A.C. Milan
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| Full name | Associazione Calcio Milan SpA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Rossoneri (Red-Blacks) il Diavolo (the Devil) |
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| Founded | December 16, 1899 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | San Siro, Milan (Capacity 85,700) |
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| Chairman |  Silvio Berlusconi |
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| Head Coach | Carlo Ancelotti |
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| League | Serie A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006-07 | Serie A, 4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to by the abbreviation AC Milan or simply Milan, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. The club was founded in 1899 and has since spent most of its history in the top flight of Italian football.
In European and World competitions AC Milan, along with Boca Juniors have won 17 officially recognised international titles, more than any other club in the world. [1] The club have won what is today known as the UEFA Champions League on seven occasions; only Real Madrid have won it more times (9). [2] As far as Italian competitions are concerned, AC Milan are the second most successful club with 17 league titles; only Juventus have won more (27). [3]
Other important titles which Milan have won includes the Intercontinental Cup three times, the European Super Cup five times, th Cup Winners' Cup twice and, in Italy, the Coppa Italia five times as well as five Italian Super Cups. AC Milan is also one of the G-14’s founding members, a group that represents eighteen of the largest and most prestigious European football clubs. [4]
Their home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The ground, which is shared with rivals Internazionale, is the largest in Italian football, with total capacity of 85,700.[5]
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History
- Further information: History of A.C. Milan
The club was founded as a cricket club in 1899 by British expatriates Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin. In honour of its origins, the club has retained the English spelling of its city's name, instead of changing it to the Italian Milano (though it was forced to do it during the fascist regime, like Genoa and Inter); it should be noted that the Italian pronunciation is actually MEE-lahn, even though the English one is the same as in the local dialect and many other dialects of Northern Italy.
In 1980 Milan were involved in the Totonero scandal and were relegated to Serie B as punishment. The scandal was centred on a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches. Milan were allegedly involved in the 2006 Serie A scandal where five teams were accused of fixing matches by selecting favourable referees. Milan were initially punished with a 15 point deduction and banned from the Champions League. An appeal saw their penalty reduced to 8 points and allowed to retain their 2006-07 Champions League participation, where they won the competition.
Players
As of 2 September 2007.[6]
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For all transfers and loans pertaining to AC Milan for the current season, please see; 2007–08 transfers.
Retired numbers
- Main article: Retired numbers in football
3 – Paolo Maldini, left full-back and later centre-back (1985-present) might be restored for either of Maldini's sons [7]
6 – Franco Baresi, sweeper (1977-1997)
Notable players
Presidential history
Milan have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club, others have been honorary presidents, here is a complete list of them.[8]
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Managerial history
- For more information please see; Milan managers
Below is a list of Milan coaches from 1900 when Englishman Herbert Kilpin was put in charge, until the present day.[9]
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Club statistics and records
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For more details on this topic, see A.C. Milan records.
Paolo Maldini presently holds both records for number of total and Serie A appearances for Milan with a total of 837 games played in total, and 600 in the Serie A (as of May 14, 2007, not including playoff matches), the latter being also an all-time Serie A record. Paolo had been quoted that he wants to go on playing for Milan until he reaches his 1000th game,[10] however this is highly unlikely to be possible as he is expected to retire in 2008.[11]
Milan's all time top goalscorer is the Swede, Gunnar Nordahl who in 268 games managed to score 221 goals.[12] Andriy Shevchenko comes in, in second place with 173 goals in 298 games for the club. The highest scoring present squad member is Filippo Inzaghi who has scored 86 goals in 170 games.
The club hold the unique record of having gone a whole season without losing a game during the 1991–92 season. In total that unbeaten streak lasted 58 games, starting with a 0–0 draw with Parma on 26 May 1991 and ironically 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 3rd longest unbeaten run in top flight European football behind Steaua Bucharest record of 104 games unbeaten and Glasgow Celtic who went 68 games unbeaten.[13][14]
Milan are presently rated as the number one team in Europe in line with UEFA Co-Efficient ranking system. This allows Milan to be in the number one pot for all European draws, being first seeds which allows Milan to avoid other highly rated European teams in UEFA competitions.[15]
Colours and badge
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| Milan's current third kit | |||||||||
Throughout the entire history of the club, they have been represented by the colours red and black. The colours were chosen to represent the fiery ardour that is part of the team members (red) and the opponents' fear to challenge the team (black). Due to Milan's striped red and black shirts, they have gained the nickname rossoneri.[16] White shorts and black socks are worn as part of the home kit.
Milan's away strip has always been completely white. The latter is considered by both the fans and the club as their "lucky" strip in Champions League finals, due to the fact that Milan won six finals out of eight in an all white strip (losing only to Ajax in 1995 and Liverpool in 2005), while they only won one out of three in their home strip. The third kit changes yearly and is black with red trim for the current season, but it is rarely used.
For many years, Milan's badge was just that of the flag of Milan; which was originally the flag of Saint Ambrose.[17] Another nickname derived from the clubs' colours is "the Devil", an image of a red devil was used as AC Milan's logo at one point with a Golden Star for Sport Excellence located next to it;[17] the star was awarded to the club when they won 10 league titles. Currently, the badge represents the club colours and the flag of the Comune di Milano, with the acronym ACM at the top and the foundation year (1899) at the bottom.[17]
Stadium
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For more details on this topic, see San Siro.
The team's current stadium is the 85,700 seat San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza after the former player who represented both Milan and Internazionale. The name San Siro is taken from the district where it's located. The stadium is shared with Inter, the other major football club in Milan. The stadium is well known for its fantastic atmosphere due to the closeness of the stands to the pitch. There is the frequent use of flares by the fans which often cause trouble.
On 19 December 2005, AC Milan vice-president and executive director Adriano Galliani announced that the team is seriously working to move out from San Siro. He said that Milan's new stadium will be largely based on the Veltins-Arena and following the standards of football stadiums in the United States, Germany and Spain. It will likely be a stadium for football purposes only (with no athletics track). The new stadium is supposed to be named after a sponsor.[18] It remains to see 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. Rumours have also surfaced of Inter's intention to also build a new stadium which may also affect this decision.[19]
Supporters and rivalries
Milan are the third most supported football club in Italy, with around 16.4% of Italian football fans supporting the club, according to the Doxa Institute-L'Expresso’s research in April 2006.[20] Historically, Milan was supported by the city's working-class and trade unionists,[21] 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.[21]
One of the oldest ultras groups in all of Italian football, Fossa dei Leoni, originated in Milan.[22] Currently the main ultras group is Brigate Rossonere and has been since the mid-1970s.[22] Politically, Milan ultras have never had any particular preference,[22] but the media have traditionally associated them with the left-wing,[23] until recent times under Berlusconi's presidency where they are considered somewhat right-wing.[24]
Genoa fans consider Milan a hated rival after Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo was tragically stabbed to death by a Milan supporter in January of 1995.[25] Milan's main rivalry, though, is with intracity neighbor Inter; 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 match. Flares are commonly present, but they also led to the abandonment of the second leg of the 2004-05 Champions League quarterfinal matchup between Milan and Inter on April 12, 2005, after a flare thrown from the crowd by an Inter supporter struck Milan keeper Dida on the shoulder.[26]
Honours
Milan is one of the most successful clubs in the world, having won a total of 27 trophies in Italy and 17 in international competitions, including a record 14 European trophies. Milan have earned the distinction of being allowed to wear a star on their shirt representing the fact that they have won more than 10 scudetti. Added to this Milan are allowed to wear the UEFA Badge of Honour on their shirt during Champions League matches as they have won more than 5 European Cups.[27]
National titles
Serie A / Italian Football Championship:
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- Winners (2): 1980–81; 1982–83
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- Winners (5): 1988; 1992; 1993; 1994; 2005
- Runners-up (3): 1996; 1999; 2003
International titles
The following titles include only those which are recognised by UEFA and FIFA.
European titles
UEFA Champions League (former European Cup)
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- Winners (1): 1981–82
World-wide titles
World Club Championship (former Intercontinental Cup): [28] (record)
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- Winners (3): 1969; 1989; 1990
- Runners-up (4): 1963; 1993; 1994; 2003
AC Milan as a company
According to The Football Money League published by consultants Deloitte, in the season 2005–06, Milan was the fifth highest earning football club in the world with an estimated revenue of €238.7 million.[29] Currently the club are also ranked as the 5th richest football club in the world by Forbes magazine, making them the richest in Italian football.[30]
The Austrian on-line betting company bwin.com are currently Milan's main shirt sponsors after signing a 4 year deal at the start of the 2006–07 season.[31] Previous to this deal, 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 2007–08 season.[32] 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.
See also
- Football in Italy
- European Cup and Champions League records and statistics
- UEFA Champions League finals
References
- ^ Independiente and Real Madrid (both with 15 titles) are next in terms of official international titles won after Boca and Milan.
- ^ European Champions' Cup. RSSSF.com. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ Campionato Serie A - Albo D'oro. Lega Calcio. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ G-14's members. g14.com. Retrieved on 12 September 2006..
- ^ Factfile. SkySports.com. Retrieved on August, 2007.
- ^ "Team Roster", ACMilan.com, 2 September 2007.
- ^ "Maldini shirt waits for 3G", Channel 4, 2007-05-26. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ "Associazione Calcio Milan", RomanianSoccer.ro, 8 June 2007.
- ^ "Tutti gli allenatori rossoneri", ClubMilan.net, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Maldini sets new Serie A record", BBC.co.uk, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Maldini to play for one more year", CNN.net, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "AC Milan", Channel4.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Milano History and Records", Milanista Olympia, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Unbeaten half-century for Ahly", BBC Sports, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "UEFA Team Ranking 2007", UEFA European Cup Football, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "AC Milan - Sevilla FC", UEFA.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ a b c "AC Milan", WeltFussballArchiv.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "AC Milan considering move to new stadium", People's Daily Online, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "New Inter Stadium On The Books", Goal.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "L'altra metà del pallone: Supporters of football clubs in Italy", L'Expresso, April 2006.
- ^ a b "AC Milan vs. Inter Milan", FootballDerbies.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ a b c "Italian Ultras Scene", View from the Terrace, 29 June 2007.
- ^ "AC Milan", SportsPundit.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "AC Milan", Extra-Football.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Genoa Fans Milan Fans From Sunday Match", ItalyMag.co.uk, 29 June 2007.
- ^ "Milan game ended by crowd trouble", BBC.co.uk, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Top 5 UEFA's Badge of Honour Winners", About.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ Up until 2004, the main FIFA football club competition was the Intercontinental Champions Club' Cup (so called European / South American Cup); since then, it has been the FIFA World Club Championship.
- ^ "Real Madrid stays at the top", Deloitte UK, 8 June 2007.
- ^ "Football Team Valuations", Forbes, 8 June 2007.
- ^ "Betandwin, AC Milan Sign Sponsor Deal", CasinoCityTimes.com, 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Adidas Sign AC Milan and Real Madrid", SportBusiness.com, 25 July 2007.
External links
- ACMilan.com (Italian) / (English) / (Spanish) / (Portuguese) / (Chinese) / (Japanese)
