2012–13 AC Milan season
The 2012–13 season was Associazione Calcio Milan's 79th in the Serie A and 30th consecutive season in the top flight of Italian football. Milan strived to regain the Serie A title, which they lost to Juventus in the previous season. The Rossoneri also competed in UEFA Champions League, as well as the Coppa Italia.
| 2012–13 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman Honorary chairman | Vacant Silvio Berlusconi | |||
| Head coach | Massimiliano Allegri | |||
| Stadium | San Siro | |||
| Serie A | 3rd | |||
| Coppa Italia | Quarter-finals | |||
| UEFA Champions League | Round of 16 | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: Stephan El Shaarawy (16) All: Stephan El Shaarawy (19) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 79,532 (UEFA C.L.) vs Barcelona (20 February 2013) | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 27,593 (UEFA C.L.) vs Anderlecht (18 September 2012) | |||
| Average home league attendance | 43.651 | |||
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The season marks the beginning of a new era for Milan, with a host of veterans leaving the club in the summer, including Alessandro Nesta, Filippo Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mark van Bommel, and Clarence Seedorf. Also leaving were star players Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Antonio Cassano during the summer, and Alexandre Pato in the winter.
Over the first 6 months of the season, Milan struggled a lot, losing a total of 9 games (7 in Serie A and 2 in the Champions League), as well as 4 pre-season friendlies. However, in the second half of the season, the team managed to gain momentum, went on a 14-game unbeaten run in Serie A and leading a great recovery after the struggling season start. The club eventually finished in the 3rd place, securing a spot in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League qualification play-off, which became the club's main objective for the season following the team's elimination in the round of 16 of the previous edition of the competition.