You often hear the phrase ‘nice problem to have’ being used when it comes to a manager with a selection headache due to having a lot of players. The sheer number of quality if not legendary, players who have donned the famous Rossoneri shirt of Milan made this task near impossible. In the end, there were a few players who simply could not be left out, under any circumstances. The nice problem of having so many players to choose from wasn’t so nice when I had to leave out some of my favourite players. That said, the five I settled on would be unbeatable.
Sebastiano Rossi
There was a famous Nike billboard advert during the 1998 World Cup featuring Paolo Maldini. It featured the defender’s image with the line ‘Italy’s goalkeeper: Easiest job in Europe. The man I’ve gone for as my five-a-side keeper got the benefit of lining up behind Maldini throughout his time as Milan’s number one.
Sebastiano Rossi joined Milan in 1990 at the age of 26 as back-up to Andrea Pazzagli. Within a year, Rossi had taken the number one shirt and with it, his place behind one of the greatest defensive lines in football. That is not to say his job was as easy as the Nike ad would have you believe. The quality of the defenders in front of him has perhaps led to Rossi being somewhat under-rated.
Rossi held the record for consecutive minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A until Gianluigi Buffon broke it over a decade later. Twelve years with the Rossoneri saw the keeper lift the European Cup as well a five Scudetti, three Italian Super Cups and two European Super Cups. He never represented his country, despite being close to selection. There cannot be many keepers as good as Sebastiano Rossi not to receive even a single cap.
Franco Baresi
In my opinion, there isn’t a modern-day player comparable to Franco Baresi in terms of his playing style. He was never the tallest, fastest or strongest of central defenders, but he was always one of the best. Baresi was more cerebral than his contemporaries, he always knew where to be and what to do when he was on the pitch.
Baresi debuted for Milan at the age of 17 and he would go on to lift the Serie A title a year later as a regular in the side at just 18 years old. It was the beginning of a twenty-year playing career, fifteen of which wearing the captain’s armband. A one-club man who led his team through a glorious period in their history.
He lifted the European Cup on three occasions and the Italian title six times. Add in four Italian Super Cups, three European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups and its clear to see why Baresi is a legendary figure. Baresi was a member of Italy’s 1982 World Cup winning squad at the age of 22 although he didn’t play in the tournament. He later came within a penalty shoot-out of captaining the Azzurri to winning the 1994 tournament.
Paolo Maldini
A five-a-side team probably doesn’t require two defenders. There are a wealth of midfielders and attackers to try and fit in so a pick further up the pitch would be helpful. In this case, I had to pick two defenders. If Franco Baresi wasn’t the greatest Milan defender of all-time, then Paolo Maldini was.
Another one-club man, Maldini came through the youth system at Milan, the club where his father was already a famous figure. Cesare’s boy joined the club at the age of ten and debut in the first team at 16. It was the first of 902 official matches for the Rossoneri over the next quarter of century, inheriting Baresi’s captain’s armband along the way.
Maldini emulated his father’s achievement of winning the European Cup, going on to lift the famous trophy five times over his career. He also picked up seven Scudetti over his career. As far as I am concerned, Maldini is the greatest defender of all-time of those that I have seen. He had everything you would want in a defender. A natural right-footed player who made his name as the world’s greatest left-back, Maldini was also one of the best central defenders on the planet.
Gianni Rivera
I only had one midfield place left in my team after the inclusion of both Baresi and Maldini. The fact there are so many amazing midfielders missing out probably makes this the most contentious of my choices.
Rivera’s career may have been before most reading this can remember, including the author of this piece. His record speaks for itself and the fact I knew about a player whose Milan career ended the year before I was born shows his importance still resonates.
A player who was before his time in terms of his ability and vision, Rivera was known as ‘Golden Boy’ by the Italian media. The moniker came with good reason as he was awarded the coveted Balon d’Or in 1969. The award coming a year after he led Italy to winning the European Championships.
He may have played in a time when Italy was famed for their defensive solidity, but Rivera was the classy playmaking yin to the Azzurri’s defensive yang. Three Serie A titles and two European Cups were lifted by Rivera who like Baresi and Maldini, wore the captain’s armband. He made over 500 Milan appearances in a near-twenty-year spell, more than earning his place here.
Marco van Basten
I almost picked an all-Italian line-up but I could not resist picking this Dutchman as my striker. He is one of the greatest forwards to have played the game and had injury not curtailed his career, he may well be thought of as the G.O.A.T.
Van Basten arrived at Milan in 1987 as the Rossoneri won their first Serie A in eight years. The Dutch goalscorer was ruled out for most of his debut season with injury but made up for it the following year, leading the Netherlands to the European Championship title whilst picking up the Balon d’Or and scoring possibly the greatest goal of all time.
The striker was not just a scorer, there was more to his style than that. He oozed class in everything he did and the ball appeared stuck to his feet at times as defenders tried in vain to disposes him. He was as adept in the air as he was on the ground and not just in terms of headers. He was not averse to a spectacular overhead kick.
A three-time Balon d’Or winner whilst Milan speaks to his talent as does his four Scudetti, three European Cups and 125 goals in 201 games.
Words Mark Gordon
@mark-gordon