AC Milan facts for kids
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| Full name | Associazione Calcio Milan S.p.A. | |||
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| Nickname(s) | I Rossoneri (The Red and Blacks) Il Diavolo (The Devil) |
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| Founded | 13 December 1899, as Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club | |||
| Ground | San Siro | |||
| Capacity | 75,817 (limited capacity) 80,018 (maximum) |
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| Owner | RedBird Capital Partners (99.93%) Private shareholders (0.07%) |
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| Chairman | Paolo Scaroni | |||
| Head coach | Paulo Fonseca | |||
| League | Serie A | |||
| 2018–19 | Serie A, 5th of 20 | |||
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AC Milan is a famous Italian professional football club from Milan, Lombardy. It was founded in 1899 and plays in the Serie A, which is the top football league in Italy.
Milan plays its home games at the San Siro stadium, which it shares with its big rival, Inter Milan. This stadium is the largest in Italian football, holding over 75,000 fans! The matches between AC Milan and Inter Milan are known as the Derby della Madonnina, and they are some of the most exciting games in football.
AC Milan has almost always played in Serie A, except for two seasons in the early 1980s. The club became one of Europe's most successful teams during Silvio Berlusconi's 31 years as president. During this time, Milan won 29 trophies, including many Serie A titles and UEFA Champions League titles. In the 1991–92 season, they made history by winning the Serie A title without losing a single game! Many famous players have played for Milan, including Ballon d'Or winners. In 1988, three Milan players – Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard – were the top three players for the Ballon d'Or award, which was a first!
At home in Italy, Milan has won 19 league titles, 5 Coppa Italia titles, and 7 Supercoppa Italiana titles. In international competitions, Milan is Italy's most successful club. They have won the European Cup/Champions League seven times, which is the second-highest number of wins in that competition, only behind Real Madrid. They have also won five UEFA Super Cups, two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, two Latin Cups (a shared record), three Intercontinental Cups (a shared record), and one FIFA Club World Cup.
Milan is one of the richest football clubs in Italy and worldwide.
Contents
History of AC Milan
Starting Out and Early Wins (1899–1950)
AC Milan was started in 1899 by an English person named Herbert Kilpin. It was first called Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club. The club says it was founded on December 16th, but it might have been a few days earlier.
Because of its English roots, the club kept the English spelling of "Milan" instead of the Italian "Milano". Milan won its first Italian championship in 1901. They won two more titles in 1906 and 1907. In its early years, the club won several other important trophies.
In 1908, some disagreements about signing foreign players caused a split, leading to the creation of another Milan team, F.C. Internazionale. After this, Milan didn't win another major Italian title until the 1950–51 season.
Back to Winning and European Success (1950–1970)
The 1950s saw Milan become a top team in Italian football again. They had a famous Swedish trio of players: Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl, and Nils Liedholm. Milan won the league title (Scudetto) in 1951, 1955, 1957, and 1959. This decade also brought Milan's first European trophies, with wins in the 1951 and 1956 Latin Cup. Milan was also the first Italian club to play in the new European Cup in the 1955–56 season. They reached the final two years later, but lost to Real Madrid.
The 1960s started with the arrival of Gianni Rivera in 1960, who stayed with the club for 19 seasons. In 1961, Nereo Rocco became the new coach. Under him, Milan immediately won a league title in 1961–62. The next season, they won their first European Cup by beating Benfica in the final. They won it again in 1969, beating Ajax 4–1 in the final. That same year, they also won the Intercontinental Cup. During this time, Milan also won their ninth league title, their first Coppa Italia in 1967, and two European Cup Winners' Cups in 1967–68 and 1972–73.
The 10th League Title and a Tough Period (1970–1986)
In the 1970s, Milan was trying to win its 10th Serie A title, which would allow them to put a special star on their jersey. For three years in a row (1971, 1972, and 1973), Milan finished second in the league. Finally, they achieved their goal in 1979. That year, Gianni Rivera retired, and Franco Baresi began his long career with the club.
After this success, the team went through a difficult time. In 1980, the club was involved in a betting scandal (called the Totonero scandal). As a result, Milan was sent down to Serie B (the second division) for the first time. They quickly returned to Serie A by winning the 1980–81 Serie B title. However, they were relegated again a year later in 1981–82. In 1983, Milan won the Serie B title for the second time in three seasons, returning to Serie A for good.
Berlusconi Takes Over and International Glory (1986–2012)
On February 20, 1986, businessman Silvio Berlusconi bought the club and saved it from financial trouble. He invested a lot of money, hired a promising manager named Arrigo Sacchi, and signed amazing Dutch players like Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, and Frank Rijkaard. These Dutch stars, along with Italian players like Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, made the team very strong.
Under Sacchi, Milan won its first league title in nine years in the 1987–88 season. The next year, they won their first European Cup in two decades, beating Steaua București 4–0 in the final. Milan won the title again with a 1–0 win over Benfica a year later. They were the last team to win back-to-back European Cups until Real Madrid did it in 2017. The Milan team from 1988–1990 was so good that the Italian media called them the "Immortals."
When Sacchi left Milan in 1991, former player Fabio Capello took over. His team won three league titles in a row between 1992 and 1994. During this time, they had an amazing 58-match unbeaten run in Serie A, earning them the nickname "the Invincibles." They also reached the UEFA Champions League final three times in a row (1993, 1994, 1995). After losing in 1993, Capello's team had one of Milan's most famous wins: a 4–0 victory over Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final. Capello's team won another league title in 1995–96 before he left. In 1998–99, Milan won its 16th league title during the club's 100th anniversary season.
Milan's next successful period came under another former player, Carlo Ancelotti. He became manager in November 2001 and led Milan to the 2003 Champions League final, where they beat Juventus on penalties to win their sixth European Cup. The team then won the league title in 2003–04. They reached the 2005 Champions League final, but lost to Liverpool on penalties, even though they were leading 3–0 at halftime. Two years later, the two teams met again in the 2007 Champions League final, and Milan won 2–1, taking their seventh title. In December 2007, the team won its first FIFA Club World Cup. In 2009, Ancelotti left the club.
During this time, the club was involved in the Calciopoli scandal, where some teams were accused of fixing matches. Milan was initially punished with a 15-point deduction and banned from the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League. However, after an appeal, the penalty was reduced to eight points, allowing them to play in the Champions League.
After the Calciopoli scandal, local rivals Internazionale won many league titles. But with a strong team including players like Zlatan Ibrahimović, Milan won the league title again in the 2010–11 Serie A season. This was their first league title since 2004 and their 18th overall.
Changes in Ownership and a Dip in Form (2012–2019)
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After winning their 18th league title, the club's performance dropped. Milan didn't qualify for European competitions for a few years. The only trophy they won during this period was the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana, beating Juventus.
In 2017, a Chinese company called Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux became the new owner of the club. However, the owner, Li Yonghong, had financial problems and couldn't repay a loan from an American company called Elliott Management Corporation. Because of this, Elliott Management Corporation took control of the club in July 2018.
In November 2017, manager Vincenzo Montella was replaced by former player Gennaro Gattuso. Milan qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, but UEFA initially banned them from the competition due to rules about financial fair play. Milan appealed, and the ban was overturned.
In Gattuso's first full season, Milan almost qualified for the Champions League, missing out by just one point. Gattuso then resigned. In June 2019, Milan was again excluded from the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League for breaking financial fair play rules.
Recent History (2019–Present)
After four months, manager Marco Giampaolo was replaced by Stefano Pioli. After the league restarted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Milan went on a 10-match unbeaten streak. This led to Pioli's contract being extended. In his first full season, Pioli led Milan to a second-place finish in the league, their highest since 2012. This meant Milan qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, their first appearance in seven years.
Milan won their 19th Italian championship title on the very last day of the 2021–22 season, with a club-record 86 points. It was their first league title since 2011. Key players like Rafael Leão (most valuable player) and Mike Maignan (best goalkeeper) received awards, and Pioli was named coach of the season. In June 2022, RedBird Capital Partners bought AC Milan for $1.3 billion, with Elliott Management Corporation keeping a small share. After five seasons, Pioli left the club at the end of the 2023–24 season, and Paulo Fonseca became the new manager.
Colours and Badge
Red and black have always been AC Milan's colours. The club's founder, Herbert Kilpin, chose them to show the players' passion (red) and to make opponents fear the team (black). The team's popular nickname, Rossoneri, means "the red & blacks" in Italian, referring to their striped jerseys.
Another nickname for the club is the Devil. A red devil was once used as Milan's logo. A special Golden Star for Sport Excellence is placed next to the logo. In Italian football, a star is added above the logo after a club wins 10 league titles. Milan earned its star in 1979.
The official Milan logos have always featured the Flag of Milan (which is the flag of Saint Ambrose) next to red and black stripes. The current badge shows the club colours and the flag of the city of Milan, with "ACM" at the top and the founding year (1899) at the bottom. For many years, the club didn't have a logo on its match kits, except for the devil's logo in the early 1980s. The club badge first appeared on match kits in the 1995–96 season and has stayed mostly the same since then.
Since it started, AC Milan's home kit has been a red and black striped shirt, with white shorts and black socks. The design has changed a little over the years, but the main look has stayed the same. In the early 1900s, the stripes were thin. From the 1910s to the late 1950s, the stripes became wider. The 1960s saw a return to thin stripes, which lasted until 1985–86. A cool change happened between 1979–80 and 1980–81: AC Milan was the first Italian club to put players' last names above their numbers on the shirts!
From the 1986–87 season, under new owner Silvio Berlusconi, the stripes became medium-sized again, and the socks changed to white, matching the shorts. Berlusconi wanted the kit to look more elegant and to stand out better on television. This style continued until 1998. Since the 1998–99 season, the kit designs have changed every year.
Milan's away kit has always been completely white, sometimes with red and black stripes. Fans and the club see the white away kit as lucky in Champions League finals. Milan has won six out of eight finals while wearing all white, but only one out of three in their home kit. The third kit, which is rarely used, changes yearly and is usually black with red details.
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First logo of the "Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club", used from 1899 to 1916.
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Milan logo used between 1936 and 1945.
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Milan logo used between 1946 and 1979, with few variations over the years.
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Milan logo used between 1986 and 1998.
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Milan logo used since 1998.
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Kit Suppliers and Shirt Sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | ||||||||||||||||
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| Brand | Company | Back | Sleeve | |||||||||||||||
| 1978–80 | Adidas | None | None | |||||||||||||||
| 1980–82 | Linea Milan | Pooh Jeans | Italiana Manifatture | |||||||||||||||
| 1982–83 | Ennerre | Hitachi | Hitachi Europe | |||||||||||||||
| 1983–84 | Olio Cuore | |||||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Rolly Go | Oscar Mondadori | Arnoldo Mondadori Editore | |||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Gianni Rivera | Fotorex U-Bix | Olivetti | |||||||||||||||
| 1986–87 | Kappa | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987–90 | Mediolanum | |||||||||||||||||
| 1990–92 | Adidas | |||||||||||||||||
| 1992–93 | Motta | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–94 | Lotto | |||||||||||||||||
| 1994–98 | Opel | General Motors | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–06 | Adidas | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–10 | Bwin | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–18 | Emirates | The Emirates Group | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–21 | Puma | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021–23 | Wefox | BitMEX | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | MSC Cruises | |||||||||||||||||
Anthem and Mascot
AC Milan's official song is "AC Milan Anthem – Milan Milan", which first came out in 1988. It was created by Tony Renis and Massimo Guantini.
The club's official mascot is "Milanello", a red devil wearing the AC Milan kit and holding a ball. It was designed by Warner Bros..
Stadiums
Milan played its first games at the Trotter pitch, where the Milan Central railway station is now. It wasn't a proper stadium. In 1903, Milan moved to the Acquabella pitch, and then to Porta Monforte pitch in 1906, which had a ticket office and wooden stands. Later, they played at the Velodromo Sempione (1914–1920) and the Viale Lombardia stadium (1920–1926), which was a more modern place.
In 1926, Milan moved to the stadium they still use today: The San Siro. The stadium is officially called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, named after a famous player who played for both Milan and Internazionale. But most people call it "San Siro" after the area where it's located. Piero Pirelli, who was Milan's president at the time, built San Siro with his own money. It took 120 workers about 13 and a half months to build. Milan owned the stadium until 1935, when it was sold to the city. Since 1947, it has been shared with Internazionale.
The first game at the stadium was on September 19, 1926, a friendly match where Milan lost 6–3 to Internazionale. Milan's first league game there was also a loss, 2–1 to Sampierdarenese. The stadium started with a capacity of 35,000 fans and has been updated many times. For the 1990 FIFA World Cup, its capacity was increased to 85,700, with a roof covering all seats. In 2008, the capacity was reduced to 80,018 to meet new rules.
San Siro is designed specifically for football, unlike many other stadiums in Italy that are used for multiple sports. This makes for a fantastic atmosphere during matches, as the stands are very close to the pitch. Fans often use flares, which adds to the excitement but can sometimes cause problems.
In 2005, Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, said the club was thinking about building a new stadium. He mentioned that it would be like the Veltins-Arena in Germany and would only be for football. In 2014, Barbara Berlusconi proposed building a 42,000-seat stadium in Portello, near the club's new headquarters. However, in 2015, Silvio Berlusconi decided not to go ahead with those plans. In 2017, the club said they might stay at San Siro or move to a new stadium to get more fans to games.
On September 27, 2023, chairman Paolo Scaroni announced that the club had proposed building a new 70,000-seat stadium, along with club offices and a museum, in San Donato Milanese, a suburb south of Milan.
Supporters
AC Milan is one of the most popular football clubs in Italy. Historically, Milan was supported by working-class people in the city, who called them casciavid (which means "screwdrivers" in the Milanese dialect). On the other hand, their rivals Inter Milan were mostly supported by wealthier people. The oldest group of passionate fans (ultras) in Italian football, Fossa dei Leoni, started in Milan. Today, the main ultras group is Brigate Rossonere. Milan's ultras don't usually have strong political views, but the media used to link them to the left wing until Berlusconi became president, which changed that idea.
A study from 2010 showed that Milan is the most supported Italian team in Europe and the seventh most supported overall, with over 18.4 million fans. In the 2019–20 season, they had the thirteenth highest average attendance among European football clubs.
Club Rivalries
Milan's biggest rivalry is with its city neighbour, Inter Milan. These two clubs play against each other twice every Serie A season in the exciting Derby della Madonnina. The derby's name comes from the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on top of the Milan Cathedral, which is a famous landmark in the city. The first match between them was in 1908, and Milan won 2–1.
The rivalry was most intense in the 1960s when both clubs were dominating Italian and European football. They won a total of five Serie A titles and four European Cups between them. Famous coaches like Nereo Rocco (for Milan) and Helenio Herrera (for Inter) led the teams. On the field, legendary players like Gianni Rivera and José Altafini for Milan, and Sandro Mazzola and Giacinto Facchetti for Inter, battled it out. These matches always have a lively atmosphere, with fans displaying many banners. Sometimes, flares are used, which adds to the spectacle but has caused problems, like when a Champions League match between Milan and Inter in 2005 had to be stopped because a flare hit Milan's goalkeeper, Dida.
The rivalry with Juventus F.C. is also very important, as they are the two most successful teams in Italy. They often compete for the top spots in Serie A. Key periods of this rivalry include the early 1950s, when they shared seven league titles, and the early 1970s, when Milan lost the league title to Juventus by just one point for two seasons in a row. The 1990s saw both clubs dominate the league, winning eight out of ten titles. In the 2000s, they again fought for league titles, though some of Juventus's wins were later taken away due to the Calciopoli scandal. The only time they played each other in a European final was the 2003 UEFA Champions League final, which Milan won on penalties, earning their sixth Champions League title.
Milan also has rivalries with Genoa, Fiorentina, Atalanta, and Napoli.
Honours
With 31 domestic trophies, Milan is one of the most successful clubs in Italy. They won their first Serie A title in 1901 and their most recent in 2022. When Milan won its tenth league title, it earned the right to put a special star on its jersey.
Milan is the most successful Italian club in international football, with 20 major international trophies (18 from UEFA and FIFA). They are the third most successful club in Europe overall, after Real Madrid and Barcelona. They have won the European Cup/Champions League seven times, which is an Italian record and only beaten by Real Madrid. Their most recent win was in 2007. After winning their fifth European Cup in 1994, the club was allowed to keep the trophy permanently and display a special multiple-winner badge on their shirt. The club also shares the record for two wins in the Latin Cup and three wins in the Intercontinental Cup. In 2007, Milan won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time, completing a rare "treble" of Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup.
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
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| Domestic | Serie A | 19 | 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, 2021–22 |
| Serie B | 2 | 1980–81, 1982–83 | |
| Coppa Italia | 5 | 1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77, 2002–03 | |
| Supercoppa Italiana | 7 | 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2011, 2016 | |
| Continental | European Cup / UEFA Champions League | 7 | 1962–63, 1968–69, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2002–03, 2006–07 |
| European Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 1967–68, 1972–73 | |
| European Super Cup / UEFA Super Cup | 5 | 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 | |
| Latin Cup | 2s | 1951, 1956 | |
| Worldwide | Intercontinental Cup | 3s | 1969, 1989, 1990 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | 1 | 2007 |
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Club Statistics and Records
Paolo Maldini holds the record for the most games played for Milan, with 902 official matches. He also played 647 Serie A games, which is a record for the league.
Swedish forward Gunnar Nordahl scored 38 goals in the 1950–51 season, with 35 in Serie A, setting a club record. He is Milan's all-time top goalscorer, with 221 goals in 268 games. Andriy Shevchenko is second with 175 goals, and Gianni Rivera is third with 164 goals. Rivera is also Milan's youngest ever goalscorer, scoring at just 17 years old.
Legendary coach Nereo Rocco managed Milan for over nine years (in two periods) in the 1960s and early 1970s. He led the club to its first European Cup wins. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was Milan's longest-serving president, for 23 years.
Milan's first official match was in the Third Federal Football Championship, where they lost 3–0 to Torinese. Milan's biggest win ever was 13–0 against Audax Modena in 1914–15. Their heaviest defeat was 0–8 against Bologna in 1922–23.
In the 1991–92 season, Milan became the first team to win the Serie A title without losing a single game. Their unbeaten streak lasted 58 games, from May 26, 1991, to March 21, 1993. This is a Serie A record and the third-longest unbeaten run in top European football.
Since 2007, Milan, along with Boca Juniors, has won more FIFA-recognized international club titles (18) than any other club in the world. They were later overtaken by Al Ahly SC from Egypt.
The sale of Kaká to Real Madrid in 2009 for €67 million (about £56 million) broke the world football transfer record at the time. However, this record was broken less than a month later by Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer.
Players
First-team Squad
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Milan Futuro and Youth Sector
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Out on Loan
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Retired Numbers
| No. | Player | Nationality | Position | Milan debut | Last match | Ref |
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| 3 | Paolo Maldini |  Italy |
Centre back / Left back | 20 January 1985 | 31 May 2009 | |
| 6 | Franco Baresi | Italy |
Sweeper | 23 April 1978 | 1 June 1997 |
Coaching Staff
| Position | Name |
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| Head coach |  Paulo Fonseca |
| Assistant coach | Paulo Ferreira |
| Technical assistant | Tiago Leal |
| Goalkeeping coach |  Tony Roberts |
| António Ferreira |
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| Fitness coaches | Paulo Mourão |
| Filippo Nardi |
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| Video analyst | Nélson Duarte |
| Match analysts | Giorgio Tenca |
| Igor Quaia |
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| Sporting director | Antonio D'Ottavio |
| Technical director/chief scout |  Geoffrey Moncada |
| Academy manager | Vincenzo Vergine |
| Head of medical | Stefano Mazzoni |
Chairmen and Managers
Chairmen History
Milan has had many chairmen throughout its history. Here is a list of them:
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Managerial History
Below is a list of Milan managers from 1900 until today.
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AC Milan as a Company
On April 13, 2017, Milan became part of Rossoneri Sport Investment Luxembourg, which bought 99.9% of AC Milan S.p.A. from Fininvest. Li Yonghong became the new chairman. However, Li Yonghong's company lost its ownership after not repaying a loan to Elliott Management Corporation. Elliott then took control of the club and appointed a new board of directors, with Paolo Scaroni as the new chairman.
According to "The Football Money League" by Deloitte, Milan was the fifth-highest earning football club in the world in the 2005–06 season. However, by the 2013–14 season, they had fallen to twelfth place. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Milan as the eighth-wealthiest football club globally, making it the richest in Italian football at that time.
Emirates has been the main sponsor for Milan's shirts since the 2010–11 season. Before that, the German car company Opel sponsored Milan for 12 seasons.
The current shirts are made by Puma. Before Puma, the German sportswear company Adidas supplied Milan's kits. This deal was supposed to last until 2023, but it ended early in 2018. Before Adidas, the Italian sports company Lotto made Milan's sportswear.
Milan was initially banned from European competitions because they broke UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. However, this ban was lifted after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Milan was given time to fix its financial situation.
Images for kids
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First logo of the "Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club", used from 1899 to 1916
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Milan logo used between 1936 and 1945
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Milan logo used between 1946 and 1979, with few variations over the years
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Milan logo used between 1986 and 1998
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Milan logo used since 1998
See Also
In Spanish: Associazione Calcio Milan para niños
- Milan Lab
- European Club Association
- Dynasties in Italian football
