Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to by the abbreviation AC Milan or simply Milan, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. The club was founded in 1899 and has since spent most of its history in the top flight of Italian football.
In European and World competitions AC Milan, along with Boca Juniors have won 17 officially recognised international titles, more than any other club in the world. The club have won what is today known as the UEFA Champions League on seven occasions; only Real Madrid have won it more times (9). As far as Italian competitions are concerned, AC Milan are the second most successful club with 17 league titles; only Juventus have won more (27).
Other important titles which Milan have won includes the Intercontinental Cup three times, the European Super Cup five times, th Cup Winners' Cup twice and, in Italy, the Coppa Italia five times as well as five Italian Super Cups. AC Milan is also one of the G-14’s founding members, a group that represents eighteen of the largest and most prestigious European football clubs.
Their home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The ground, which is shared with rivals Internazionale, is the largest in Italian football, with total capacity of 85,700.
The Current Captain of A.C. Milan is, as ever, Paolo Maldini, with Massimo Ambrosini and Gennaro Ivan Gattuso as vice-captains.
Club Information:
Full Name: Associazione Calcio Milan SpA
Nicknames: Rossoneri (red-blacks), i Diavoli (the Devils)
Founded: December 16, 1899
Ground: San Siro, Milan
Capacity: 85,700
Chairman: Silvio Berlusconi
Head Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
League: Serie A
06/07 Position: 4th
Transfer Budget: £12mil-ish, depending on expectations and allocation.
History
The club was founded as a cricket club in 1899 by British expatriates Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin. In honour of its origins, the club has retained the English spelling of its city's name, instead of changing it to the Italian Milano (though it was forced to do it during the fascist regime, like Genoa and Inter); it should be noted that the Italian pronunciation is actually MEE-lahn, even though the English one is the same as in the local dialect and many other dialects of Northern Italy.
In 1980 Milan were involved in the Totonero scandal and were relegated to Serie B as punishment. The scandal was centred on a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches. Milan were allegedly involved in the 2006 Serie A scandal where five teams were accused of fixing matches by selecting favourable referees. Milan were initially punished with a 15 point deduction and banned from the Champions League. An appeal saw their penalty reduced to 8 points and allowed to retain their 2006-07 Champions League participation, where they won the competition.
First Team Squad
1 GK Dida
2 DF Cafu
3 DF Paolo Maldini (captain)
4 DF Kakha Kaladze
5 MF Emerson
7 FW Alexandre Pato (official from January)
8 MF Gennaro Gattuso (vice-captain)
9 FW Filippo Inzaghi
10 MF Clarence Seedorf
11 FW Alberto Gilardino
13 DF Alessandro Nesta
16 GK Željko Kalac
17 DF Dario Å*imić
18 DF Marek Jankulovski
19 DF Giuseppe Favalli
20 MF Yoann Gourcuff
21 MF Andrea Pirlo
22 MF Kaká
23 MF Massimo Ambrosini (vice-captain)
25 DF Daniele Bonera
27 MF Serginho
29 GK Valerio Fiori
31 DF Digão
32 MF Cristian Brocchi
34 MF Ibrahim Ba
36 DF Matteo Darmian (from youth team)
44 DF Massimo Oddo
94 FW Willy Aubameyang (from youth team)
99 FW Ronaldo
Analysis:
Despite having, on paper, one of the finest teams in Europe, AC Milan are very much a club in transition, and have been for over 3 years now. Some of this is due to the lack of obvious replacements, but some of it is in no part due to a certain sentimentalism. AC Milan boast an impressive defence which has a fairly solid cover, though investment in a centre-back is probably wise, at first to rotate with Maldini, and then to replace him. The midfield is solid, though it is often difficult for newcomers to AC Milan to figure out the best system to play, so depending on tactics, you might need a few additions. Up front is a different story. Ronaldo is, sadly, almost always injured, and while Inzaghi is good, he is losing his powers. Investment in an extra striker is, in my mind, a top priority, though remember that from January, Alexandre Pato will be available. A new keeper isn't essential, but you might be interested in one anyway.
Post your great games (preferably with a screenie, ideally with a little commentary to give us a sense of the emotions too). Updates should take the standard format of a pre-season post, a January post and an end-of-season report. Try and give details about expectations and occurrences to give us a sense of how things are panning out.
Don't hesitate to ask for advice about tactics or signings.
And lastly, Buona Fortuna!!!!!!
FM 2008: The A.C. Milan Thread - Sponsored by Jesus and Kaka 
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