The story of Arrigo Sacchi’s great Milan team of the late 1980s
When people talk about some of the greatest club teams ever in the European game, Arrigo Sacchi’s great AC Milan team of the late 1980s should always be in the conversation
The Rossoneri team, in that short spell, had everything a great team should have and influenced football for years to come with their tactics. Here is their story.
A virtual unknown boss transforms the team’s fortunes

When Arrigo Sacchi arrived as Milan’s head coach in the summer of 1987, the tactician was a relative unknown. His biggest job before Milan was managing Parma, who he guided from Serie C to the brink of Serie A.
Sacchi came to the attention of Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi when Parma defeated Milan twice in the Coppa Italia of season 1986/87. The Parma boss did enough to persuade Berlusconi to appoint him as the Rossoneri’s new boss.
His appointment was met by derision from many quarters, including the famously brutal Italian press. They questioned Sacchi’s pedigree as a player, never mind as a coach. However, the Italian seemed to take it all in his stride, famously joking, “I never realised that in order to become a jockey, you have to have been a horse first.”
The appointment of Sacchi proved to be an inspired one by Berlusconi. The Ravenna-born boss went on to become one of the most influential coaches of his generation. He also revived one of the sleeping giants of Europe both at home and abroad.
Milan had failed to win the Scudetto since 1979 before Sacchi’s arrival. He put that right in his debut season as Rossoneri boss, then guided the club to back-to-back European Cup triumphs in seasons 1988/89 and 1989/90, as well as the European Super Cup in 1989 and 1990.
Sacchi developed a reputation as something of a tactical innovator, moving away from the then-popular ‘Catenaccio’ style of football in the Italian game, which often used a libero, to a more attacking and fluid 4-4-2 formation.
He is also now credited as one of the pioneers of the ‘high-press’ used by many of the best head coaches of the modern European game later in history, such as Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, amongst other coaches.
Reportedly, other coaches had tried to use the system before, but it was Arrigo Sacchi’s use of it that made it popular.
More key arrivals in the summer of 1987
While the arrival of Sacchi was massive in Milan’s success, there were also a few other key arrivals in the summer of 1987 that would prove pivotal to the club’s future triumphs. Two Netherlands internationals, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, also moved to Milan that summer.
Van Basten had already built a reputation as a prolific goalscorer at his professional club, Ajax. However, the forward only played 11 Serie A matches in his debut campaign in Italy, scoring three goals.
It was a different story in his second season with the club, though, as he scored an excellent ten goals in just nine appearances in the Rossoneri’s victorious European Cup campaign. He also scored four goals in their second straight European Cup-winning season.
Ruud Gullit arrived in Milan after impressing for Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven in his homeland. The versatile Dutch star enjoyed much more of a key role than his fellow new arrival in his debut season, as he scored 13 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions.
Gullit also scored four goals in the 1988/89 European Cup campaign. The goals helped the Rossoneri to win the trophy for a second straight season.
A third Netherlands international, Frank Rijkaard, joined his compatriots at Milan in the following summer. He joined in time to play his part in both of the team’s European Cup triumphs in 1989 and 1990. Like Van Basten and Gullit, he won further Serie A titles in seasons 1991/92 and 1992/93.
The Dutch trio are now considered Rossoneri legends, and their presence helped the team enjoy success in the 1990s. They were part of what many consider one of the best club teams in the history of the game.
Milan’s Sacchi team may be underrated
While some consider Sacchi’s team one of the greatest ever, the fact that they only won the Scudetto once in four seasons gives critics the ammunition needed to question their greatness.
However, considering what the team achieved in the European Cup and how it played the game, the claim to be one of the best ever should be unquestionable.
Even with just one Scudetto, Arrigo Sacchi is still considered one of the best managers in the history of the game. That says a lot about Sacchi and his team.
It’s Arrigo Sacchi’s birthday. Here’s his iconic Milan team showing off their frankly terrifying offside trap. pic.twitter.com/Ofdj5Pel4j
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) April 1, 2020
The Italian tactician has been a significant influence on many modern-day coaches. One of the most successful head coaches of all time, and compatriot Carlo Ancelotti has cited Sacchi as a big inspiration to him during his managerial career.
If such a historic head coach as Ancelotti is praising Sacchi, you know that he must have been some coach. The core of the team that he built also went on to win Serie A titles in 1992 and 1993.
Hopefully, in the future, people will still be talking about the Sacchi team of the late 1980s. They were simply a joy to watch and not only laid the groundwork for a tactical revolution in Italian football but also inspired many future coaches to achieve success.