On 16 December 1899 a club with an English name and an Italian soul was born in Milan. This year AC Milan blows out 127 candles, with seven European Cups in the trophy cabinet, two of them won in Athens. Its story can also be told through a shirt: the red and black stripes worn at home and the white strip that became the lucky charm of the big finals.

An Englishman at the Fiaschetteria Toscana

The founder was Herbert Kilpin, an Englishman living in the city. The first name was Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club and the first base was a tavern, the Fiaschetteria Toscana on Via Berchet. The club still keeps the English spelling "Milan" rather than the Italian "Milano", which it was forced to use only under fascism. Success came quickly: on 5 May 1901, with Alfred Edwards as president, Milan beat Genoa 3-0 and celebrated their first title, ending Genoa's dominance.

Red like fire, black like fear

Kilpin chose the colours himself, and his explanation became a motto. His side, he said, would be a team of "devils": red would recall fire and black would strike fear into opponents. That is where the two main nicknames come from, Rossoneri (the red and blacks) and Il Diavolo (the Devil). The colours have stayed the same since 1899; only the width of the stripes, the collar and the badges on the chest have changed. One of the best-loved designs is the 1987–90 shirt by Kappa, with Mediolanum as sponsor and a wide V-neck collar.

The 1908 split and the three Swedes

In 1908 a dispute over foreign players divided the club's members, and those who left founded Inter. Since 1926 Milan have played at San Siro, which they have shared with their neighbours since 1947. The 1950s brought the first great era with the Swedish trio Gre-No-Li: Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm, with league titles in 1951, 1955, 1957 and 1959. In 1963 the Rossoneri became the first Italian side to lift the European Cup, beating Benfica 2-1.

The white shirt of the finals

In the 1963 final Milan did not wear stripes but white. It was the start of a tradition few clubs share. In white they won six of their seven European crowns: 1963, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007. Only in 1969 did they celebrate in red and black. The charm did not always work, as white was also worn in the lost finals of 1995 against Ajax and 2005 against Liverpool. Yet the faith remained: in 2007 Milan were the designated "home" side and could have worn red and black, but they chose the all-white strip once more.

Two nights at the Olympic Stadium

On 18 May 1994, at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Fabio Capello's side crushed Johan Cruyff's Barcelona 4-0, with two goals from Daniele Massaro and one each from Dejan Savićević and Marcel Desailly. It was the peak of a generation that Arrigo Sacchi had started with Gullit, van Basten and Rijkaard and the back-to-back trophies of 1989 and 1990. That night lives on in the '94 ATHENS t-shirt. Thirteen years later, on 23 May 2007, Filippo Inzaghi scored twice against Liverpool and Carlo Ancelotti's Milan took revenge for Istanbul with a 2-1 win. For that evening there is the '07 ATHENS t-shirt.

Badges, a star and sponsors

The first badge, used until 1916, spelled out the club's full original name. After the tenth title in 1979 a star was added, and in the early 1980s a badge featuring a little devil appeared. The current crest shows the initials ACM, the city flag and the year 1899. For the centenary, the 1999–2000 shirt brought back the 1899 badge. As for manufacturers, adidas dressed the team from 1998 to 2018, and since then Puma has taken over.

Happy birthday to Milan, to its devils and to everyone who lived those two Athens nights up close. The stripes stay the same, but the white of the finals always has a place in our hearts.

See AC Milan shirts and merchandise at sportarena.gr.

Photo: San Siro – Vincenzo.togni, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.