Herbert Kilpin

Herbert Kilpin (24 January 1870 – 22 October 1916) was an English football player and manager, best known as the main founding father of AC Milan. After playing as an amateur in his native city of Nottingham, in the early 1890s he moved to Italy to work in the textile industry and 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 years Kilpin was born in Nottingham on 24 January 1870. The son of a butcher, he grew up with nine older siblings at 129 Mansfield Road — though the place has been renumbered to 191 Mansfield Road since 1895. After leaving school, he worked as a lace warehouse assistant in the city. He was a keen footballer and, aged only 13, he had taken part at the foundation of a small amateur club named after Italian national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, whose players wore the typical red shirts.

Club career

From England to Italy Kilpin's footballing career went on with the recently re-established Notts Olympic and then for St. Andrews, a church team based near the Forest Recreation Ground on Gregory Boulevard, where he played as a defender and midfielder. becoming the first-ever Englishman to play football abroad.

The newly founded club proved immediately successful, as they won the national title in 1901, only the second season of their history. Kilpin spent nine seasons at the club, making a total of 23 appearances and scoring 7 goals, and led the Rossoneri to two more titles in 1906 and 1907.

The Lord of Milan book and film Kilpin's story was forgotten after his death, but in 2016, author Robert Nieri released a book about his life called The Lord of Milan. It was part biography and part fiction. The author has admitted that details about Kilpin's life were so scarce that he could not complete a full biography. The same year, a team from LeftLion began filming a documentary about Herbert Kilpin's life in both the UK and Italy. The film features commentary from Robert Nieri, Luigi La Rocca, Mark Hateley, Luther Blissett, Daniele Massaro, Giovanni Lodetti, John Foot and many others. The film was shown at cinemas and film festivals across Europe in 2017 and 2018 and eventually released online and on DVD in January 2019. It won two awards at the Olympic-accredited FICTS Film Festival in Milan in October 2017 and has since toured China.

Public House In recognition of Kilpin's achievements, on Bridlesmith Walk in Nottingham, there can be found a public house named in his honour, The Kilpin.

Honours

Player Milan FBCC Italian Football Championship: 1901, 1906, 1907

Manager Milan FBCC Italian Football Championship: 1901 1900, 1901, 1902 FGNI tournament: 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907 Palla Dapples: 23 times, from 1905 to 1908

Individual AC Milan Hall of Fame