AC Milan

Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly known as AC Milan or simply Milan, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded on December 16, 1899, the club has spent almost its entire history in Serie A, the top tier of Italian football, with only brief absences in the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons. Since 1926, Milan has played its home matches at the San Siro, officially named the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which was built by the club's second chairman, Piero Pirelli. The stadium has a total capacity of 75,817 and has been shared with city rivals Inter Milan since 1947, making it the largest football venue in Italy.

Milan is one of the most decorated clubs in world football. Domestically, they have won 19 Serie A titles, 5 Coppa Italia titles, and 8 Supercoppa Italiana titles. Internationally, they lead Italian clubs with 7 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, second only to Real Madrid globally. Their trophy haul also includes 5 UEFA Super Cups, 2 UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, a joint record 2 Latin Cups, a joint record 3 Intercontinental Cups, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. The club's golden era spanned the 31-year presidency of Silvio Berlusconi, during which Milan won 29 trophies, including multiple Serie A and Champions League titles. In the 1991–92 season, Milan became the first team to win Serie A without losing a single match.

As of June 2025, the head coach is Sérgio Conceição, who replaced Paulo Fonseca during the 2024–25 season. Recent coaches include Stefano Pioli (2019–2024), who led Milan to the Serie A title in 2021–22, ending an 11-year league drought. The current squad features French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, English defender Fikayo Tomori, Portuguese winger Rafael Leão, and American midfielder Christian Pulisic, alongside Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Spanish striker Álvaro Morata.[edit]

AC Milan was founded in 1899 by English expatriates Herbert Kilpin and Alfred Edwards. The club originally played in red and black stripes, inspired by Nottingham Forest. Milan won its first Italian championship in 1901 and added two more before World War I. The move to San Siro in 1926 marked a new era, but the club struggled in the 1930s and 1940s, winning only one league title in 1951. The 1950s saw the emergence of Swedish stars Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl, and Nils Liedholm, known as the Gre-No-Li trio, who led Milan to four Scudettos.

The 1960s brought European success, with Milan winning its first European Cup in 1963 under Nereo Rocco, featuring the legendary Gianni Rivera. The club added a second European Cup in 1969 and an Intercontinental Cup in 1969. After a period of decline, the arrival of Silvio Berlusconi as president in 1986 transformed the club. He appointed Arrigo Sacchi as coach, who implemented a high-pressing, attacking style. Sacchi's Milan won the 1988 Serie A title and back-to-back European Cups in 1989 and 1990, with stars like Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard. Fabio Capello succeeded Sacchi and led Milan to four Serie A titles in five years, including a 58-match unbeaten run from 1991 to 1993.

Under Carlo Ancelotti, Milan won two Champions League titles in 2003 and 2007, along with a Serie A title in 2004. The 2007 Champions League final saw Milan defeat Liverpool 2–1, avenging the 2005 final loss. After Berlusconi's departure in 2017, the club was sold to Chinese investors and later to Elliott Management Corporation. In 2022, RedBird Capital Partners acquired the club. The 2021–22 Scudetto under Stefano Pioli signaled a revival, and the club continues to compete at the highest level.[edit]