#TBT: THE BARON AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP

What a day the 8th of October is. On this day in 1922… the Baron was born. An ace from the Baltic Sea, Nils Liedholm.  He was born in a town in southern Sweden called Valdermarsvik, and across all of Rossoneri history there is only one place that is more challenging to pronounce - Dvirkivščyna, the birthplace of Andriy Shevchenko.

Liddas’ class and style has been etched into AC Milan’s history through all of his victories, appearances, successful passes (nearly all of those he attempted) and of course goals. The main man of the Club’s tenth Scudetto star was not only both captain and Coach of Milan, but has also raised a great Rossoneri fan in his son Carlo. Every year the Liedholm prize for sporting culture is awarded, often to highly decorated figures such as Carlo Ancelotti and Paolo Maldini, who have helped form a part of the rich Rossoneri tapestry of champions.

The day after however, one day after having turned 31, it was straight back to the league; the final one which began as late as October. That’s the way it used to be back then, both for Milan and Serie A. Nowadays it’s impossible to believe that was the case, with the first matches of Serie A coming in the days following Ferragosto. On that day, 9 October 1988, Milan returned to the pitch after such a long period of time out, with the star of the Scudetto back on their chests, once again reigning champions.

AC Milan v Fiorentina ended with a scoreline of 4-0, with Virdis scoring a hatrick and Donadoni scoring the other; not a bad way to start the season. The Olympics took place in 1988 and the same thing also occurred after the Sydney Games, with the first matchday in 2000 being scheduled for 1 October, with Milan once again coming out victorious, this time with a 2-0 victory over Vicenza at San Siro. October is a special month for the Rossoneri; the month of the first Milan Derby, won by AC Milan in 1908 and the month of the Van Basten’s birthday. But those are both stories for another day.

The official PUMA match kits for the 2019/20 season are available in the AC Milan Online Store!