It was in September of 1962, after ten years of playing football, Francesco Zagatti decided to remain at Milan and he would go on to do so for another forty years. In total he would represent half a century of loyalty, put another way, he gave five decades of his life in service of the team that he loved. As a Rossonero he would go on to play 252 official matches (not to mention another 100+ friendly games. In his entire career he scored just two goals, but he was a defender after all. He was known to be a great one at that, and did what fullbacks did best: mark their attacking opponents. That was his top skill, period!
Zagatti would eventually earn the honor of wearing the captain’s armband after only a few years of playing for Milan, and it would be handed down by Nils Liedholm himself. His career started in AC Milan’s youth (Primavera), and so it would be that he eventually be the Primavera coach for 5 years (1965-1970) and lead them to the 1965 championship. He would also end up coaching Milan for the 1982 season, but it was not a glorious year for the Rossoneri. As a player, Zagatti’s career attainments would include the achievements of 4 scudetti, 1 Champions League Cup, and 1 Latin Cup. At the end of his career, the AC Milan Club inducted into the Hall of Fame, and was given a medal that read “1948-1998 – 50 Years of Loyalty” with the “0” of the 50 as the Milan coat of arms.
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