The first headquarters were
established at the 'Fiaschetteria Toscana' on Via Berchet in Milan, back in
1899. From that moment on the glorious history of Milan was born as the
club went on to write its name in football's record books to become, especially
over the last 15 years, one of the most famous and successful teams in the
world.
The Rossoneri history is studded with legendary names of men who have made a
major contribution to the club's development, be they presidents, coaches or
players. The first president was a British expatriate, Alfred Edwards,
who oversaw the club's first title - a mere two years after its foundation. The
president with the most victories is Silvio Berlusconi who has taken
Milan to the pinnacle of the world game since taking control in 1986.
A great team needs a great coach and Milan have certainly had their fair share
of the richest talent around. The likes of Gipo Viani, Nereo Rocco and Nils
Liedholm were the early masters and they were followed by Arrigo Sacchi and
Fabio Capello who took tactics and team strategy to a new level, which heralded
much of what we can term as the modern approach to the game. Along the way,
each and everyone of them also made sure their teams played spectacular
football.
The ushering in of the Berlusconi era first saw Sacchi and then Capello
win numerous trophies. Sacchi won back to back European Cups with a team
considered to have been one of the greatest teams in history, also claiming a
Serie A title, two Intercontinental and European Super Cups. Capello
followed that with four league titles, one European Cup and one European Super
Cup. Alberto Zaccheroni kept the rich tradition going as he led the team to a
league title in his first year before Fatih Terim took over for a short
time and then passed the reins on to Carlo Ancelotti whose management
skills have brought Milan back to top spot in Italy and throughout Europe.
1899/1929
On December 16, 1899 Milan
Foot-Ball and Cricket Club was officially formed, but the first time
Milan's name appeared publicly was on Monday, December 18 in an article by the
Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. The original headquarters were initially in the
Fiaschetteria Toscana in Via Berchet in Milan and President Alfred
Ormonde Edwards enrolled the team in the Italian Football Federation the
following January.
The team played just one game during their first season, against Torino, and
despite a defeat Milan lifted their first Trophy, the 'King's Medal',
presented by King Umberto I.
In 1900/01, Milan won their first national title and their second
King's Medal, which they went on to win again the following season. Over
the years, Kiplin's team had widespread success and Milan became the most
popular team in the Lombardy region, winning the prestigious 'Palla Dapples'
for three successive seasons (1904/05 - 1905/06 - 1906/07), even though they
failed to make in-roads in the Championship: the second title failed to
arrive until the 1905/06 season and the third was won the following
year.
The leading player was Louis Van Hege, a great goalscorer with an
extraordinary average of 1.1 goals per game. In the 1914/15 season, the
Championship was halted before the end of the year due to the outbreak of World
War I, and it only started again in 1919. After several changes in the
management structure, Pietro Pirelli was appointed as the new President.
He held this role for almost twenty years, during which time the San Siro
Stadium was inaugurated.
1929/1949
The 1920s are a period of
consolidation for the Rossoneri with the team not making a major breakthrough
on the pitch.
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.
1949/1955
The arrival of Gunnar Nordhal
marked the beginning of a new era for a Rossoneri side that had for too many
years been considered also-rans when it came to the league title. Apart from
Nordhal, who was the league's top-scorer with 35 goals in the 1949/50
campaign, two other Swedes joined the team: Nils Liedholm and Gunnar
Gren. All three, along with goalkeeper Buffon, were the reinforcements the
side needed.
Milan won its fourth title in the 1950/51 season and crowned a
historical year by adding the Latin Cup.
Success kept coming and Nordahl was the league's leading goalscorer for three
consecutive seasons, 1952/53, 1953/54 and 1954/55. In his last season, the
captain fittingly led the Rossoneri to another title.
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.
1955/1960
The 1955/56 season saw
Milan take part in the first edition of the Champions Cup where they
were defeated by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-finals, but did lift
the Latin Cup for the second time when they came out 3-1 winners against
Athletic Bilbao in the final.
With the arrival of new coach Gipo Viani to take charge of the team, Milan
won the league title in the 1956/57 season, but the real surprise of the
campaign was striker Gastone Bean, who scored 17 goals. A year
later, the side became even more competitive when Josè Altafini joined
the team: the Brazilian won over the fans with his skills and speed, and
together with the "old" captain Liedholm, Cesare Maldini
and "Pepe" Schiaffino, the unforgettable playmaker in
midfield, Milan won the title at the end of an exciting head-to-head
with Fiorentina.
Schiaffino, one of the few players who deserves the title of true champion,
played out his final season in a Milan side that failed to set the campaign
alight, but at least the Rossoneri overcame city rivals Inter 5-3 in the spring
derby, with Altafini scoring four goals.
1960/1970
While the previous years had been
marked by foreign players (Gre-No-Li, Schiaffino-Altafini) leading the way,
between 1960 and 1970, Italian players would not only take over as protagonists
in the club's history but come to prominence in the world game and gain fame at
an international level. From the Rome 1960 Olympic side arrived players such as
Trapattoni, Trebbi, Alfieri and Noletti along with a young boy named Gianni
Rivera who played his first game for the club when he was only 17 against
Alessandria, his previous team, in a 5-3 win for Milan. The Rossoneri were in
the title race right down to the wire but two defeats in the last two games,
against Bari and Fiorentina, gave them only a runners-up spot.
When Nils Liedholm left, 'Paròn' Nereo Rocco arrived as the new coach to
herald a new era, marked by success both at home and abroad. The first trophy
was the league title in the 1961-62 season, but the most exciting and
memorable success was the first European Cup. The final against Benfica, played
at Wembley Stadium on May 22, 1963, was a fascinating match: Milan
raised the cup after defeating the Portuguese side 2-1 (Altafini scored twice
for Milan and Eusebio scored for Benfica). The iconic image of captain Cesare
Maldini raising the cup together with Nereo Rocco is still imprinted in the
memory of all Rossoneri supporters.
Milan were unable to repeat their success in the Intercontinental Cup, where
Milan lost the decisive match 1-0 at the Maracanà Stadium against Santos. At
the end of the season, president Andrea Rizzoli left the club after nine years
of great successes including four league titles, one Latin Cup and the prestigious
European Cup. He is remembered not only for his sporting achievements, but
also for establishing the training centre of Milanello which would
become an important asset down through the years.
After a number of disappointing seasons where the team played well below their
potential, Milan returned to the top of the table in the 1967-68 season,
winning their ninth league title and the prestige of the club grew further with
the victory of the European Cup Winners' Cup, the first in Milan's history. Having
been crowned champions meant a return to the European Cup the following
season and the Rivera-Prati partnership turned on the style in the final at
the Bernabeu stadium where they defeated Dutch side Ajax, which included a
young Johan Cruijff, 4-1. Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini had
already earned the nickname 'The Black Spider' following his exploits in
keeping Manchester United at bay in the semi-final. Milan were also finally
crowned World Champions after a 3-0 win at the San Siro was followed by
a 2-0 defeat at the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires against
Estudiantes. The class and style of Gianni Rivera earned the midfield playmaker
the Golden Ball for the European Footballer of the Year in 1969, earning
this wonderful tribute: 'in a barren world of football, Rivera is the
only one to possess a sense of poetry.'
1970/1985
One of the darkest periods of
Milan's history that left the club with little to celebrate. The only bright
spot came when the team were bestowed the honour of wearing 'the Star'
on their jerseys after winning a 10th league title, in 1979. The
team also lifted the Italian Cup on three occasions along with one European
Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Italian champions were coached by Nils Liedholm, who gave a debut to
a young player who would go on to captain the side and become one of the best
defenders in the world: Franco Baresi. The great Franco played his first
competitive game for Milan on April 23, 1978 in a 2-1 victory at Verona.
These years also saw numerous coaches come and go and the retirement of the
legendary midfield general Gianni Rivera who moved on to take a position
as club vice-president.
The first eight years of the 1980s saw a decline in the previous high
standards, with the team playing two seasons in Serie B. However, it was not
all bad news as Paolo Maldini stepped onto the football stage when he
made his debut on January 20, 1985 in a 1-1 draw at Udinese. Paolo, of
course, would go on to follow in Baresi's footsteps and captain the side to
success both at home and abroad.
1985/2007
After achieving success in
previous seasons, Nils Liedholm was reinstated as coach. However,
results did not improve in either the league or in cup competitions. The club
had arrived at a point where a major overhaul was required and on March 24,
1986, Silvio Berlusconi was named Milan's 21st president.
The new president decided to radically reinforce the team and made the decision
to move into the transfer market. In the 1986/78 season, the likes of Roberto
Donadoni, Dario Bonetti, Giuseppe Galderisi, Daniele Massaro and Giovanni Galli
were signed to join English stars Mark Hateley and Ray Wilkins.
It would take the new arrivals time to gel but Milan managed to qualify for the
UEFA Cup thanks to a play-off win over Sampdoria, with Massaro scoring the only
goal of the game in extra-time.
The 1978/89 season saw the arrival of Arrigo Sacchi. The new coach was
an exponent of zonal marking, total football, along with pressure and speed on
opponents when they had possession. Along with the arrival of Dutch stars Marco
Van Basten and Ruud Gullit, the team would enter a new and exciting
era that would transform the game not only in Italy but throughout the world.
Youth team player Alessandro Costacurta was also promoted to the
first-team squad and Milan got down to turning the season into one of those
incredible moments. Despite some adverse off-field penalties, including losing
a match 2-0 against Roma due to a sporting arbitration decision, the team
fought-back and went head-to-head with Diego Maradona's Napoli at the top of
the table. A 3-2 win at Napoli's San Paolo stadium on May 18, 1988 gave
Milan its 11th league title and the first of the Berlusconi era.
The Dutch pair of Gullit and Van Basten were joined by fellow-countryman, Frank
Rijkaard to form another new trio from the same country much as Gunnar
Nordhal, Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Gren - the 'Gre-No-Li' - had done back in the
1950s. From that point on, it was success after success. In the 1988/89 season,
Milan ruled Europe, lifting the Champions Cup after knocking out Vitocha, Red
Star Belgrade, Werder Brema and then Real Madrid in the semi-finals to reach
the final against Steaua Bucarest. Over 100,000 spectators filled Barcelona's
Nou Camp stadium to watch Milan run out 4-0 winners. With Sacchi in charge, the
team won a league title, two Champions Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, two
European Super Cups and one Italian League Super Cup.
Former Milan midfielder Fabio Capello replaced Sacchi at the start of
the 1992/93 season but the team continued to dominate both at home and
abroad, winning four league titles (three consecutively), three
Italian League Super Cups, one Champions Cup (won in the unforgettable
final against favourites Barcelona) and one European Super Cup.
The period between 1986 and 1996 was without a doubt the most prolific period,
not only in terms of the number of trophies won, but in the excellent
performances and exciting style of play. "The Immortals" and
"The Invincibles", as they were known, took the game to new heights
but the late '90s were not as positive as the beginning of the decade had been.
The club alternated between a succession of coaches (Tabarez, then Sacchi and
Capello again) but with the arrival of Alberto Zaccheroni in 1999, Milan
won its 16th league title in the same season as the club's centenary
celebrations.
The period between 1986 and 1996 was without a doubt the most prolific period,
not only in terms of the number of trophies won, but in the excellent
performances and exciting style of play. "The Immortals" and
"The Invincibles", as they were known, took the game to new heights
but the late '90s were not as positive as the beginning of the decade had been.
The club alternated between a succession of coaches (Tabarez, then Sacchi and
Capello again) but with the arrival of Alberto Zaccheroni in 1999, Milan won
its 16th league title in the same season as the club's centenary celebrations.
The rest of Milan's history takes us up until the present period, with Carlo
Ancelotti taking over from Fatih Terim, and coincides with the team winning
the Champions League in 2003 when they defeated Italian rivals Juventus
in the final. Milan also lifted the Italian Cup and the European
Super Cup that same year.
The league title returned to the club's Via Turati headquarters at the end of
the 2003/04 season for what was the 17th time and the team started the
following season by winning the Italian League Super Cup on August 21.
However, the 2004/05 season was to leave a bitter taste in the mouth, and
despite some excellent performances, the team was unable to attain the heights
of the previous campaign. The 2006/2007 season instead was one of excellent
work in terms of effort, courage and success on the pitch. Milan were given
little chance following the penalisation handed out by the sporting judges at
the start of the season but the players and coaching staff 'pulled up their
sleeves' to turn events around in an amazing way. The players were called back
early from their summer holidays, with some of them having just won the World
Cup. The squad gathered at Milanello, united and determined, and they qualified
for the group phase of the Champions League thanks to a two-legged win over Red
Star Belgrade in the preliminary round. Milan also started well in the league
but paid for their lack of pre-season preparation as the year wore on. However,
some warm-weather training in Malta during the winter break revitalised the
team. Carlo Ancelotti's players were in excellent form going into the final
stages of the season, as they centred their objectives on fourth place in the
league and the Champions League. With fourth place secured, the final in
Athens confirmed the strength of character of the team as it overcame the
injustice, envy and misfortune it was forced to endure.
One of the last conquered trophies 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. However, another important appointment is
scheduled for the Rossoneri in the 2007/2008 season: the difficult trip to
Japan to win the FIFA Club World Cup, the most prestigious intercontinental
trophy a Club can long for. Milan left Italy to Yokohama ready to face
this nth challenge with one more motivation: winning the trophy would mean
becoming the most successful Club in the world with the highest number of
international trophies conquered and therefore beating Argentine Boca Juniors.
After winning the semi-final against Urawa Red Diamonds Ancelotti’s men started
concentrated and determined the final tie against Boca. The “world derby” was
staged: the Rossoneri’s performance was practically perfect, decisively spectacular
and the final result, 4-2 for them, crowned Milan as the most successful
Club in the world. The city of Milan and all Milan’s fans celebrated
together with the players this prestigious goal achieved thanks to the strength
of a fantastic group capable of offering very special moments.
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.
Following the departure of Leonardo, the Rossoneri were taken over by coach Massimiliano
Allegri, who for the 2010/2011 season had an all-star team to rely on
thanks to new signings Ibrahimovic and Robinho in August 2010 and Cassano, Van
Bommel and Emanuelson in January 2011. With these new faces reinforcing the
squad, the coach took Milan to the club's 18th Italian League title and 6th
Italian Super Cup.
