Football Features

Where are they now? AC Milan’s Serie A winning side from 2010/11

By Squawka News

Published: 13:45, 1 September 2020

It’s fair to say that AC Milan have struggled to perform in recent years.

Not quite the world-beaters they once were, their Serie A title triumph in the 2010/11 season was the most recent piece of major silverware the Italian side have earned.

Unable to keep up with the likes of Juventus, Napoli and Roma, Milan have slipped in recent years.

The lowest point was arguably hiring actors to perform a Haka (yep, the one associated with the All Blacks rugby team) in order to promote skincare products, before drawing 0-0 with Carpi in 2016.

Even Gennaro Gattuso hung up his boots and tried his luck in the San Siro dugout, but the ex-hatchet man was unable to reverse fortunes and he has since been succeeded by Marco Giampaolo and Stefano Pioli — though a major trophy has still eluded this sleeping giant.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy fonder memories. Don the rose-tinted glasses and get a good look at this, seriously capable, Serie A-winning team — masterminded by a certain Massimiliano Allegri.

Christian Abbiati

Appearances: 380

International caps: 4

Having moved to the San Siro in 1998 from Monza, Abbiati retired at the end of the 2015/16 season with the record for the most appearances for a Milan goalkeeper.

Although a certain 21-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma may one day take that record, the youngster has already racked up 203 games.

Ignazio Abate

Appearances: 306

International caps: 22

Another Milan veteran, Abate came through the ranks at the San Siro but ultimately failed to make the grade, before returning in 2009 after successful spells with Empoli and Torino.

For a decade the Italian speedster made the right-back berth his own, captained the Rossoneri on occasion and left to an eye-watering standing ovation, commemorative tifo and emotional goodbye on his final San Siro match last season.

Thiago Silva

Appearances: 119

International caps: 89

We all know what happened here… Silva moved to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, where he’s won the league title in all-but one of his seasons at the club. However, he’s now in the Premier League having joined Chelsea on a free transfer following the end of his PSG transfer.

His £36m transfer fee from Milan to PSG in 2012 was the most expensive for a defender at the time.

Alessandro Nesta

Appearances: 326

International caps: 78

Widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, Nesta formed part of a formidable defensive line at Milan while at the club from 2002 to 2012.

His subsequent move to Montreal Impact was brief while a transfer to Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC saw the defender make just three league appearances before retiring.

Now turning to a managerial career, Nesta resigned as head coach of Miami FC in November 2017 after just one season in charge and is now at the helm of Serie B side Frosinone.

Marek Jankulovski

Appearances: 153

International caps: 78

Jankulovski ended his Milan career after winning his one and only Serie A title. Released as a free agent after five years, he headed back home to the Czech Republic with boyhood club Banik Ostrava.

Unfortunately, he made just one appearance after subsequently suffering a knee injury and was forced to announce his retirement from football due to a slow recovery.

Gennaro Gattuso

Appearances: 467

International caps: 73

Gattuso spent time at three clubs including Rangers before joining Milan in 1999. He remained there for 13 years, making an eye-watering 467 appearances for the side until the end of the 2011/12 season.

The Italian then moved to Swiss club Sion, where he saw out his playing career and took over as manager the following season.

Spells at Palermo, OFI Crete and Pisa followed before Gattuso returned to Milan as the man in charge in 2017. The ex-midfielder remained at the club for two years with mixed success before leaving by mutual consent at the end of the 2018/19 season.

He has since taken the reins at the San Paolo with Napoli and lifted the Coppa Italia crown at Juventus’ expense earlier this year.

Clarence Seedorf

Appearances: 431

International caps: 87

One of the most decorated Dutch players of all time, Seedorf made a perfect 300 league appearances for the Italian side, from 2002 until 2012 (the same period as Nesta).

Seedorf remains the only player to have won the Champions League with three different sides – Ajax, Real Madrid and twice with Milan.

He spent two seasons at Botafogo after leaving Italy and announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2014 season. The Dutchman returned to Milan as manager for a brief four-month spell later that year.

He has since taken charge of Deportivo La Coruna and the Cameroon national team.

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Appearances: 114

International caps: 15

No stranger to controversy, Boateng has spent time at 12 different clubs around Europe since making his debut in 2004 with Hertha BSC II.

However, his first spell at Milan that lasted three years between 2010 and 2013 was the longest he’s been at a single club.

He then joined Schalke for two seasons before returning to Italy in 2016 for a short 11-game stint at the San Siro once again.

Since leaving Milan for the second time, he has turned out for Las Palmas, Eintracht Frankfurt, Sassuolo, Barcelona, Fiorentina and Besiktas on loan.

Alexandre Pato

Appearances: 150

International caps: 27

During the season that Milan won Serie A, Pato was the club’s joint-top scorer with 14 goals in 25 games.

He left in 2013 for Corinthians, although he spent time on loan at Sao Paulo and more recently Chelsea, before joining Villarreal in the summer of 2016, and then moving to Tianjin Quanjian in January 2017.

He returned to his homeland to sign a permanent deal with Sao Paulo in 2019 but left the club just over a year later, and at the age of 31 is searching for a new team.

Robinho

Appearances: 144

International caps: 100

Robinho played at the San Siro for five seasons after spells at Santos, Real Madrid and Man City.

Robinho was convicted of sexual assault by an Italian court in 2017 and sentenced to nine years in prison. His lawyer said Robinho “played no part in the incident”, a 2013 nightclub assault on a 22-year-old Albanian woman, but he has so far escaped extradition. This is because, according to the Telegraph, Italy would only begin extradition proceedings after a defendant exhausts the two appeals they have the right to.

Robinho is now a free agent.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Appearances: 105

International caps: 116

Success has followed Zlatan Ibrahimovic wherever he has been, as he has won trophies in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France and England.

His first season at Milan, a loan spell, was the Rossoneri’s Serie A-winning campaign. He made the permanent switch to the San Siro in the following season and ended as the top scorer in the division with 28 goals in 32 games.

In 2012 he followed Silva out of the door and joined PSG, where he scooped domestic titles aplenty before relocating to Old Trafford with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Again, Ibra enjoyed a trophy-laden stint at his latest club, guiding United to a Europa League and League Cup double in 2016/17.

A brief sojourn across the Atlantic would come next in Ibra’s glittering career with LA Galaxy, but suggestions of him winding down were cast aside as he rejoined Milan earlier this year at the age of 38, recently signing a new deal.