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“Diece Legendi”: AC Milan’s Greats 

One of the identifiable colors in the sport, wearing the Rossoneri at the San Siro is more than just a status symbol in this game, but it also bears the weight and responsibility of the city and the Lombardy region. 

In this list, we are counting the ten AC Milan legends who do we think are the greatest to wear the fabled striped kit. Picked at random, the criteria for inclusion are a mixture of personal accomplishments, trophies won, and contributions to the club. 

1. Paolo Maldini 

The ultimate no brainer in this list, the modern example of loyalty in the game that has been rare in these times. 
 
He played a club record 902 matches in all competitions, spanning his career for almost 25 seasons. A reliable defender, Maldini won 26 trophies in the top-flight including seven scudetti and five European Cups. No wonder his number 3 shirt was retired after he played his last match in 2009. 

2. Franco Baresi 

He was the first Milanista to have his shirt retired, with the number six not being used by Milan after he hung up his boots in 1997 after a stellar career that spanned 19 years. 

Through thick and thin, Baresi played 719 times for the Rossoneri, even spending two separate seasons at the Serie B. He lifted 16 titles as a captain, the most in the club’s record books, including five Serie A titles and three European Cups. 

3. Gunnar Nordahl 

The striker was the club’s record goal scorer, with 257 goals in 210 matches from 1949 and was the lynchpin of the Swedish Gre-No-Li trio that terrorized opposing backlines. 

Nordahl won the Capocannoniere for the Serie A’s top scorer for five seasons, which was a league record in itself. 

4. Marco Van Basten 

If not for his injuries, the Dutchman is on pace to break Nordahl’s scoring record, but his influence at Milan during the Berlusconi glory days is unmatched. 

He was the leading foreign export in the late 80s (alongside Gullit and Rijkaard), winning the Serie A scoring title twice, and the Ballon D’Or thrice.  

5. Kaka 

Torn between him and Jose Altafini as the best from South America, we go with the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner.  

Although he only spent just seven seasons in two spells, he played so well at midfield that Real Madrid broke the transfer fee record when they took him in 2009. 

6. Andriy Shevchenko 

From a Ballon d’Or to another, the Ukraine international had a keen eye in front of goal. Sheva was the club’s second all-time leading goal scorer, finding the net 175 times. 

Shevchenko was the club’s top striker in Europe, scoring 38 times in two different spells. 

7. Gianni Rivera 

The first to play 500 times for Milan, the dynamic midfielder was the creative force for Nereo Rocco and his tightly guarded catenaccio that dominated the game in the 60s. 

Rivera won the 1969 Ballon D’Or when he gave the Rossoneri their second European Cup and their lone Intercontinental Cup triumph. 

8. George Weah 

In 1995, the Liberian became the first (and so far, only) African to win the prestigious Ballon D’Or, having joined Milan from Paris Saint-Germain in the middle of the year. On his four seasons, he won two scudetti for Milan. 

He was one of the players that never went to the World Cup, not because of his injuries or form, but because he came from a global minnow.  

9. Clarence Seedorf 

Among the international players that came for AC Milan, the Dutch midfielder was the record holder for appearances, with 432 matches ranked him eighth in the club’s all-time list. 

A quiet operator in the middle, Seedorf had the unique honor of winning the Champions League with three separate clubs, which included a pair when he was at the San Siro. 

10.  Herbert Kilpin 

AC Milan will not be that legendary if not for this Englishman who founded the club in 1899 alongside other expats and became its leading man of its football team in its early days. 

Two years after their creation, they won their first national title, which was followed by two more in 1906 and 1907, with Kilpin having a dual role of playing manager as well as its club captain.