Gianni Rivera Golden Boy Career

Italy's "Golden Boy": two European Cups and twelve seasons as Milan captain.

Gianni Rivera, dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy", began his career with his hometown club Alessandria, making his Serie A debut against Inter on 2 June 1959 at fifteen, and joined AC Milan in 1960. Manager Giuseppe Viani gave him the famous nickname.

Lore & Background

At Milan he won two European Cups, three Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia titles and captained the team for twelve seasons. He played a key role in the 1963 European Cup final win over Benfica at the age of twenty, and won the Ballon d'Or in 1969. His last title was the 1979 Scudetto, the club's tenth, under Nils Liedholm; he then retired and became Milan's vice-president, resigning when Silvio Berlusconi bought the club in 1986.