Throughout history, some of the greatest players in history have graced Italian football fields, especially at the Milan giants and Turin club Juventus. Names like Michel Platini and Roberto Baggio among many more have took to the field for those great clubs, and had such a dramatic effect on football. Following Kaka’s recent move back to AC Milan after a failed stint in Madrid, I started to learn more about the Milan legends of the past, and decided to compile this article to show just how great they really were. Everyone from Alfatini to Trapattoni is in here, along with some more recent faces.
There have been times in the past when Milan have arguably been the best team in the world, reflected in their seven UEFA Champions League and European Cup triumphs since 1963. I Rossoneri have also won 18 Scudetto titles, whilst finishing runner-up in another seventeen campaigns, showing their consistency at the top level in their history. Many other honours have come too, justifying Milan’s status as one of the world’s most prestigious clubs.
Arguably one of Milan’s most successful periods was the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the Dutch trio of Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, and Ruud Gullit was at it’s peak. The three players were together at the San Siro for five years, and in that time were very successful, winning two league titles and two European Cups (those two European triumphs were done in succession, a feat which is yet to be matched by any side since). The trio also performed on the international stage too, winning the 1988 European Championships in style.
Van Basten, the striker, was the one who spent the longest – 8 years – in the Italian capital. He joined in 1987, and played over 200 times in all competitions for the side before his departure in ’95. He scored 124 goals in that time, which is a tally and a goal-to-game ratio matched by very few top strikers. Known for being strong and also a great striker of the ball, he cemented a place in Milan folklore.
Whilst Frank Rijkaard may have only spent five years in Milan colours (compared to the other two Dutch legends), you certainly can’t begrudge him his time there. 201 games and 26 goals in all competitions as well as a winning goal in the 1990 European Cup final made him a big part of the team, and put him up there among names like Maldini in Milan’s greatest players.
Ruud Gullit is the third player in this trio, and the most useful in my opinion. He could play in several positions around the pitch, being the epitomisation of Dutch ‘Total Football, and did so successfully. In his six years in Milan, he played 166 games in all competitions and won three league titles among other honours, making sure he would be remembered for years to come, and not just in Italy.
Whilst there’s a large Dutch contingent on this list, many of the names are Italian, a country which has produced some of the finest talents. Players like Giuseppe Meazza have all played for the Italian national team, and several of those have played for Milan too.
Giovanni Trapattoni is one of these. He played for Milan for almost all of his career (twelve years, in fact), and despite only scoring three goals in that time was an integral part of two Scudettos and two European Cup wins. Nearly 300 league games for I Rossoneri shows how important Trapattoni was during this era of success for the Italians.
Twelve years is a long time to spend at any one club, but not when you look at Paolo Maldini, quite possibly the best model professional of all time. The defender spent a huge 24 years at Milan, and played over 900 games in all competitions before his retirement in 2009. He even managed to successfully change his stronger foot, such was the attitude of the man. He had a successful tenure in terms of silverware, and will probably be remembered for decades to come following almost quarter of a century at the San Siro.
Franco Baresi is another defender to have attained legendary status among the Milan faithful. He spent 20 years at Milan between the late 70s and late 90s, and played almost 700 games, putting him amongst the very longest-serving Milan players. He won a large wealth of medals in the red and black shirt, including six Serie A titles. You’d be hard-pressed to find many players with more. He may not be as well-remembered as Maldini is, but it’s certain he’ll be hard to forget, after being named in Pele’s FIFA 100.
It’s not just Italian defenders that have become legends to Milan fans – there’s a midfielder in their too. Gianni Rivera played for Milan for much of the 1960s and 70s, and totalled over 650 games in a successful side. The playmaker also managed to win the Balon D’Or in the late 60s, showcasing what a talent Milan possessed. He was mainly deployed offensively for i Rossoneri, and contributed over 150 goals in his time, which is an impressive tally, especially for a midfielder. However, there will be a lot of people who don’t remember him as time goes on, but he’s fondly thought-of in the Italian city.
Many of the other foreign greats who’ve graced the San Siro turf have been forwards. One of the most famous and also best, was José Altafini, a Brazilian forward who scored 120 goals in 205 league goals for Milan, whilst also impressing at rivals Juventus a few years later. He won league titles and European trophies galore in his seven years at Milan, winning the World Cup with Brazil too, in 1958. He held an impressive ratio of goals-to-games, and whilst there have been better strikers before and since, he remains one of the best that Italy’s shores have seen.
In more recent years, a certain Ukrainian striker has won the hearts of Milan’s supporters with impressive displays. That man was Andriy Shevchenko. His country’s all time leading scorer, and a glorious career in Serie A are just two of the things that can be said about his marvellous career, which included a move to Chelsea that never came off. He spent seven years playing his trade in Italy’s top flight, and scored over 120 league goals on the way to league and continental glory, cementing his place as a legend at the San Siro.
The next two players I’ve decided to place together, despite their greatness in their own right. They combined well in Milan’s midfield before leaving in 2009 and 2011 respectively, and are well-respected in the football community. These two men are the afore-mentioned Kaka (who has been well-received on his return to the club this summer) and Andrea Pirlo, one of the finest midfielders Serie A has seen in a long time. The pair spent six years together with i Rossoneri, and formed part of a menacing midfield also containing players such as Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso. The Milan team containing these players were successful both on the domestic stage and on the continental one too, and while Kaka and Pirlo may not be the best the Milan supporters will ever see, they’re among some of the highest-quality to pull on that shirt.
There's so many different players that could have been put in this article instead of the ones who have been, and I think that is testament to just how rich AC Milan’s history is. However, these are the players that I picked (along with the help of Sam Lewis, of “Forza Italian Football”) and that we think are Milan’s greatest. This list definitely isn’t complete though, with some of the young modern stars such as Stephan El Shaarawy threatening to make an appearance. Even so, every single player on this list should be remembered as one of the greats of an Italian giant.
