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The History Of AC Milan
Basic Facts:
Founded: 1899
Country: Itay
City: Milan
Stadium: Campo di Viale Lombardia (1920-1926)
San Siro (1926-)
Main trophies:
19 Scudetti
5 Coppe Italia
7 Supercoppe Italiane
7 Champions League
5 Supercoppe Europee
2 Coppe delle Coppe
3 Coppe Intercontinentali
1 FIFA Club World Cup.
History
AC Milan (Associazione Calcio) was founded by two English expatriates, Herbert Kilpin and Alfred Edwards on December 13th, 1899. At this time the club was named Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club due to the club being partly a football team as well as a cricket team. Later, in 1919 the club rebranded and changed its name to Milan FC, as football became the predominant sport in the club.
It didn’t take long for the club to take over the Italian scene, as only two years later (1921) the club won their first Scudetto (The Italian Serie A Championship title). Unfortunately, after this impressive start of the Italian club, Milan went more than 40 years without winning any titles. Only in 1951, with the famous Swedish trio, Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl (still the club's top goalscorer with 221 goals), and Nils Liedholm. The following 20 years were much easier for the Italian powerhouse, impressively winning seven more Scudettos, two European Cups (the European Cup victory in 1963 was the first for an Italian team in the competition), and two Champions leauge, as well as four Coppa Italia trophies.
The Greatest Team In History
Berlusconi, a shareholder in Milan, symbolized the club’s return to their paths of glory. Driven by Arrigo Sacchi, the club became what is known today, as one of the most traditional and greatest clubs in the world. Under the manager’s control, the club won their twelfth Scudetto in 1988 and two European Cups, the two years after. The performance in the 1988–89 season was especially outstanding, as they defeated Real Madrid 5-0 in the semifinals and Steaua București 4-0 in the UEFA championship game. The best football team of all time is considered to be the majestic Milan squad, which was marked by the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, and Marco Van Basten. In addition to the abundance of skill on the pitch, Sacchi's zonal marking system also contributed to the game's success.
The club’s dominance continued in the 90s, as Fabio Capello (their new coach) brought a more defensive approach to the field. This period was marked by “Gli Invincibili” (a period where Milan went 58 matches unbeaten, between 1991-92) adding five more Scudettos to its collection and winning the Champions League with a stunning 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the championship match. The Dutch stars were gone, but they were replaced by other stars like Marcel Desailly, Dejan Savievi, and Zvonimir Boban.
New Century
The rise of their arch-rivals, Inter Milan was tough to see for the Club and, unfortunately, are now less successful in this new century. Although, the tradition never left Milan and still with an overall unenthusiastic performance the club still managed to win two more Scudettos, two Champions Leagues, and their fifth Coppa Italia title. The Derby di Milano or Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter is frequently a tough match. The statistics are very close between the two teams and since February 5th, 2023, Milan leads ahead with 115 wins and 465 goals scored, only 4 wins and 15 goals more than their archrivals. Some of the most recent prominent players are Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Kaká, Alessandro Nesta, and Andriy Shevchenko.