THE VITALS:

Team: AC Milan

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2011-12 (Used for the penultimate game of the 2010-11 Serie A season, the 2011 Supercoppa Italia match and the 2011-12 Serie A season)

Name/Number: Ibrahimovic #11

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This shirt is in excellent condition with the material, sponsor decal, Adidas embroidery and club crest showing little to no wear at all. There is unfortunately however, some slight cracking to the name print.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: 13-14 Yrs

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18.5 inches

Shirt Length: 25.0 inches

Made by Adidas in their ‘ClimaCool’ range of shirts that they introduced in 2011; this shirt may also fit a size extra small, however, please be mindful of the length of the shirt.

DESCRIPTION: 

Adidas’ second presentation of AC Milan’s home shirt in the decade of the 2010’s would be a throwback to the first home shirt ever worn by the club 1899 as thin stripes were employed for the first time since the 2007-08 season however – the vintage of 2011-12 would be an altogether unique take on the classic red and black stripe template as a striking white hoop collar and bands on the sleeves were employed to give the shirt a truly contemporary feel! This shirt would first debut in Milan’s final home game of the 2010-11 season when they beat Cagliari 4-1 on 14^th May 2011 to celebrate the capture of the Scudetto two weeks earlier in front of their home fans! Although Milan would fall short in their defence of the title in 2011-12; there was still plenty to celebrate as they won the Supercoppa Italiana showcase against rivals – Internazionale, while there was also another semi-final appearance in the Coppa Italia and the team would also reach the quarter-final of the Champions League for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The end of the 2011-12 season would prove an emotional one as many of the clubs recent legends such as – Alessandro Nesta, Filippo Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf all left the club, while there were also departures of: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Antonio Cassano, Mark Van Bommel and Massimo Oddo!

THE SEASON:

AC Milan would end a painful wait of seven years to finally reach the summit of Italian football as they ended Internazionale’s recent hegemony of the Scudetto to be crowned as Serie A champions of the 2010-11 season! Max Allegri’s appointment and two excellent transfer windows laid the foundations for this first piece of silverware since the 2007-08 season; however, more would still be expected by ‘I Rossoneri’ in 2011-12 – especially in the UEFA Champions League where they were eliminated in the Round of 16.

Bosman transfers would be Milan’s dish of choice in the summer of 2011 as – Philippe Mexes, Taye Taiwo were signed from AS Roma and Olympique Marseille respectively, while the promising Stephan El Shaarawy was signed from Genoa and Italian internationals – Antonio Nocerino and Alberto Aquilani also arrived in the close season as the club sought to move from the loss of Andrea Pirlo to Juventus.

AC Milan’s title defence began on 9^th September 2011 when they hosted Lazio at the San Siro and the champions would have to rally from a 2-0 deficit after 21 minutes to earn a 2-2 draw. In their first five fixtures of the new league season; they would win just once as both Napoli and Juventus already claimed the scalps of Milan, while Udinese – who finished fourth in 2010-11 also claimed a point in their 21st September meeting. This meant that Milan had played all of last season’s 2^nd – 5^th placed teams and failed to win in any of the four ties. This would set the stage for a fine return to their championship winning form they displayed for most of 2011 as they won nine of their remaining eleven league games of the year – with only Fiorentina and Bologna able to hold Allegri’s side to a draw. Moreover, their five match winning run between 15^th October to 6^th November would the first time they achieved that feat since 2009! Their exceptional form from October to end of the year would see Milan finish 2011 in first place by way of their superior goal difference over Juventus with both sides locked on 34 points each!

On Milan’s return to Serie A action on 8^th January 2012 – they would extend their unbeaten streak to 12 games when they saw off Atalanta 2-0, however, they would suffer a first defeat in the league since 2^nd October when Internazionale stunned the champions in the first ‘Derby della Madonnina’ of the season. Wins over Novara and Cagliari were overshadowed by their failure to defeat either Lazio or Napoli for the second time in the season as Juventus were able to open a two point lead at the top of the table. Milan would welcome Juventus to the San Siro on 25^th February with both teams now on 50 points apiece after 25 games and the spoils would be shared after a 1-1 draw took place. Milan would extend their current unbeaten run to nine following the 1-1 draw away against Catania on 31^st March with Milan now two points clear at the top with eight games remaining. The fixtures against Fiorentina and Bologna would once again be the bane of the champions – and with just four more games remaining; Juventus would have a three point advantage having still remained unbeaten. Still, Milan would not give up and would reduce the gap to just a point ahead of the second Milan Derby on match-day 37. Despite lead the tie 2-1 – Milan would be beaten 4-2 to all but concede the title to Juventus. In the end Milan would relinquish their title by 4 points – despite winning more games and scoring more goals than Juventus.

Milan would begin the season on 6^th August when they battled Internazionale in front of over 66,000.00 fans in Beijing, China to determine the Supercoppa Italiana champions and it was Milan who earnt the city bragging rights when they came back from a goal down to win 2-1 in the Chinese capital!

After reaching the semi-final of the Coppa Italia in 2010-11; they would be upset by the surprise package – Palermo. They began their quest to go one better against Novara where they needed extra time to win the contest 2-1. Their quarter final opponents would be Lazio, and Milan would impress with a 3-1 win to set up a semi-final against Juventus! Juve would win the 1^st Leg at the San Siro 2-1 before Milan won 2-1 in normal time in the 2^nd Leg to set up extra time. Juventus would score the decisive goal however to seal a 2-2 draw on the night and eliminate Milan 4-3 on aggregate.

The UEFA Champions League hadn’t been kind to AC Milan in the previous two seasons and this season was no different as they would have the test of the consensus best team in the world – FC Barcelona, along with Viktoria Plzen and BATE Borisov in Group H. Milan would prove their own credentials as being valid when they battled the European Champions – Barcelona to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou on Match-Day 1. They would go into the reverse fixture at San Siro on Match-Day 4 two points behind the Spanish side with eight points. Milan would have to concede 1^st place after they were beaten in a thrilling 3-2 affair on 23^rd November. With BATE Borisov’s defeat of Viktoria Plzen – Milan would reach the Last 16 with a guaranteed 2^nd place finish.

For the fourth time in a row; Milan would be drawn against English opposition in the Round of 16 and in Arsenal, they had the opportunity to avenge their elimination at this stage in 2008. Milan would blow away the English side 4-0 in the 1^st Leg at home, however; they would almost be pegged back in their visit to the Emirates Stadium for the 2^nd Leg – only to hold on to lose 3-0! The quarter final would see them take on a familiar foe as Barcelona’s name was paired against them for a place in the semi-final! After holding the defending champions to a goalless draw in the 1^st Leg at home, they would secure an away goal in the 2^nd Leg; only to be beaten 3-1 on the night in controversial circumstances.

The notable players that season were:

Ronaldinho, Maxi Lopez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Filippo Inzaghi, Antonio Cassano, Stephan El Shaarawy, Pato, Robinho, Clarence Seedorf, Kevin-Prince Boateng,  Urby Emmanuelson, Sulley Muntari, Gennaro Gattuso, Bryan Cristante, Massimo Ambrosini, Mathieu Flamini, Mark van Bommel, Luca Antonini, Mario Yepes, Thiago Sliva, Gianluca Zambrotta, Massimo Oddo, Philippe Mexes, Alessandro Nesta, Ignazio Abate, Daniele Bonera, Taye Taiwo, Mattia De Sciglio, Christian Abbiati, Marco Amelia, Flavio Roma