The AC Milan Legends

Gianni Rivera

He was nicknamed 'The Golden Boy' of Italian football. He is the product of Alessandria's youth soccer academy. He debuted in Serie A for Alessandria against Internazionale Milano. That was on the 2nd of June 1959. He was only 15 years old. He only played for his first club 26 matches in which he scored 6 goals. After one year, he was bought by AC Milan with a record transfer fee for that time, 200.000 $. For a player who was only 16 years old. In 1962 he wins the first Scudetto with AC Milan and on the 13th of May 1962, at 18 years, he plays his first match for the Italian national team against West Germany in Chile, a game that finished with a goalless draw, 0-0.
Due to the win of the 1962 Scudetto, AC Milan gets into the chase for the European Cup in 1962, a European Cup which they have finally won, beating Benfica 2-1 in the final with a Rivera in great form as he was awarded the second place in the famous 'France Football Player of the Year' award, won by the Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin.
In the 1967/1968 season he won with AC Milan both the title and the Cup Winners Cup. Next season, Rivera takes AC Milan to win the Champions Cup as he finally gets the 'France Football Player of the Year' award.
He plays with the 'Squadra Azzura' (Italian national team) in the 1970 World Cup hosted by Mexico where they reach the final lost against Brazil with 4-1 and in the 1974 World Cup when the Italians were knocked-out by the Poland national team with 2-1. That was the end of Rivera's career at the national team for which he played in 60 games scoring 14 goals.
Rivera took AC Milan in two Cup Winners Cup finals, one in 1973 and another in 1974; the first one was won and the second one lost. He also won with the red-and-black team two consecutive Italian titles, in 1972 and 1973. AC Milan also won several Italian Cups in the 70's but without Rivera in most of them who was banned because of his statements against the Italian referees.
Rivera won his last Scudetto of his career as a player in 1979 with AC Milan, this also being the 10th title for 'The Devils'. In the summer of that year Rivera retires after some freindlies played against Argentina.
Totally, he played for AC Milan in Serie A 501 matches and scored 122 goals.
After retirement, Rivera entered the Italian political life, being one of the members of the Italian Parliament.
Trophies won:
4 x Italian cup
3 x Italian title
2 x Cup Winners Cup
2 x European Cup
1 x European Player of The Year
1 x European Player of The Year runner-up
1 x World Cup runner-up
1 x Italian League Top Scorer
1 x Intercontinental Cup
1 x European tournament



Gunnar Nordahl

 Gunnar Nordahl was the most effective striker that ever played for AC Milan. His style of play was based on his enormous strength. Nordahl had another four brothers who also played football in the Swedish first division. He played in the Swedish first division at Degerfors and IFK Norkopping. His career landmarks during his time in the Swedish championship are the four championships titles won during the time he played for Norkopping and the seven goals scored against Landskrona in a championship match. He was first called to the Swedish national team in 1945. In 1948 he became the top scorer of the Olympic Games football tournament with seven goals, where he helped Sweden to win the Olymipic gold medal. It seemed that his value was too big for the Swedish championship and so it was. After he scored in the Swedish first league 149 goals in 172 matches played, he took the way of Italy, signing a contract with AC Milan. This contract is the beggining of a great era for AC Milan because Nordahl will be one of the leading players of 'The Devils' in their way of winning the most of the 50's Scudetto's (1950, 1954, 1956 and 1958) and not only.
He arrived at AC Milan on the 22nd January 1949, and in his first season wearing the red and black strips shirt, he scored an outstanding 16 goals in 15 games. Later, in AC Milan arrived his national side team mates, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm, all off them forming the well known GRE-NO-LI trio.
The transfer to the Italian championship was equal for him with the retirement from the Swedish national team as the Swedish had strict rules against professionalism in sports. In his national team career, he scored 44 goals in 30 matches, on of the highest average ever, almost 1,5 goals a match. He played for AC Milan in eight seasons, in five of them being the Serie A top scorer. He scored for Milan a total of 210 goals. At the end of his career he played in AS Roma for two seasons. For AC Milan, he scored in Serie A a total of 210 goals.
He also contributed in a 7-1 AC Milan win against Juventus Torino. Unfortunately, he died in 1995, and he will remain for ever in history as one of the most powerful and greatest players of the game.
Trophies won:
4 x Swedish title
1 x Swedish cup
2 x Italian title
2 x Coppa Latina
1 x Olympic Gold Medal
4 x Swedish Top Scorer
1 x Olympic Games Top Scorer
5 x Italian League Top Scorer

Franco Baresi

Franco Baresi was the 'Steel Man' of AC Milan's defence and the Italian national team for over two decades. He is the greatest Italian defender of all times even though some people may think different.
He started his career in AC Milan and he played only for The Devils.
He was born on the 8th of May 1960 in a place named Travagliato, near Brescia, in the Lombardy region of Italy.
He debuted in the Italian Serie A on the 23rd April 1978 in a match played against Verona away. Milan won that match with a 2-1 score.
He went with AC Milan from glory to failure and from failure to glory as he played for the 'rossoneri' in the two era's: one is the darkest period in the clubs history, when Milan played for the first time in Serie B for two years due to a betting scandal in which was involved the club president and some players (Baresi was not one of them); the other one is the best period of AC Milan, from 1988 to 1994.
He is also one of the players who was on the pitch for the most matches in Serie A (444, all for AC Milan), in which he scored 12 goals. (he also played for AC Milan in two seasons in Serie B in which he scored some goals, not counted here).
Silvio Berlusconi, AC Milan's club president wanted to retire himself when he heard that Baresi will retire. He left the parliamentary chambers to see Baresi's last match as a proffesional player in the red-and-blacks stripes shirt.
The last game played by Baresi for AC Milan was freindly with Capello and Sacchi on the training bench and with Van Basten and all the other players who formed the golden team of late 80's and early 90's. 50.000 people came to see Baresi's testimonial match that night. The game's landmark was Baresi goal in the end.
He is now working as a scout for AC Milan.
Trophies won:
6 x Italian title
3 x European Super Cup
3 x European Cup
2 x Intercontinental Cup


 Marco Van Basten

 On the 31st of October 1964 Marco Van Basten was born in the Dutch city of Utrecht. As a child the young Van Basten dreamt, not of becoming a professional footballer, but rather a world class gymnast - a dream he would later transfer to the field with some of the most unbelievably agile goals ever seen in the football world.
Marco began his career with a short lived spell at local side Edilwijk before being whisked off to Dutch super club Ajax in Amsterdam.
In 1980 at the Mundialito friendly-league in Milano, Johan Crujff the leader and coach of the team, introduce to Sandro Mazzola, the symbol-man of Inter, Marco Van Basten. Said Crujff: "Look at him, he's the new Crujff". Mazzola looked him with attention and so says now about that event: "Crujff showed us Marco, we understood immediately that we were in front of an amazing player". Marco had 16 years.

He played his first game for Ajax in the Eredivise on the 3rd of April 1982 in front of the Ajax faithful in the De Meer stadium against Nijmegen, fittingly replacing the reigning Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff and even managing to grab a goal in the process.
The following season he scored 9 goals in 20 games but in the 1983 - 84 season he set the Dutch league alight
and his consistency was evident immediately scoring an astonishing 28 goals in just 26 games.
By 1986 he had consolidated his position as the most lethal forward in European football, winning the European Golden Boot award with his 37 goal tally. In his time with Ajax Van Basten had filled his personal trophy cabinet with two Dutch Championships, two Dutch Cups and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He played his final game for Ajax (a game he won for Ajax), against Dynamo Dresden, in that European Cup Winners Cup final. He had scored 128 league goals in just 143 games at an unprecedented strike rate and was top scorer in Holland 4 times.
During this time Silvio Berlusconi was busy rebuilding AC Milan after corruption charges levelled at the preceding club president had left Milan relegated twice in three seasons. In 1987 Berlusconi set about his task by investing in world class players - namely Gullit and Van Basten and adding Rijkaard the following year to form an unforgettable Dutch triumvirate. Berlusconi had to choose a new striker to buy.Hhe had 2 choices: Marco Van Basten or Ian Rush. After having seen only 30 seconds of a VHS about Marco, Silvio decided to buy "The Flying Dutchman".

He made his debut for Milan on 13th September 1987 in Pisa and scored from the spot as Milan won 3 - 1. In his first season at Milan however he played just 11 games scoring 3 goals as the Rossoneri won their first Scudetto since 1979. His first season at Milan in 1987 - 1988 was plagued by an ankle injury that would haunt him for the rest of his career.
As a result of his lack of matches for Milan he started the 1988 European Championships in Germany as a substitute - but by the end of the tournament he was being hailed as the greatest player in the World. In the tournament Van Basten destroyed England on his own scoring a sensational hat trick, knocked out the hosts with a late winner and scored one of the most unforgettable goals ever seen with an amazing volley against the Soviet Union in the final. He had made his mark on the international scene but due to the desperate in-fighting and inconsistency that was to dog the Dutch side over the coming years it would be the only honour Marco would win for his country.
Marco returned to Milanello for the start of the 1988 - 89 season full of confidence and that autumn he was named the 1988 European Player of the year. He followed this up by scoring 19 goals in Serie A as well as being an integral part of the Milan team that ripped apart the hapless Romanian side Steaua Bucharest 4 - 0 in the Nou Camp to win the European Champions Cup final with Van Basten scoring two along with his compatriot Gullit who also scored a double. In the 1989 - 90 season Marco repeated his 19 goal haul in Serie A to become Capocannoniere and was once again heavily involved as Milan retained their European crown defeating Portuguese champions Benfica 1 - 0 in Vienna with a Frank Rijkaard goal. The 1990 World Cup finals in Italy were next on Marco's agenda and he went as he went in search of the ultimate prize. The Dutch side however had a tournament to forget before going out to Klinsmann's Germany 1 - 2 in what many describe as the match of the tournament for the right and wrong elements of football.
At the start of the 90 - 91 campaign Milan were attempting to win their third consecutive European crown. Their will to win however was overshadowed by their bad sportsmanship when vice president Galliani ordered the team off the pitch as they were losing when the floodlights failed in the semi-final second leg tie against the French side Marseille. Red Star Belgrade went on to take Milan's crown in a cynical final while Milan themselves received a one year ban from European club football. Van Basten scored 11 goals in Serie A that season but it was surprise side Sampdoria who took the Scudetto. Without European football to concentrate on in the 1991 - 1992 season Milan took Serie A by storm and reclaimed the Scudetto while managing to remain unbeaten in Serie A for the entire 34 game campaign - a record unlikely ever to be broken - With 'Marco Goalo' scoring 25 goals to earn his second Capocannonere title. it is worth to mention the game vs. Cagliari in Sardinia. The first half was over and Cagliari was leading 1-0. During the half-time break, Van Basten had a discussion with Capello. Noone knows what they have talked about but when returning on the pitch Capello showed to Marco the number "3" by making it with his fingers. Marco scored a hat-trick in 18 minutes and secured Milan the victory.
The European Championships in Sweden saw some great attacking football from the Dutch but they went out to late entrants and eventual winners Denmark in a penalty shootout where Van Basten, after his customary jump, missed from the penalty spot.
It was Marco's last international tournament.
In the Autumn of the 1992 - 1993 season Marco was on top of the footballing World. He was leading the Serie A goalsorers charts with 13 goals and included in his extraordinary start to the season came an incredible couple of games in the month of November.
In a league game in Naples he scored four goals as Milan demolished Napoli 5 - 1. He followed this up by scoring all four as Milan thrashed Goteborg 4 - 0 in the Champions League which Milan were dominating. Allied to this he was voted European Player of the Year for a record equalling third time and he was also playing his part as Milan smashed all unbeaten records in Serie A, a record which would eventually see them remain unbeaten for 58 matches.
For a joke of the destiny, Marco scored his first and last goal of his Italian experience to the same goalkeeper, Nista. Ferron is the goalkeeper that got more goals by Marco.

His extraordinary start to the season however was destroyed with a recurrence of the ankle injury which had plagued his career.
When in the first months of 1993 Marco was operated for the 4th time at the ankle, the medical staff of Milan AC disagreed with the operation, because they thought that another operation could be extremely dangerous.

He missed the vast majority of the remainder of the season playing only a couple of games before he was thrust back into action in the European Champions League final against Marseille. A tired looking Milan side lost 0 - 1 with Van Basten, who created numerous chances for Massaro and Papin, playing his last game for AC Milan.
18th August 1995, Luigi Berlusconi trophy, Milan-Juventus. In this usual great classic of the summer there is a special event: Marco Van Basten, the greatest european striker of last 20 years, leaves the football. 85.000 people at San Siro satnd-up and clap him as last wave.
Adriano Galliani so said when Marco left football: "The football lose his Leonardo Da Vinci"

In the six years he had played with Milan he had played a major part in catapulting them back to the pinnacle of World football, removing them from the shadow of neighbours Inter and laying down a solid foundation for future success.
He scored an incredible 90 goals in 147 Serie A games. He picked up 3 Scudetto's, 2 European Cups, 2 World Club Cups, 2 European Super Cups. Personally Marco claimed 3 European Footballer of the Year awards, 2 World Player of the Year awards, FIFA World Player of the year and 2 Capocannonere awards as Serie A top marksman. Not to mention that he has a 92.3% percentage rate at penalty kicks.
Van Basten had made a legend of himself before his injury dramatically shortened his brilliant career.
In the end he realised was fighting a futile battle against one opponent he knew he could never get the better off - his own body.
These days Marco, his wife Elisabeth (whom he married in 1992) and their 3 children Alexander, Angelica and Rebecca have two homes - one in Elisabeth's home village of Badhoevedorp and another in Monaco. Marco spends a great amount of time practising his golf handicap and is also a keen fan of tennis - hobbies he enjoys a lot more than the pressure cooker atmosphere of management which he says he will never try.
Marco Van Basten carried the torch of legends during his time with AC Milan. A torch passed on to him by Maradona, Cruyff, Pele, Puskas, Di Stefano et al.
He carried it with grace, dignity and a great love for the game. In return the footballing World had taken Marco into their hearts forever.

Marco is UNIQUE because he express alone that philosophy that Dutch football made at the beginning of 70s. The universality of one team is expressed only by one player that hasn't weak points. Marco is able to shoot with both feet, is great with head and he has a play vision of a real director, like Rui Costa or Gianni Rivera.
With Franco Baresi and Gianni Rivera, Marco has been the most loved player of AC Milan, that's because he talked little and communicated more with the actions and the goals on the field rather than with the words.
"Van Basten the divine!" wrote Gianni Brera, one of the greatest Italian football journalists.
Trophies won:
3 x Dutch title
3 x Dutch Cup
3 x Dutch League top scorer
3 x Italian title
2 x European Super Cup
2 x European Cup
2 x Intercontinental Cup
1 x Cup Winners Cup
2 x Italian League top scorer
1 x World Player of the Year award
1 x Golden Boot award
3 x European Footballer of the Year award
2 x World Soccer Player of the Year award

Frank Rijkaard

Considered as one of the best defensive midfielders in history, Frank Rijkaard could play in any midfield position.
He started his career in the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam in 1978, then he moved to Real Zaragoza and then, of course, to AC Milan. Later, he finished his career in Ajax Amsterdam.
He played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and in the 1998 European Championship.
His personals awards includes a 'Dutch Player of the Year' award in 1988 and a medal for merits gifted to him by queen Beatrix.
He made his international debut in 1981, on the 1st of September, in a match which opposed the Netherlands against Switzerland. He collected a total of 73 caps for the national team.
Rijkaard formed with another two Dutchmen, Gullit and van Basten, the three Dutchmen trio who played in AC Milan at the end of the 80's and at the beggining of the 90's.
As a coach, he managed to play a semi-final vs. Italy with the Netherlands national team in Euro 2000. The Netherlands lost on penalties after a dramatic game, the Dutch missing two penalty kicks in the first 90 minutes, and the Italians playing most of the game with 10 men. Imediately after the match, Rijkaard resigned.
Trophies won:
5 x Dutch title
3 x Dutch cup
2 x Italian title
1 x Cup Winners Cup
3 x European Cup
3 x European Super Cup
3 x Intercontinental Cup
1 x European tournament
1 x Dutch Player of the Year
1 x Medal of Merits for Holland

Roberto Donadoni

Roberto Donadoni is one of the best wingers who ever existed. He came in AC Milan from Atalanta Bergamo and he only left the red and black club for a two years journey in the United States of America, where he played for New York Metrostars, scoring 6 goals in 49 matches. Then he came back to AC Milan.
He was born in Cisano Bergamasco on the 8th of May 1960 and he debuted in proffesional footbal first in Serie B for Atalanta Bergamo on the 12th of September 1982 in a match between Atalanta and Pistoiese, finished 1-0. He came in Milan in 1986 and he helped the club to rise from the ashes of Serie B where it stayed for two seasons in the early 80's.
With the national side he played in the European Championship in Germany in 1988 and in England in 1996, the World Cup in 1990 and 1994.
He had no problems in winning trophies. He won with AC Milan everything he could possibly win.
He retired at AC Milan in the 1997/1998 season.

Trophies won:
5 x Italian title
3x European Super Cup
3 x European Cup
2 x Intercontinental Cup



Dejan Savicevic

 He began his football career when he was 15 years old in the youth teams of OFK Titograd, his local side. He debuted in the first Yugoslav division for Budicnost. His first cap for the national side was in 1988 in a match against the Turkish national team. His good form shown at Budocnost made possible the transfer to the biggest club in Yugoslavia, Red Star Belgrade.
He won with Red Star three consecutive national titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992, two national Cups in 1990 and 1992 while in Europe, a European Cup and an Intercontinental Cup, both in 1991.
He drawn the attention of AC Milan's officials when the two teams met in the 1989/1990 season in the European Cups. The match was won by AC Milan on penalty kicks.
The first season in the red and black stripes jersey was an accomodationary one as he only played 10 matches and scored four goals. But the next season he became the 'Genius' of AC Milan. His intelligence could change a game result in a few moments. He won with AC Milan 3 Scudetto's and one Champions League.
The club president, Silvio Berlusconi had a weakness for him and his style of play. And it seems that the reason of firing Capello was Savicevic, which was staying on the bench.
Trophies won:
3 x Yugoslavian title

2 x Yugoslavian cup

3 x Italian title

1 x European Super Cup

2 x European Cup

1 x Intercontinental Cup

Paolo Maldini

Paolo was born in Milan, on the 26th of June 1968. He was the son of a great Milan player, Cesare Maldini, ex-coach of the Italian national team, currently searching talents for AC Milan. That's one of the reasons that he played for AC Milan and not for Juventus Torino, the team he loved in his childhood. As he grew up he started to dislike Juve and like AC Milan. His mother's name was Maria Luisa.
Maldini cam play on the left wing or as a central defender. The debut in the Italian Serie A took place on the 20th of January 1985 for AC Milan in a match against Udinese. He took advantage of the fact that most of the players who were starting in the first eleven were injured. The great player of the 50's for AC Milan, who also formed the GRENOLI trio, the Swedish Nils Liedholm, introduced the young Maldini on the pitch in the second half of the match at only 16 years. Since then and until now, he is a regular in Milan's first eleven.
In November 1986 he debuted in the Squadra Azzura U21 (U21 Italian National team). After one year and almost four months of playing for the U21's he finally debuted in the senior team on 31st of March 1988 in Split, on the pitch of the Hajduk stadium, in a friendly against the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, that finished 1-1. He entered the match in the second half. He is the most capped Italian player with more than 126 appearances in the blue jersey, most of them as captain.
Paolo Maldini had the opportunity to lift Milan's sixth Champions League title in May 2003 in Manchester, after we've defeated Juventus on penalties. Unfortunately for him, Milan lost next year's Champions League trophy against Liverpool in Istanbul, despite Paolo's goal from the first minute. The team more than made up for that slip by winning the 17th title in Italy.
He enjoys rap music artists such as 2Pac or Will Smith. He's also an advertising figure, especially for Opel and Adidas.




Zvonimir Boban

Zvonimir Boban is a legend of Croatian football and a man who means a lot to fans at the San Siro for his exploits as a Milan player in the 1990s when he was a part of a side that won Serie A four times.

Boban began his career with Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 17 in 1985 and had a lot of success in the then Yugoslavian First Division. However, most of this was on an individual level as Dinamo were consistently beaten in the title race by their fierce rivals Red Star Belgrade.

But despite his performances and goals, it was in 1990 that he came to the world's attention for his now famous attack on a policeman who was beating a Dinamo fan after a match between Dinamo and Red Star descended into chaos

However, it was football reasons that earned Boban a move to Italy where he would spend just about the rest of his club career, but his first experience of Serie A came in Bari who took him on loan after his arrival in Milan.

He would return to the San Siro after one season and go on to spend nine seasons with the Rossoneri, enjoying great success despite regularly suffering from injuries.

His contributions were often vital for Milan even though he scored fewer goals than he had in Yugoslavia. Six in a season was his best tally in 1999-2000 when Milan finished third behind Lazio.

Boban was part of Serie A title winning sides in 1992-3, 1993-4, 1995-6 and 1998-9 as Milan were crowned team of the decade in Italy. He also added a Champions League crown in 1993-4 as part of a treble that included a European Super Cup as well.

Boban's Milan career came to an end in 2001 when he was briefly loaned out to Celta Vigo in Spain, but once he was relegated to the role of substitute there he opted for retirement and a move into journalism - he can still works as a commentator on Sky Italia and he writes a column for La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

This year, Milan are struggling and currently find themselves nine points behind rivals Inter in the title race. Online betting experts believe that the Rossoneri will have to settle for the runners-up spot this year.

Meanwhile, further down the table, the odds Europa League football will be heading to Palermo next season are understandably short as the club currently sits in fifth.

Profile written by a visitor on January 27th 2010. Some of the content might be outdated and it might lack events that followed the date it was written on. Contact us if you'd like to update this profile.

Oliver Bierhoff

Oliver Bierhoff will forever be regarded as a legend of German football after scored the first ever golden goal to decide a major international tournament against Czech Republic to win Euro 1996. Known for his superb heading and powerful shooting Bierhoff played for nine clubs in four countries during his career, scoring close to 200 goals.

Born in Karlsruhe, West Germany, in 1968 Bierhoff initially struggled to make an impact in the Bundesliga and after inconsistent spells at Hamburg and Borussia Monchengladbach he made the switch to Austria Salzburg in 1990. This was the move that kick started his career and after finishing as the league's top scorer he was bought by Italian side Ascoli Calcio.

It was Italy where he flourished and after a successful spell at Ascoli he moved to Udinese in 1995 where he scored an astonishing 57 goals in 86 appearances. Bierhoff formed a superb partnership with Brazilian Marcio Amoroso and helped the Bianconeri to third place in Serie A, the club's highest ever finish in the league. It was during his time at Udinese that he got his first call up to the national side, making his debut against Portugal. His first goals for Germany came in a 2-0 win against Denmark and he eventually went on to score 37 times in 70 appearances.

These goals eventually caught the attention of the major clubs and, after an impressive World Cup, Bierhoff followed former Udinese boss Zaccheroni to footballing giants AC Milan who signed him on a three-year deal. While at the San Siro, Bierhoff won Serie A, his only major honour at club level, in 1998. Bierhoff scored close to a goal every two games in his time at Milan and captained the German national side during his spell with the Rossoneri.

Zaccheroni left the San Siro after a disappointing season in 2001 and Bierhoff also headed for the door, signing for French club AS Monaco. However, Bierhoff failed to make an impact in the principality and secured a move back to Italy with Chievo Verona. He led the line manfully all season, helping the team to survive in Serie A and, in typical style, scored a hat-trick against Juventus in his final game.

Bierhoff now works for the German FA in a public relations role as well as being an ambassador for the country during trips aboard. Despite never truly succeeding his homeland, Bierhoff will forever seen as one of the greatest foreign players in Italian football and thanks to his winning goal in Euro 96 he will always hold a place in the hears of German football fans.

This season, Milan have struggled to make an impact on Serie A and the football betting suggests that city rivals Inter will win the title this year.

The betting odds also indicate that Milan face a tough challenge in the knockout stages of the Champions League with the Italian giants set to meet Manchester United in the next round.

Profile written by a visitor on February 8th 2010. Some of the content might be outdated and it might lack events that followed the date it was written on. Contact us if you'd like to update this profile.








                                                           source: http://www.acmilan-online.com