Top 5 players who have played for both Milan teams

The path from one Milan team to other has been well trodden in the past, where several players have been seen swapping colours. From Guiseppe Maeza in 1940 to Mario Balotelli in 2013, there are umpteen number of players who have represented both the capital clubs at some point of time.Here are the 5 best players to have played on the bothsides of Naviglio river.

#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The dynamic Swedish international has played for as many as 6 teams in his career, including both the San Siro outfits.

After a few successful spells at Ajax and Juventus, the 33-year old joined Inter Milan back in 2006, where he ameliorated himself into one of the most intimidating prospects in Europe.

117 appearances and 66 goals, Zlatan was the key to Nerazzurri’s domestic success and had even garnered umpteen individual honours such as ‘Serie A Footballer of the Year’, ‘Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year’, a ‘Capocannonerie’ for being the highest goal-getter in the league.

The Malmo-native astro returned to Italy in 2010 following an unsuccessful tour of duty at Barcelona, but this time, to join the other half of Milan, where he enjoyed a selfsame amount of approbation as he did with La Baneamata.

#2 Mario Balotelli

Maverick Italian forward Mario Balotelli embarked on his footballing journey at Inter Milan at a tender age of 17 and lionized his status as one of the most prodigial talents with his sterling on-field exploits for the Black and Blues.

Exasperated by his juvenile histrionics, the then Inter head-honcho Jose Mourinho deemed him ‘unmanageable’ and was drafted with a move to the Premier League side Manchester City, only to eventually return to the Italian capital to join AC Milan, 3 seasons later.

His second stint at Italy proved to be a meritorious one, as he bagged 30 goals in 54 appearances in all competitions and was even regarded as one of the top 5 players of Serie A during that time. Although the Rosonneri’s, as a team, were enduring a hellacious time, Balotelli, on the grounds of individual performaces, was impressive.

#3 Andrea Pirlo

Italy’s habile deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo spent the embryonic days of his career at Giuseppe Maezza where he made a modest, 40 goal-less appearances over the course of 2 seasons.

Having deemed surplus to their requirements, Pirlo was offloaded to their city rivals, Milan, in 2003, where he made big strides in developing himself into a world-class player.

With 2 Champions League titles, 2 Scudettos, 1 league cup and 1 Italian Supercup with the Red and Blacks, L’Architetto was a paramount figure during Milan’s surge to the pinnacle of glory and proved Inter’s decsion to jettison him, regrettable. In fact, the then Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti had also reportedly lamented : “Selling Pirlo to Milan was the biggest mistake of my presidency”.

#4 Ronaldo

One of the all time oners of Brazil football team, Ronaldo da Lima has suited-up for both the capital clubs in the past and also vaunts the distinction of being one of the few players to have scored in the Derby della Madonnina for both teams.

After 5 impressive years with Inter between 1997 and 2002, the Brazil veteran switched allegiance to join the red half of Milan in 2007, en route Real Madrid. His time at AC met with a cataclysmic end as injuries reared its ugly head once again and dragooned him into departing after just one season into Rossoneri’s books.

Despite the trials and tribulations, the 38-year old, back in 2012, went on to admit : “I have great memories of both teams. I don’t regret anything.

#5 Christian Vieri

Italy's former boisterous attacker Christian Vieri rose to prominence with his stellar performances for Inter Milan, where he accrued 103 league goals in 147 appearances.

Between 1999 to 2005, the Bologna-born starlet was absolutely sensational for the Big Grass Snakes, however, had only 1 guerdon – the 1995 Coppa Italia, to add to his Inter resume. Thereby driven by the glutton for silverware, Vieri transmuted himself into a Diavolon when he joined them in that same year.

Altough the Italian signed a two year deal, Vieri was vended off to Ligue 1 outfit Monaco barely six months later and his penchant for trophies remained unaccomplished.