Milan History - Things you should know

[Jim_UK]

Since 1979 the official name of the San Siro is the Guiseppe Meazza Stadium, in honour of the great Inter star of the 1920's & 1930's.

The third tier of the stadium was built for the 1990 world cup

The exterior towers help support the roof

The roof covers most of the pitch which is one reason why the surface needs replacing so often

[SANT]

Yes, the Meazza name was accepted by Milan, but it is only used when Inter is the local team... when Milan plays as local, the official name of the stadium is San Siro...

if you pay attention the players interviews, the Inter people call it Meazza, but all the Milan people refer to it as San Siro...

Meazza did play for Milan (a minimal part of his career), but he's an Inter icon... that's why Milan chose to keep the name San Siro... after all, it was built by Milan for Milan...

Inter is just a guest...

[Maltese Charlie]

Originally Posted by SANT

Yes, the Meazza name was accepted by Milan, but it is only used when Inter is the local team... when Milan plays as local, the official name of the stadium is San Siro...

if you pay attention the players interviews, the Inter people call it Meazza, but all the Milan people refer to it as San Siro...

Meazza did play for Milan (a minimal part of his career), but he's an Inter icon... that's why Milan chose to keep the name San Siro... after all, it was built by Milan for Milan...

Inter is just a guest...

as far as I know San Siro is owned by the local council of Milano, so Inter are not guests there.
My impression is that all football stadiums in Italy are owned by the State.

[SANT]

Now they are, but the stadium was originally built entirely by ACMilan, and exclusively for them...

[SANT]

GRENOLI

Three Swedish players who made history with Milan in the late 40's, and 50's

Gunnar NOrdahl, the maximum scorer of all times for Milan and in serie A...
Nils LIedholm... both arrived in 1948.
One year later, Gunnar GREn joined them...

Those 3 players won the gold medal for Sweden in London 1948 Olympic Games...

After decades of mediocrity, these 3 players helped Milan win the scudetto again in 1951

[NAMMY]

Nice, interesting post SANT. Keep it up ... please.

[SANT]

By 1954, Nordahl had won his 5th title as capocannoniere... that year, Umberto Trabattoni had left the presidency of Milan in the hands of Andrea Rizzoli, whose first big acquisition was the uruguayan player Juan Alberto Schiaffino...

In that team, a new young defender would start another big history in Milan... Cesare Maldini.... sounds familiar?

[SANT]

The late 1950's gave us the 4th scudetto, with great players like the GK Lorenzo Buffon, Cesare Maldini, Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Nordahl (from the GRENOLI) and Juan Schiaffino.

In May of 1958, Milan lost the final of the European Cup (now UCL) at the hands of the powerful Real Madrid of Di Stefano, Puskas, Gento, etc. That was their third European Cup in a row.

[SANT]

In case you're wondering, Lorenzo Buffon is related to the current Italian NT GK, Gianluigi Buffon... Lorenzo, and Gigi's grandfather are cousins...

[SANT]

In 1995, Milan defeated Arsenal in the European Supercup final, wearing and unprecedent (and ugly) yellow/black uniform... because Arsenal had too much white and red for Milan to wear the first or second kit...

I wish they had the black kit they didn't use this past season for that ocassion...

at least we won the trophy....

[SANT]

Are you guys even reading this, or am I wasting my time?

[Vadim]

Seriously. This thread deserves more attention, its an excellent effort by SANT.

[lked]

Originally Posted by SANT

Are you guys even reading this, or am I wasting my time?

Trust me you'r not wasting it

[meazza]

Originally Posted by SANT

Milan's ideal team from the 20th century:

GK - Fabio Cudicini (67-72
RB - Mauro Tassotti (80-95)
CB - Franco Baresi (77-97)
CB - Cesare Maldini (54-66)
LB - Paolo Maldini (84- )
DM - Frank Rijkaard (88-93)
OM - Roberto Donadoni (86-99)
OM - Gianni Rivera (61-79)
OM - Ruud Gullit (87-95)
FW - Marco Van Basten (87-93)
FW - Gunnar Nordahl (48-56)

Channel 4 did an all time XI thingy and this was there lineup, playing a 3-4-3 (I guess the theory is with Maldini and Baresi in the line up you don't need 4 defenders.)

Lorenzo BUFFON 1949-59
Goalkeeper who along with Nils Liedholm won four championships with Milan in the 1950s. Made his debut at the age of 20 while he was fourth choice and kept the No 1 jersey for the next decade. Also played 15 times for Italy before moving to Genoa and Inter.

Mauro TASSOTTI 1980-1997
Mauro Tassotti played 581 games in all for the Rossoneri. Was signed from Lazio and went on to become one of the most consistent players in the Italian game. Eventually won international honours, but only after Arrigo Sacchi was national boss.

Franco BARESI 1977-1997
Voted Italy’s Player of the Century, Franco Baresi will long be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Played 716 games for Milan in a 20-year stay that saw him become the lynchpin of one of the strongest defences in the history of the Italian game. When he retired, Milan withdrew his No 6 shirt.

Paolo MALDINI 1985-
Former Italian captain and most capped international player, Maldini established himself as the world’s best left-sided defenders in the early 1990s. The son of another Milan hero in Cesare, Paolo has won almost every single club honour there is available.

Giovanni TRAPATTONI 1960-71
Ex-national Coach, Trapattoni made his name in the game as a tough tackling midfielder with the Rossoneri. Played over a decade with the club and won many honours including two Serie A titles and two European Cups. Famously once man marked Pele out of an international game in 1963.

Frank RIJKAARD 1988-93
Dutch midfielder who was part of the Dutch trio of the classic Milan side of the late 80s. A much under-rated holding midfielder, Rijkaard was perhaps the most important Dutch element of the side. Played 148 Serie A games, scoring 16 goals.

Gianni RIVERA 1960-79
The original Golden Boy of Italian football, this stylish midfielder performed at dizzy heights for Milan for over 15 years. He debuted as a fresh faced 19-year-old shortly after signing from Alessandria and became an established international – even without ever showing the same sort of club form for his country.

Nils LIEDHOLM 1949-61
A master of passing, Liedholm played 359 gamers for the club and scored 81 goals. ‘Liddas’ also successfully coached Milan to the Serie A title and later repeated the feat with Roma. They say he went two seasons without misplacing a pass...

Gunnar NORDAHL 1949-56
Winner of the Capocannoniere crown five times during his time with Milan, the Swedish giant became a legend of the Italian game. Scored 210 goals for the club including 35 League goals in just one season. Nicknamed ‘il pompiere’ – the fireman – due to his profession in his homeland.

Marco VAN BASTEN 1987-95
Flying Dutch centre-forward who was instrumental in Milan’s late 80s and early 90s success. Three times European Footballer of the Year, Van Basten scored 108 goals in 168 matches for the club. Crowned Serie A top scorer twice, he was forced to retire in 1995 due to an ankle injury.

Jose ALTAFINI 1959-66
Brazilian attacker who won the title with Milan in his debut season with the side. The agile forward also became an integral part of the team that lifted the European Cup in 1963. Later played for Napoli and Juventus. Was nicknamed ‘Conileone’ – half rabbit, half lion.

[ACMILAN1983]

lol, sorry Sant, I appreciate the efforts you and Vadim have put into this thread and read it on a regular basis. It brings back so many memories and also provides a great resource on the history of the club. Thanks a lot.