On Sunday AC Milan celebrated 113 years to the day since the legendary football club was created in 1899. The anniversary was commemorated in style with a 4-1 home win against Pescara. The win, however, was only good enough to keep the team in 7th place in the Serie A, 14 points behind league leaders Juventus.
The Rossonerri have certainly seen better days in their highly illustrious 113 year history. Milan is the most decorated team in international club competitions with a total of 18 titles in tournaments sanctioned by UEFA and FIFA. Those include 7 European titles (second only to Real Madrid’s 9), 4 Intercontinental/World Club Cup wins, record 5 UEFA Super Cups and 2 Cup Winners’ Cups. The only major international competition that the club has not won is the UEFA Cup (now named the Europa League). Milan also has 18 Italian league championships, second only to Juventus’ record 28.
Herbert Kilpin – Father of AC MilanThe club was created in 1899 in Englishman Herbert Kilpin as the Milan Football and Cricket Club. In honor of its British heritage, the club has preserved the English spelling of the city in its name (Milano in Italian). Kilpin acted as both a player and a manager and the team achieved instant success, winning its first Italian title in 1901, just 2 years after inception.
In 1908 internal disagreements over the use of foreign players led to the splitting of the club in two. Those players who were in favor of employing more foreigners in the team separated, appropriately naming their new club Internazionale. This would set the beginning of one of the most fiercely contested football rivalries.
Milan had to wait until 1951 for its next Italian title, led my Swedish trio Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm. Overall, the 1950s saw a renaissance for team, which also won the titles in 1955, 1957 and 1959. Striker Nordahl was especially successful, becoming the league top-goalscorer 5 times, still a record.
The 1960s build on domestic success to bring European glory. The team won the European Champions Cup in 1963 and then again in 1969, topping the second trophy with an Intercontinental Cup win. The main driving force behind the success was luminous play-maker Gianni Rivera. However, in the 1980s the team was involved in the Totonero betting scandal, and was relegated to Serie B.
In 1986, the club was facing bankruptcy. It was saved by a up and coming businessman in Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi not only saved the club from extinction, but invested significant amounts to improve the club. He immediately splashed out to bring in Dutch powerhouse trio of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. With the three magicians, Milan won the 1989 and 1990 European Cups, the last time a team has won back-to-back European titles.
Just like all its history, Milan’s modern day affairs are a constant mix of rises and falls. In 2005, the club suffered the most dramatic and unlikely comeback in Champions League history after Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to win the trophy on penalties. The following year, the club was one of the perpetrators in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. The team was initially deducted 15 points and missed qualification for the Champions League. After appeals, however, the charge was reduced to 8 points and Milan squeezed just in. It went on to win the title, avenging the previous loss to Liverpool by beating the Merseyside team in the final.
It seems that Milan is on the downside again these days. The club sold most of its stars to Paris St. Germain in the summer and now seems terribly uncompetitive both in Italy and in the Champions League. But if history serves any lessons, the Rossoneri will bounce back before too long.