During the 1987–88 season, Milan Associazione Calcio competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup.

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AC Milan

1987–88 season
Owner	Silvio Berlusconi
President	Silvio Berlusconi
Manager	Arrigo Sacchi
Stadium	San Siro
Serie A	Winners (in 1988-89 European Cup and 1988 Supercoppa Italiana)
Coppa Italia	Round of 16
UEFA Cup	Round of 32
Top goalscorer	League: Paolo Virdis (11) All: Paolo Virdis (15)
Average home league attendance	72,177
Home colours Away colours
← 1986–87 1988–89 →
All statistics correct as of 15 May 1988.

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Silvio Berlusconi appointed Arrigo Sacchi as the new head coach, who in the previous season with Parma had faced Milan in the Coppa Italia three times and subsequently eliminated the Rossoneri, in the process impressing Berlusconi with the team's style of play.^[1][2] The transfer market brought two Dutch players to Milan: Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit, taken respectively from Ajax and PSV, in place of the English Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley.^[3] Angelo Colombo and Carlo Ancelotti joined in midfield. The coach from Fusignano could thus count on a young squad, which could allow him to fight in the league against reigning champions Napoli. The squad was already made up of a strong defense led by captain Franco Baresi and which included Paolo Maldini, Filippo Galli, Mauro Tassotti as well as the substitutes Alessandro Costacurta (who will make his debut in the first team during the season) and the new signing Roberto Mussi. Thanks to the play-off won at the end of the 1986–87 season against Sampdoria, the Rossoneri regained access to Europe by participating in the UEFA Cup. Due to the disqualification of the Meazza (because of incidents during the match against Waregem on 11 December 1985), the club decided to play its home games at the Via del mare stadium in Lecce.^[4][5] In the Coppa Italia, Milan got through the first round, finishing their group in second place: they won four matches and lost only one, on penalties, against Parma.

The league began with the victory at Pisa, in which Van Basten (on his debut in Italy) scored the final 3–1 from a penalty kick. Milan then eliminated Sporting de Gijón in the UEFA Cup after losing the first leg 1–0 and winning the second leg 3–0 at the Via del Mare. On the league's fifth day, in the match against Sampdoria, Van Basten suffered an injury that would put him out of action until April. The journey in Europe ended in the next round, against another Spanish team: Espanyol, victorious away, in Lecce (2–0), and capable of imposing a goalless draw at home.^[6] Two months after the Dutchman's injury, Milan beat Roma at the San Siro, but the match was later abandoned by the referee due to a firecracker from the Milan stand that had hit the Giallorossi goalkeeper Tancredi. The calendar year ended with a victory in the derby, achieved by beating Inter 1–0: Milan thus had 16 points in the standings, 5 less than leaders Napoli. The first match of 1988 had the challenge against the Neapolitans on the calendar, which the Rossoneri won with an imposing 4–1; the 3–1 goal was scored by Gullit, who had just been awarded the 1987 Ballon d'Or. Three days later, the team defeated Ascoli in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia: in the second leg, the score of 1–0 was overturned by Ascoli who would then win on penalties.

In the second half of the season, in the league, Sacchi's team didn't suffer any setbacks and recovered ground against Napoli.^[7][8][9] In the 25th round, Van Basten returned to the pitch after six months of absence, and scored the winning goal against Empoli. This success was followed by victories against Roma and Inter, which made it possible to reduce the gap from Napoli to just one point, on the eve of the crucial match. At the San Paolo, Milan defeated the hosts again, this time 3–2 with a double by Virdis and Van Basten, who responded to Maradona and Careca. The result promoted the Rossoneri to first place in the standings, with an advantage of one point.^[10] The position was defended in the two remaining games, thanks to draws with Juventus and Como, giving Milan the Scudetto, their eleventh overall, as well as the first after nine years.^[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ITA Giovanni Galli — GK  ITA Giulio Nuciari — DF  ITA Franco Baresi — DF  SUI Walter Bianchi — DF  ITA Alessandro Costacurta — DF  ITA Filippo Galli — DF  ITA Paolo Maldini — DF  ITA Roberto Mussi — DF  ITA Mauro Tassotti — DF  ITA Rufo Emiliano Verga — MF  ITA Carlo Ancelotti

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Mario Bortolazzi — MF  ITA Angelo Colombo — MF  ITA Roberto Donadoni — MF  ITA Alberigo Evani — MF  NED Ruud Gullit — FW  NED Marco van Basten — FW  ITA Daniele Massaro — FW  ITA Pietro Paolo Virdis — FW  ITA Massimiliano Cappellini — FW  ITA Graziano Mannari

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