Ranking the Top 5 Players to Have Represented Both AC Milan and Juventus
Founded in 1897 and 1899 respectively, Juventus and AC Milan are two of the most successful teams in the history of Italian football.
Together, the two clubs have combined to win 49 Scudetti—or 51, if you're asking a Juventino, who likely still claim 33 titles rather than subtract the two stripped from them after Calciopoli. They've also won almost 15 percent of the continental titles since the first European Cup was contested in 1955—nine combined titles, seven of which belong to Milan.
Add a combined 15 Coppa Italia titles, and it's easy to see just how much these two teams have lorded over the Italian game.
Successful teams are made up of successful players, and Milan and Juve have had some of the best over the years. Numerous players have represented both clubs. Some have been of little significance, but some have been among the game's top performers.
As Saturday's match between the two at the San Siro looms, Bleacher Report has taken a look at the players who have called both Milan and Turin home and picked the five best.
Who are the best players to have represented both of these historic clubs? Read on to find out.
5. Gianluca Zambrotta
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One of the best full-backs of his generation, Gianluca Zambrotta had success at both Juve and Milan.
After starting his career at Como and Bari, Zambrotta arrived at Juventus in 1999. During his seven years in Turin, he won four league titles and reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2003, when Juve went down to Milan on penalties.
It was with Juve that Zambrotta developed his reputation as one of the game's best full-backs. In an impressive display of versatility, he successfully switched sides at least three times throughout his time with the team, never dropping his level of play. By the end of his time there, he would be deployed on either side as needed.
He was an integral part of one of the most fearsome defenses in Europe, combining with the likes of Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Ciro Ferrara and more.
It was also during this time he became a fixture in the Italy national team. He was an integral part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning side.
Playing on the right, he missed the tournament opener with a thigh injury but started the team's remaining six games. He scored the opener of Italy's 3-0 quarterfinal win over Ukraine with a long-range screamer and set up the second of Luca Toni's goals in the second half. He nearly repeated his goal in extra time of the semifinal against Germany, when he smashed the crossbar after one-timing a loose ball following a corner.
But while 2006 presented his highest moment, it also spelled the end of his time at Juve. The Calcopoli scandal, and Juve's consequent demotion to Serie B, saw many of the team's top players leave, and Zambrotta was no exception. He ended up moving to Barcelona, where he spent two years before returning to Italy with Milan.
He was used mostly as a utility player for the Rossoneri, but his impact was felt. He played a team-leading 34 matches in his first season in 2008-09, and while his playing time steadily decreased in the ensuing seasons, he was still a big part of the back line that helped the team to its first title in seven years in the 2010-11 season.
Zambrotta played for Juve at his peak and was an major veteran influence during his four years in Milan. Not only was he one of the best of his time at his position, but he affected both clubs in marked ways.
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic only spent four seasons between Juve and Milan, but they were influential years.
The big Swede arrived at Juve from Ajax in 2004 and immediately had a major effect. He scored 16 times in the league as he helped Juve win the title. That number dropped to seven the next year, but it corresponded with a rise in assists as his role in Juve's attack changed.
It was his actions after that season that placed him slightly below Hannibal Lecter on the list of preferred dinner guests in Turin.
In the wake of Calciopoli, he demanded a move to the point his agent, Mino Raiola, threatened to sue the club in order to free him from his contract, John Nisbet of the Independent. He soon secured a move to Juve's archrivals, Inter, leading the Nerazzurri to three consecutive league titles before joining Barcelona in 2009.
After a season that was successful on the field but disastrous off it, Ibrahimovic moved from the Camp Nou to Milan. He helped lead Massimiliano Allegri's team to the Scudetto, scoring 14 times in the league and four more times in the Champions League. The next year, he nabbed the title of Capocannoniere with 28 goals in 32 games as Milan finished second to a resurgent Juve.
Ibrahimovic's time in Italy was productive and, the revocation of Juve's titles during his time with the club notwithstanding, immensely successful, resulting in three first-place finishes and one second-place finish. His time at both clubs was brief, but his impact was high.
3. Roberto Baggio
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Roberto Baggio is very similar to baseball legend Mickey Mantle, who played for the New York Yankees in the 1950s and '60s.
Baseball fans often wonder just how much better Mantle's career—which was already among the best in the game's history—could have been had he not tripped on a drain pipe at Yankee Stadium during the 1951 World Series. The knee problem that resulted from the incident was beyond the medical science of the time, meaning the injury was something he lived with his entire career.
Baggio's career was soccer's answer to that. He is one of the most talented men to have ever stepped onto a soccer field, but injuries continually prevented him from reaching his full potential.
That said, his career was still remarkable. He started in earnest at Fiorentina, and his sale to Juventus in 1990 for a then-record £8 million fee was so traumatic to that club's fanbase they protested in the streets. The uproar didn't affect him on the field, though—he scored 14 times and notched 12 assists in his first season in Turin.
His goal total increased to 18 in his second season and 21 in his third, finishing second on the league scoring charts both times. His dominant 1992-93 season saw him win the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
By the end of his five years in Turin, Baggio was Juve's ninth-ranked goalscorer in all competitions. But by the end of the 1994-95 season, the emergence of a certain Alessandro Del Piero pushed Baggio out of Juventus' plans. He moved to Milan and spent two seasons there. In his first campaign, he scored 10 goals and notched 10 assists as he helped his team to a title, scoring against Fiorentina in the title decider.
His second season was decidedly less successful, feuding with Arrigo Sacchi over playing time. The team finished 11th, and he moved on at the end of the year.
Baggio's impact was much larger on Juve, but he was a positive influence on both clubs.
2. Filippo Inzaghi
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For the first six years of his career, Filippo Inzaghi was a nomad, playing for the likes of Piacenza, AlbinoLeffe, Hellas Verona, Parma and Atalanta.
It was his single season at Atalanta, for whom he scored 24 times in 33 league games in 1996-97, that caught the attention of the Juventus brass.
Finally finding a home for more than a season, Inzaghi formed a potent partnership with Del Piero, scoring 89 times in 165 games in all competitions. He also became the first player to ever score two hat tricks in Champions League play—he still shares the competition record of three with Michael Owen after recording another with Milan.
As well as he played at Juve, Inzaghi's time with the club wouldn't last. The addition of David Trezeguet in 2000 forced him out of the starting lineup, and he moved to Milan in 2001.
The only other shirt beside Milan's he would wear again would be that of the Italy national team.
Inzaghi missed the first half of his first season with Milan, but dovetailed well with Andriy Shevchenko upon his return and began racking up goals. In the 2002-03 season, he scored 17 times in the league and another 12 in the Champions League, helping the team to a win over his former employers in the final.
Over his 11 seasons with the club, Inzaghi was a constant in Milan's lineup. He scored 126 goals in 300 total games, cementing his status as a legend of the game. He ended up scoring 70 total goals in European competition—good for fourth all time. He also consolidated another record for hat tricks, racking up 10 in league play.
After suffering a lesion of his ACL in 2010, he missed most of Milan's most recent Scudetto season. He turned into a bit-part player and locker-room presence, playing his final game for the team on May 13, 2012, scoring the winning goal of Milan's game against Novara.
Inzaghi was never a technically gifted player, but he played hard and was always in the right place to do his job and score. A true Italian legend who had a huge impact on both clubs, Inzaghi is one of the best players to have ever worn both their shirts.
1. Andrea Pirlo
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Andrea Pirlo is one of the greatest Italian footballers of all time.
The exemplar of the regista position, Pirlo's pinpoint passes and incredible dead-ball play led Milan to two Scudetti, a Coppa Italia and two Champions League wins in his 10 years at the San Siro. The Rossoneri finished no lower than fifth in any season during his time there.
Overall, he played in 401 games for Milan and scored 41 times—one of the most successful runs in Milan's history.
But his time with the team ended on a low. The Rossoneri considered him finished and decided against renewing his contract. He moved to Juventus on a free transfer in 2011 and proved them all wrong.
The 2011-12 season was probably the finest of his career. He barely put a foot wrong. He played in all but one of Juve's league games, and in the absence of a dominant goalscorer, he became the foundation of a fantastic midfield. He notched an incredible 13 assists to propel Juve to an undefeated season and their first post-Calciopoli title, then dominated the 2012 UEFA European Championship, driving Italy to a runner-up finish.
Three more championships with Juve followed, and Pirlo was integral to the team's run to last season's Champions League final.
In four years with the team, he recorded 31 assists in the league and added 16 goals, including highlights such as a last-minute free kick against Genoa in 2013-14 and last season's heart-stopping winner in the Derby della Mole with four seconds left.
Based on the combination of overall talent and the impact he had on both clubs, there's no question Pirlo should be at the top of this list.
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