6] That successful team has been voted the best club side of all time, in a global poll of experts conducted by World Soccer magazine.^[18] It had reached its peak in one Milan's most memorable matches of all time, the famous 4-0 win over F.C. Barcelona in the 1994 UEFA Champions League Final. In the 1998-99 season, after a two-year period of decline, Milan lifted its 16th championship in the club's centenary celebrations.

More recently, the club was involved in the 2006 Serie A scandal, nicknamed Calciopoli, where five teams were accused of fixing matches by selecting favorable referees.^[19] A police inquiry excluded any involvement of Milan managers,^[20] but 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 consequently did not qualify for the Champions League. An appeal saw that penalty reduced to eight points,^[21] which allowed the club to retain its 2006–07 Champions League participation. Milan subsequently won the competition, lifting the European Cup for the seventh time.^[22]

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 old-guard, Milan recaptured the Scudetto in the 2010-11 Serie A season, their first since the 2003-04 season, and 18th overall.^[23][24]

Colors and badge

Red and black are the colors which represented the club throughout its entire history. They were chosen to represent the players' fiery ardor (red) and the opponents' fear to challenge the team (black). Rossoneri, the team's widely-used nickname, literally means "the red & blacks" in Italian, in reference to the colors of the stripes on its jersey.^[25]

Another nickname derived from the club's colors is the Devil. An image of a red devil was used as Milan's logo at one point with a Golden Star for Sport Excellence located next to it.^[26] As is customary in Italian football, the star above the logo was awarded to the club after winning 10 league titles, in 1979. For many years, Milan's badge was simply the Flag of Milan, which was originally the flag of Saint Ambrose.^[26] The modern badge used today represents the club colors and the flag of the Comune di Milano, with the acronym ACM at the top and the foundation year (1899) at the bottom.^[26]

White shorts and black socks are usually worn as part of the home strip. Milan's away strip has always been completely white. It is considered by both the fans and the club to be a lucky strip in Champions League finals, due to the fact that Milan has won six finals out of eight in an all white strip (losing only to Ajax in 1995 and Liverpool in 2005), and only won one out of three in the home strip. The third strip, which is rarely used, changes yearly, being mostly black with red trimmings in recent seasons.

Stadium

The team's stadium is the 80,018 seat San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza after the former player who represented both Milan and Internazionale. The more commonly used name, San Siro, is the name of the district where it's located. San Siro has been the home of Milan since 1926, when it was privately built by funding from Milan's president at the time, Piero Pirelli. Construction was performed by 120 workers, and took 13 and a half months to complete. The stadium was owned by the club until it was sold to the city council in 1935, and since 1947 has been shared with Internazionale, when the other major Milanese club was accepted as joint tenant.

The first game played at the stadium was on 19 September 1926, when Milan lost 6-3 in a friendly match against Internazionale. Milan played its first league game in San Siro on September 19 1926, losing 1-2 to Sampierdarenese. From an initial capacity of 35,000 spectators, the stadium has undergone several major renovations, most recently in preparation for the 1990 FIFA World Cup when its capacity was set to 85,700, all covered with a polycarbonate roof. In the summer of 2008 its capacity has been reduced to 80,018, in order to meet the new standards set by UEFA.

Based on the English model for stadiums, San Siro is specifically designed for football matches, as opposed to many multi-purpose stadiums used in Serie A. It is therefore renowned in Italy for its fantastic atmosphere during matches, thanks to the closeness of the stands to the pitch. The frequent use of flares by supporters contributes to the atmosphere but the practice has occasionally caused problems.

On 19 December 2005, Milan vice-president and executive director Adriano Galliani announced that the club is seriously working towards a relocation. He said that Milan's new stadium will be largely based on the Veltins-Arena and will follow the standards of football stadiums in the United States, Germany and Spain. As opposed to many other stadiums in Italy, Milan's new stadium will likely be used for football only, having no athletics track. The new stadium's naming rights will be probably sold to a sponsor, similarly to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.^[27] It remains to be seen if this plan will proceed or if this is just a ploy to force the owners (Comune di Milano) to sell the stadium to Milan for a nominal fee so as to proceed with extensive renovations. The possibility of Internazionale vacating San Siro may affect proceedings.

Supporters and rivalries

Milan is one of the best supported football clubs in Italy, according to research conducted by Italian newspaper La Repubblica.^[28] Historically, Milan was supported by the city's working-class and trade unionists,^[29] a section of whom were migrants from Southern Italy. On the other hand, crosstown rivals Internazionale were mainly supported by the more prosperous and typically Milanese middle-class.^[29] One of the oldest ultras groups in all of Italian football, Fossa dei Leoni, originated in Milan.^[30] Currently, the main ultras group within the support base is Brigate Rossonere.^[30] Politically, Milan ultras have never had any particular preference,^[30] but the media traditionally associated them with the left-wing,^[31] until recently, when Berlusconi's presidency somewhat altered that view.^[32]

According to a study from 2010, Milan is the most supported Italian team in Europe and seventh overall, with over 18.4 million fans.^[12]

Genoa fans consider Milan a hated rival after Genoa fan, Vincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death by a Milan supporter in January 1995.^[33] However, Milan's main rivalry is with neighbor club, Internazionale; both clubs meet in the widely anticipated Derby della Madonnina twice every Serie A season. The name of the derby refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose statue atop the Milan Cathedral is one of the city's main attractions. The match usually creates a lively atmosphere, with numerous (often humorous or offensive) banners unfolded before the start of the game. Flares are commonly present and contribute to the spectacle but they have occasionally led to problems, including the abandonment of the second leg of the 2004–05 Champions League quarterfinal match between Milan and Inter on 12 April 2005, after a flare thrown from the crowd by an Inter supporter struck Milan keeper Dida on the shoulder.^[34]

Players

First team squad

As of 2 September 2011.^[35]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Co-ownership

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Youth team squad

Notable players

Retired numbers

* Might be restored for one of his two sons, should either of them play professionally for the club.

Current coaching staff

As of 16 July 2011.^[4]

Presidents and managers

Presidential history

Milan has had numerous presidents over the course of its history, some of whom have been owners of the club while others have been honorary presidents. Here is a complete list of them.^[65]

Managerial history

Below is a list of Milan coaches from 1900 until the present day.^[66]

Honors

Milan is one of the most successful clubs in Italy, having won a total of 30 trophies. Together with Boca Juniors,^[67] Milan is the most successful club in the world in terms of international competitions won, with a record of 14 European trophies and four World titles. Milan has earned the right to place a star on its jersey in recognition of the fact that it has won at least ten scudetti. In addition, the club is permanently allowed to display a multiple-winner badge on its shirt as it has won more than five European Championship Cups.^[68]

Domestic

League

• Italian Football Championship / Serie A (level 1)
  • Winners (18): 1901, 1906, 1907, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2010–11
  • Runners-up (16): 1902, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1989–90, 1990–91, 2004–05

• Serie B (level 2)
  • Winners (2): 1980–81, 1982–83

Cups

• Coppa Italia
  • Winners (5): 1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77, 2002–03
  • Runners-up (7): 1941–42, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1997–98

• Supercoppa Italiana
  • Winners (6): 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2011
  • Runners-up (3): 1996, 1999, 2003

European

• UEFA Champions League
  • Winners (7): 1962–63, 1968–69, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2002–03, 2006–07
  • Runners-up (4): 1957–58, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2004–05

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Winners (2): 1967–68, 1972–73
  • Runners-up (1): 1973–74

• UEFA Super Cup
  • Winners (5): 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
  • Runners-up (2): 1973, 1993

Worldwide

• Intercontinental Cup
  • Winners (3): 1969, 1989, 1990
  • Runners-up (4): 1963, 1993, 1994, 2003

• FIFA Club World Cup
  • Winners (1): 2007

Club statistics and records

Paolo Maldini holds the records for both total appearances and Serie A appearances for Milan, with 902 official games played in total and 647 in Serie A (as of 31 May 2009, not including playoff matches),^[69] the latter being an all time Serie A record.^[70]

Swede forward Gunnar Nordahl scored 38 goals in the 1950–51 season, 35 of which were in Serie A, setting an Italian football and club record. He went on to become Milan's all time top goalscorer, scoring 221 goals for the club in 268 games.^[71] He is followed in second place by Andriy Shevchenko with 175 goals in 322 games, and Gianni Rivera in third place, who has scored 164 goals in 658 games. Rivera is also Milan's youngest ever goalscorer, scoring in a league match against Juventus at just 17 years.

Legendary tactician Nereo Rocco, the first proponent of catenaccio in the country, was Milan's longest serving head coach, sitting on the bench for over 9 years (in two spells) in the 1960s and early 1970s, winning the club's first European Cup triumphs. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who purchased the club in 1986, is Milan's longest serving president (23 years, due to a two-year vacancy between 2004-2006), as well as the most successful president of any football team in the world.

The first official match in which Milan participated was in the Third Federal Football Championship, the predecessor of Serie A, losing 3–0 to Torinese. Milan's biggest ever victory was 13–0 versus Audax Modena, in a league match at the 1914–15 season. Its heaviest defeat was recorded in the league at the 1922–23 season, beaten 0–8 by Bologna.

The club holds the unique record of having gone an entire season without losing a game, during 1991–92. In total, that unbeaten streak lasted 58 games, starting with a 0–0 draw with Parma on 26 May 1991 and coincidentally ending with a 1–0 loss at home to Parma on 21 March 1993. This unbeaten streak is a Serie A record and is the third longest unbeaten run in top flight European football. It comes in behind Steaua Bucureşti's record of 104 unbeaten games and Celtic's 68 game unbeaten run.^[72][73]

Along with Boca Juniors, Milan won more FIFA recognized international club titles than any other club in the world.^[74]

The sale of Kaká to Real Madrid in 2009, broke the 8-year-old world football transfer record held by Zinedine Zidane, costing the Spanish club £56 million.^[75] However, that record lasted for less than a month, broken by Cristiano Ronaldo's £80 million transfer. This record, however, is in terms of nominal British pound rates, not adjusted to inflation or the real value in Euro, the currency used in Italy and Spain.

A.C. Milan as a company

Milan is a subsidiary of Fininvest Group since 1986. The office of club president has been vacant since May 8, 2008, following a new Italian law that forbids the country's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to have other managing roles in private companies or clubs.^[76] The vice president and CEO of the company is Adriano Galliani.

According to The Football Money League published by consultants Deloitte, in the 2005–06 season, Milan was the fifth highest earning football club in the world with an estimated revenue of €233.7 million.^[77] The club is also ranked as the sixth wealthiest football club in the world by Forbes magazine as of 2011, making it the wealthiest in Italian football.^[13]

Fly Emirates is the current main sponsor for Milan's shirt starting for the 2010–11 season and lasting 5 years,^[78] after 4 years with Austrian online betting company bwin.com as the sponsor.

Previously, the German car manufacturer Opel had sponsored Milan for 12 seasons. For most of them, Opel was displayed on the front of the shirt, but in the 2003–04 and the 2005–06 seasons respectively, Meriva and Zafira (two cars from their range) were displayed.

The current shirts are supplied by German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, whose deal runs to the end of the 2017–18 season.^[79] The deal makes Adidas the official manufacturer of all kits, training equipment and replica outfits. Prior to Adidas, the Italian sports company Lotto produced Milan's sportswear.

On 14 January 2008, Milan and Adidas renewed the sponsorship contract until 30 June 2018. According to the new contract, Adidas will be responsible for 3 separate areas of sponsorship; the sponsorship on the shirt, the merchandising and the distribution of all non-football related Milan products.^[80]

AC Milan Spa. made an aggregate net loss in recent year, was one of the largest among the Italian clubs, which: 2005, net loss of €4,582,000;^[81] 2006, a net income of €2,477,791 (contributed by the sales of Shevchenko);^[81] 2007, a net loss of €31,978,699;^[82] 2008, a net loss of €76,990,913;^[83] 2009, a net loss of €18,948,018 (contributed by the sales of Kaká)^[84] and most recently a net loss of €64,803,893.^[85]

AC Milan had re-capitalization of €25 million in 2007 financial year; €50 million in 2008; a loan of €2.34 million from Fininvest was converted to shares capital in 2009 and €45,068,018 in 2010 (€20.894 million of the capital increase was converted from shareholder loan). However, the group has had negative equity at the end of each fiscal year since 2006. The balance was €40.768 million in 2006, €47.483 million in 2007, €64.482 million in 2008, €71.978 million in 2009 and €96.693 million in 2010.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Superleague Formula

Milan has a team in the new Superleague Formula race car series where teams are sponsored by football clubs. Robert Doornbos, formerly driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in the Formula One World Championship, drove for Milan in 2008.^[86] Doornbos won his first race for the team at Nürburgring, Germany. Giorgio Pantano is driving for Milan in the 2009 season and he has also won races for the team.^[87]

See also

Club related topics

• Fossa dei Leoni
• Derby della Madonnina
• Milanello

Historical information

• Football in Italy
• Timeline of football
• Italian cultural icons

Lists

• List of Italian football champions
• List of world club champions
• List of Italian club competition winners
• UEFA Champions League finals
• List of UEFA club competition winners
• List of confederation and inter-confederation club competition winners

Records and recognitions

• Italian football competition records
• European Cup and Champions League records and statistics
• UEFA club competition records
• IFFHS Best European Clubs of the 20th Century

Economic rankings

• Deloitte's list of the highest earning football clubs in the world
• Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs in the world

References

External links

• Official website (Italian) (English) (Spanish) (Portuguese) (Chinese) (Japanese) (Arabic) (Indonesian)