AC Milan are set to commemorate its 125th anniversary with a grand celebration at San Siro during tonight’s match against Genoa. The event, which has been eagerly anticipated, will honour some of the club’s greatest legends and showcase the rich history of the Rossoneri.
The festivities will kick off at 19:45 with a special ceremony inducting Marco van Basten, Filippo Inzaghi, and Andriy Shevchenko into the AC Milan Hall of Fame. They will join Honorary Vice President Franco Baresi, who was the inaugural inductee. Baresi, van Basten, and Inzaghi will receive a specially crafted trophy by Tiffany on the San Siro pitch, though Shevchenko will be absent due to personal reasons.
At approximately 20:30, following the teams’ warm-up, the official 125th Anniversary ceremony will begin. The spectacle will involve the entire stadium with sounds, music, light shows, and iconic scenes narrated by Luca Ward and directed by Sergio Pappalettera. Young players from Milan’s youth academy will participate in this special narration. Legendary players including Gullit, Rijkaard, Pato, and Seedorf will also grace the San Siro turf. The Italian group Meduza will provide the soundtrack for the event, which will be streamed live on the AC Milan Official App.
However, the celebration has not been without controversy. Several notable figures will be absent from the gala evening. Zvonimir Boban publicly stated that he was not invited by the club. Fabio Capello and Gianni Rivera will also be missing. Paolo Maldini, the iconic former captain and recent director, declined the invitation. Other significant absences include Arrigo Sacchi, Ronaldinho, Cafu, Dida, and Kaká. Alessandro Nesta and Adriano Galliani are expected to miss the event due to commitments with their current club, Monza.
As of now, there are no indications that club owner Gerry Cardinale will attend the celebration.
Despite these absences, an impressive list of Milan legends will be present, including van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Pato, Seedorf, Inzaghi, Abbiati, Virdis, Galli, Evani, Tassotti, Donadoni, Albertini, Ambrosini, Costacurta, Serginho, Jankulovski, Brocchi, Zaccardo, Eranio, Montolivo, Simic, Laursen, Giovanni Galli, Borriello, Oddo, and Laursen.
The anniversary match will see Milan’s current squad don a special Anniversary kit, adding to the significance of the occasion as they aim to climb the Serie A table against Vieira’s Genoa side.
