The general consensus must be that a fellow Italian would be behind the creation of Italy's most successful club in European football history. However, that is not the case.
It was a certain Englishman that is widely considered to be the main founding father of the legendary AC Milan. His name was Herbert Kilpin, who used to be a football player and manager.
His amateur years in football were in his native city of Nottingham, which was followed by a move to Italy in the late 1890s to work in the textile industry. Following this, he became one of the pioneers of football in the country, first as a player for Internazionale Torino and then as player, manager, and charter member of Milan.
Early life
Born in Nottingham on 24th January 1870, Kilpin was the son of a butcher and grew up with nine other siblings at 129 Mansfield Road. After departing school, Kilpin worked as a lace warehouse assistant in the city. Although he was only 13 at the time, the English youngster was deeply passionate about football. This led to him taking part at the foundation of a small amateur club named after Italian national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, known as Garibaldi Nottingham.
Rising football career
Kilpin's football journey continued with the re-established Notts Olympic and then for St. Andrews, which was a church team based near the Forest Recreation Ground on Gregory Boulevard. The English youngster played in defense and midfield at the time.
It was in 1891 that he moved to Turin, Italy, with the intention of working for Edoardo Bosio. He was an Italian-Swiss merchant with links to a Nottingham lace manufacturer. Bosio also founded Internazionale Torino in that very same year, which is believed to have been the first full fledged Italian football club.
The former midfielder played for Torino, thus becoming the first-ever Englishman to play football abroad. He also took part in the first two editions of the Italian Football Championship with Torino at the time, although they lost on both occasions in the final against Genoa.
The beginning of Milan
By the time it was 1898, Kilpin had already left Turin and settled in Milan with fellow Englishman Samuel Richard Davies. The following year, they both became the founding members of new Italian club AC Milan, which was originally named as Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club at the time.
English businessman Alfred Edwards became the club's first elected president, while Kilpin, who was the most experienced they had, took the role of player-manager. Despite his immense control and influence, the Englishman allowed his oldest teammate David Allison to be the captain for Milan's first season.
AC Milan were quickly able to establish themselves as a top club, winning the national title in 1901, which was only their second season in history. This was followed by consecutive league triumphs in 1906 and 1907, thus achieving 3 domestic league title wins within 6 years.
Although Kilpin was a part of Milan for 9 years from 1899 till 1908, he only made 23 appearances for the club. He managed to score 7 goals during this period. His immense workload of being player-manager might've been the key reason for such a low number of game appearances.
Departure and creation of Inter
Kilpin eventually retired in 1908, bidding farewell to what was undoubtedly his greatest ever creation. That year was quite turbulent for Milan, as a difference of opinion between certain members led to their departure. The aftermath was that those departed people created another club named FC Internazionale Milano, also known as Inter Milan.
Legacy
Former Milan president Silvio Berlusconi will always be widely credited for transforming the Italian club into football's greatest ever side during their period of domination in Europe. However, hardcore fans of Milan would always be more indebted to Herbert Kilpin, who laid the foundation for all the historic feats that AC Milan went on to achieve.
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