Milan

presently holds both records for number of total and Serie A appearances for Milan with a total of 1000 games played in total, and 600 in the Serie A (as of May 14, 2007, not including playoff matches), the latter being also an all-time Serie A record.

Milan's all time top goalscorer is a Sweden, Gunnar Nordahl who, in 268 games, managed to score 221 goals. Andriy Shevchenko is in second place with 173 goals in 298 games for the club, and is the highest scoring present squad member, followed by Filippo Inzaghi, who has scored 101 goals in 220 games.

Milan hold the unique record of having gone a whole season without losing a game during the Serie A 1991-92 season. In total, that unbeaten streak lasted 58 games, starting with a 0-0 draw with Parma FC on May 26, 1991 and ironically ending with a 1-0 loss at home to Parma FC on March 21, 1993. This unbeaten streak is a Serie A record and is the 3rd longest unbeaten run in top flight European football. It comes in behind Steaua Bucureşti's record of 104 unbeaten games and Celtic FC who went 68 games unbeaten.

Currently, Milan along with Boca Juniors of Argentina, have the most FIFA recognised international club titles in the world. Milan is also the number two team in Europe in line with UEFA Co-Efficient ranking system. This allows Milan to be in the number one spot for all European draws, which allows Milan to avoid other highly rated European teams in UEFA competitions.

Colours and badge

Throughout the entire history of the club, they have been represented by the colours red and black. The colours were chosen to represent the players' fiery ardour (red) and the opponents' fear to challenge Milan (black). Due to Milan's striped red and black shirts, they have gained the nickname rossoneri. White shorts and black socks are worn as part of the home kit.

Milan's away strip has always been completely white. The latter is considered by both the fans and Milan as their "lucky" strip in Champions League finals, due to the fact that Milan won six finals out of eight in an all white strip (losing only to AFC Ajax in 1995 and Liverpool F.C. in 2005), while they only won one out of three in their home strip. The third kit changes yearly and is black with red trim for the current season, but it is rarely used.

For many years, Milan's badge was just that of the flag of Milan; which was originally the flag of Saint Ambrose. Another nickname derived from Milan's colours is "the Devil". An image of a red devil was used as Milan's logo at one point with a star (football crest) located next to it; It remains to see if this plan will proceed or if this is just a ploy to force the owners (Comune di Milano) to sell the stadium to Milan for a nominal fee so as to proceed with extensive renovations. Rumours have also surfaced of F.C. Internazionale Milano's intention to also build a new stadium which may also affect this decision.

Supporters and rivalries

Milan is one of the most supported football clubs in Italy, according to an August 2007 research by Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Historically, Milan was supported by the city's working-class and trade unionists,
One of the oldest ultras groups in all of Italian football, Fossa dei Leoni, originated in Milan. but the media have traditionally associated them with the Left-wing politics, until recent times under Berlusconi's presidency where they are considered somewhat Right-wing politics.

Genoa C.F.C. fans consider Milan a hated rival after Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo was tragically stabbed to death by a Milan supporter in January 1995. Milan's main rivalry, though, is with intracity neighbor Inter; both clubs meet in the widely-anticipated Derby della Madonnina twice every Serie A season. The name of the derby refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose statue atop the Milan Cathedral is one of the city's main attractions. The match usually creates a lively atmosphere, with numerous (often humorous or offensive) banners unfolded before the match. Flare (pyrotechnic) are commonly present, but they also led to the abandonment of the second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2004-05 quarterfinal matchup between Milan and Inter on April 12, 2005, after a flare thrown from the crowd by an Inter supporter struck Milan keeper Dida (goalkeeper) on the shoulder.

Honours

Milan is one of the most successful clubs in Italy, having won a total of 29 trophies, and the most winning team in the world for International club competition records World-wide Ranking for international official titles won by squad (top 20) together with Boca Juniors. with a record of 14 European trophies and 4 World titles. Milan have earned the distinction of being allowed to wear a Star (football crest) on their shirt representing the fact that they have won more than 10 scudetti. Added to this Milan are allowed to wear the Badge of Honour UEFA on their shirt during UEFA Champions League matches as they have won more than 5 European Cups.

National titles

European titles

UEFA Champions League (former European Cup)

UEFA Super Cup (record)

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

World titles

Intercontinental Cup (football) (record)

FIFA Club World Cup

Unofficial titles

Dubai Challenge Cup

Latin Cup

Mitropa Cup

Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu

AC Milan as a company

According to Deloitte Football Money League published by consultants Deloitte, in the season 2005–06, AC Milan was the fifth highest earning football club in the world with an Deloitte Football Money League Full listing of €233.7 million. Currently, Milan are also ranked as the 6th Richest football clubs in the world by Forbes magazine, making them the richest in Italian football.

The Austrian online betting company bwin.com are currently Milan's main shirt sponsors after signing a four year deal at the start of the 2006–07 season. Previous to this deal, the German car manufacturer Opel had sponsored Milan for 12 seasons. For most of them, Opel was displayed on the front of the shirt, but in the 2003–04 and the 2005–06 seasons respectively, Meriva and Zafira (two cars from their range) were displayed.

The current shirts are supplied by German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, whose deal runs to the end of the 2017–18 season. The deal makes Adidas the official manufacturer of all kits, training equipment and replica outfits. Prior to Adidas, the Italian sports company Lotto Sport Italia produced Milan's sportswear.

On the 14th of January, 2008, AC Milan and Adidas renewed the sponsorship contract until 30th of June, 2018. According to the new contract, Adidas will be responsible for 3 separate areas of sponsorship: the sponsorship on the shirt, the merchandising and the distribution of all non-football related Milan products.

AC Milan also sponsors the Scuderia Playteam in the new Superleague Formula race car series where teams are sponsored by football clubs. Robert Doornbos, formerly driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in the Formula One World Championship, will drive for AC Milan. Doornbos won his first race for Milan at 2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Germany.

Related pages

Atalanta, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Chievo, Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Juventus, Lazio, Lecce, Milan, Napoli, Palermo, Reggina, Roma, Sampdoria, Siena, Torino, Udinese