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AC Milan
Italy · one of the six clubs in the Easy pool
Seven European Cups make Milan the most successful Italian club in Europe. Their greatest team, Arrigo Sacchi's side of the late 1980s, is still one of the reference points for how a team can defend and press together.
The story in brief
The 1960s: Rocco and Rivera
Under coach Nereo Rocco, Milan became the first Italian club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 2–1 at Wembley in 1963 with two goals from the Brazilian-born striker José Altafini. The playmaker Gianni Rivera, the "Golden Boy", was the heart of the side for almost two decades. Rocco's second spell brought a second European Cup in 1969 — 4–1 against Ajax in Madrid, Pierino Prati scoring three — and Rivera won the Ballon d'Or that year.
The 1970s and early 1980s: the slide
Milan won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1973 and a tenth league title in 1979, but the club was then relegated to Serie B in 1980 for its part in the Totonero betting scandal, and went down again on the pitch in 1982. A young Franco Baresi stayed through both.
1986–1996: Berlusconi, Sacchi and Capello
Silvio Berlusconi bought the club in 1986 and appointed Arrigo Sacchi, a coach who had never played professionally. With the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard in front of a defence of Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti, Milan won the league in 1988 and the European Cup in 1989 and 1990 — the first a 4–0 win over Steaua Bucharest. Fabio Capello followed and his side went the whole 1991–92 Serie A season unbeaten, then beat Cruyff's Barcelona 4–0 in the 1994 Champions League final. George Weah, signed in 1995, won the Ballon d'Or that year.
2001–2011: Ancelotti and after
Carlo Ancelotti's team, with Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Andriy Shevchenko and later Kaká, won the Champions League in 2003 on penalties against Juventus, lost the 2005 final to Liverpool from 3–0 up at half-time, and beat Liverpool in the 2007 final with two goals from Filippo Inzaghi. Shevchenko and Kaká both won the Ballon d'Or. Milan won Serie A again in 2011 with Zlatan Ibrahimović, and in 2022 with a young side built round Rafael Leão and Mike Maignan.
Milan in Treble Winner
One of the six Easy-pool clubs. Easy spins the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s; Normal adds the 1980s and 2020s; the Rivera years of the 1960s and 1970s are Hard only.
| Decade | Players | Best-XI rating | Rank | First on | Highest rated in the game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 98 | 75.1 | 133 | Hard | Jose Altafini, Cesare Maldini, Gianni Rivera |
| 1970s | 88 | 74.8 | 157 | Hard | Franco Baresi, Gianni Rivera, Gianni Bet |
| 1980s | 105 | 79.7 | 26 | Normal | Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Franco Baresi |
| 1990s | 155 | 81.5 | 10 | Easy | George Weah, Marcel Desailly, Andriy Shevchenko |
| 2000s | 193 | 79.4 | 28 | Easy | Andriy Shevchenko, Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf |
| 2010s | 199 | 76.9 | 66 | Easy | Paolo Maldini, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Christian Abbiati |
| 2020s | 79 | 74.9 | 148 | Normal | Mike Maignan, Rafael Leao, Zlatan Ibrahimović |
The game rates the 1990s as Milan's best decade, with the 1980s and 2000s close behind — the three decades that cover Sacchi, Capello and Ancelotti. After that Milan fall away sharply: the 1970s and the 2020s are among the weakest decades of any Easy-pool club.
Drafting tips
- Milan is where the defenders are. Maldini appears in four Milan decades and Baresi in three. If you land on Milan with a centre-back or full-back shirt open, take one.
- Mind the gap after 2010. A 2010s Milan spin is much weaker than a 2000s one, so it may be the moment to use your era re-spin.
- Van Basten is in two decades. His Milan career straddled 1990, so the pool has him in the 1980s and the 1990s.