AC Milan

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In its early history, Milan played its home games in different grounds around the city before moving to its current stadium, the San Siro, in 1926. The stadium, which was built by Milan's second chairman, Piero Pirelli, and has been shared with Inter Milan since 1947, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 75,817. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Inter, with whom they contest the Derby della Madonnina, one of the most followed derbies in football. Milan has spent its entire history in Serie A with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons. Silvio Berlusconi’s 31-year tenure as Milan president was a standout period in the club's history, as they established themselves as one of Europe's most dominant and successful clubs. Milan won 29 trophies during his tenure, securing multiple Serie A and UEFA Champions League titles. During the 1991–92 season, the club notably achieved the feat of being the first team to win the Serie A title without losing a single game. Milan is home to multiple Ballon d'Or winners, and three of the club's players, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard, were ranked in the top three on the podium for the 1988 Ballon d'Or, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the prize.

In Their Own Story

The season's turning point came on 15 January 2023, when Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3–1 in the Supercopa de España final, clinching their first trophy since 2021. In La Liga, Barcelona built momentum with a 4–1 win over Real Sociedad on 21 August and a 4–0 victory over Real Valladolid on 28 August. After a 3–0 win against Sevilla on 3 September, they beat Cádiz 4–0 on 10 September. A 3–0 win over Elche on 17 September gave them 16 points from the first six matches, their best league start in five years. Despite a 3–1 loss to Real Madrid on 16 October, Barcelona recovered with wins over Villarreal (3–0) and Athletic Bilbao (4–0). On 14 May 2023, they mathematically secured the La Liga title with four games to spare, their first since 2018–19.

Reader's Guide

Milan is one of the most successful football clubs in the world in terms of total trophies won. Domestically, Milan has won 19 league titles, 5 Coppa Italia titles and 8 Supercoppa Italiana titles. In international competitions, Milan is Italy's most successful club. The club has won seven European Cup/Champions League titles, making them the competition's second-most successful team behind Real Madrid, and further honours include five UEFA Super Cups, two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, a joint record two Latin Cups, a joint record three Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup. Milan is one of the wealthiest clubs in Italian and world football. It was a founding member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club Association.

Did You Know?

• Milan was founded as Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club in 1899 by English expatriate Herbert Kilpin.
• The club claims 16 December 1899 as its foundation date, but historical evidence suggests it may have been founded on 18 December.
• Milan won its first Italian championship in 1901, interrupting a three-year hegemony of Genoa.
• In 1908, a split led to the forming of Internazionale.
• Milan was the first Italian club to take part in the European Cup in the 1955–56 season.