41 Fun Facts About AC Milan

Which Nottingham-born lace worker co-founded Milan in 1899 and became its first captain?

Herbert Kilpin also chose the club's red and black colours, and his team won the Italian title in 1901.

Which stadium did Milan move into in 1926?

San Siro was built for Milan alone, and Inter moved in as tenants only in 1947.

Milan's stadium is officially named after which player who represented both Milan clubs?

The more familiar name comes from the district in which the stadium stands.

The Derby della Madonnina takes its name from a statue atop which building?

The first derby was played in the final of the 1908 Chiasso Cup in Switzerland, which Milan won 2–1.

Which Milan striker won the Ballon d'Or in 1988, 1989 and 1992?

Marco van Basten played his last game at 28 and officially retired at 30, after a recurring ankle injury defeated years of treatment.

Which former shoe salesman, who never played professionally, coached Milan to back-to-back European Cups?

Arrigo Sacchi won the Scudetto in his first season at Milan, silencing critics who said a coach with no playing career couldn't succeed.

Which coach led Milan to the first unbeaten title in Serie A history, in 1991–92?

Fabio Capello had spent years as a sports executive overseeing ice hockey, baseball, volleyball and rugby before Milan brought him back to coach.

Who holds Milan's record for total appearances, with 902 official games?

Paolo Maldini's number 3 shirt was retired when he stopped playing, with one exception: one of his sons can wear it if he makes Milan's first team.

Which Milan striker won the 2004 Ballon d'Or?

Andriy Shevchenko had scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out that won Milan the 2003 Champions League.

As of 2025, which club had won the European Cup or Champions League more times than Milan?

Real Madrid; Milan's fifth title, in 1994, let it keep the original trophy under the rules of the time.

Milan's first European Cup, in 1963, came after beating which club in the final?

Benfica led through Eusébio before José Altafini's two goals won Milan its first European Cup at Wembley.

Milan's 1969 European Cup win was a 4–1 final victory over which club?

Ajax, with a young Johan Cruyff, were beaten 4–1, yet two years later they won the first of three straight European Cups.

Which catenaccio pioneer coached Milan to its first European Cup?

Nereo Rocco moved to Torino straight after that 1963 triumph, then returned to Milan in 1967 and won the European Cup again in 1969.

Milan's famous 1950s 'Gre-No-Li' trio came from which country?

Sweden's trio had won Olympic gold in London in 1948, and in 1951 they ended Milan's 44-year wait for a league title.

Which former Milan striker and 1995 Ballon d'Or winner later became president of Liberia?

George Weah lost Liberia's 2005 presidential election, then won in 2017 and led the country from 2018 to 2024.

Which betting scandal saw Milan relegated to Serie B for the first time in 1980?

Totonero, named after Italy's illegal betting rings, also saw Milan president Felice Colombo arrested and then banned from football.

Which Milan striker scored both goals in the 2007 Champions League final?

Filippo Inzaghi's first goal came when Andrea Pirlo's free kick deflected off him, and he added a second after the break.

Milan beat which Romanian club 4–0 in the 1989 European Cup final?

It was the club's first European Cup in two decades; Milan retained the trophy a year later.

What nickname did the Italian media give the Milan side of 1988–1990?

The Immortals nearly went out in 1988, trailing Red Star Belgrade with ten men when fog halted the tie, before winning the replay on penalties.

Which club ended Milan's 58-match unbeaten Serie A run in March 1993?

Parma won 1–0 to end the run, yet Milan still went on to retain the Serie A title that season.

Milan beat which club 4–0 in the 1994 Champions League final?

Barcelona lost to a Milan side missing defenders Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta, as Daniele Massaro scored twice.

Which club beat Milan 1–0 in the 1993 Champions League final?

Marseille's win was soon soured when president Bernard Tapie was found to have bribed Valenciennes to lose a French league match.

Milan beat which club on penalties in the 2003 Champions League final?

Juventus struggled without their suspended star Pavel Nedvěd, and Milan won the shoot-out 3–2 at Old Trafford.

Milan led 3–0 at half-time of the 2005 Champions League final but lost to whom?

Liverpool had finished only fifth in England, so UEFA made an exception to let them defend the trophy the next season.

Carlo Ancelotti left Milan in 2009 to manage which club?

Chelsea sacked Carlo Ancelotti straight after the last game of his second season, a year after he had won them the league and FA Cup double.

Whose world transfer record in pounds did Kaká's move for about £56 million break in 2009?

Zinedine Zidane's record fell because Milan needed the money: Kaká said he had wanted to stay, but the financial crisis changed his decision.

What did Milan's founder say the black in the club's red and black colours stood for?

The opponents' fear: the founder promised 'a team of devils', red like fire and black to invoke fear in their rivals.

Which Milan forward was named Serie A's Most Valuable Player in the 2021–22 title season?

Rafael Leão had quit Sporting CP after fans stormed its training ground, and in 2020 the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered him to pay the club €16.5 million.

Which Dutch midfielder completed Milan's famous late-1980s Dutch trio?

Frank Rijkaard spat at West Germany's Rudi Völler during the 1990 World Cup, and the referee sent both players off.

Which club president privately funded construction of Milan's stadium in 1926?

Piero Pirelli built a football-only ground without an athletics track, and in 1935 the city of Milan bought it and later enlarged it.

Which American hedge fund took control of Milan in 2018 after owner Li Yonghong missed a loan payment?

Elliott Management had lent Li the money to buy the club, so his missed instalment handed Milan to the fund.

What major addition did Milan's stadium gain in its 1987–90 rebuild?

A third tier: the stadium was rebuilt in 1987–90 so it could host matches at the 1990 World Cup.

Milan's early working-class fans earned the dialect nickname casciavid, meaning what?

Screwdrivers: the name marked Milan's blue-collar following, while crosstown Inter drew the more prosperous middle class.

Which Milan goalkeeper was struck by a flare thrown by Inter fans in a 2005 Champions League derby?

Dida was hit on the shoulder, so the quarter-final was abandoned with Milan 1–0 up, and UEFA awarded Milan a 3–0 win.

Who is Milan's all-time top goalscorer with 221 goals?

Gunnar Nordahl's move to Milan ended his international career, since his national team then barred professionals, so he missed the 1950 World Cup.

Which member of Milan's 1950s forward trio later coached the club to its tenth league title in 1979?

Nils Liedholm handed a young Franco Baresi his first-team chance on the way to that 1979 title.

Which Brazilian club beat Milan in a play-off at the Maracanã to win the 1963 Intercontinental Cup?

Santos, Pelé's club, needed a play-off because each side had won its home leg 4–2, and they took it 1–0.

Which future World Cup hero was banned in the 1980 betting scandal that relegated Milan?

Paolo Rossi's three-year ban was cut to two, and on his return he helped Italy win the 1982 World Cup.

Which car manufacturer sponsored Milan's shirt for 12 seasons before Emirates?

Opel sometimes put a car model on the shirt instead of its own name, showing 'Meriva' in 2003–04 and 'Zafira' in 2005–06.

Which striker's 36 goals in 2015–16 broke a Milan legend's 66-year-old record for goals in a Serie A season?

Gonzalo Higuaín broke it despite a ban, cut from four games to three on appeal, for his reaction to the referee who sent him off that April.

Which firm agreed to buy Milan for $1.3 billion in June 2022?

RedBird Capital completed the purchase that August and brought in the New York Yankees' owners, who took a minority stake in the club.