There are some football games that always have, and always will peak my interest, and no matter the circumstances, I will attempt to sit down and watch. From El Clásico, the Old-Firm derby even through to a previous bucket list entry in the Superclásico. However, there’s always been a game that had peaked my interest from a young age, and that is of course the Milan Derby.

Growing up in the 2000s, this derby has seen some great encounters, and has often involved some of the greatest footballers to have played the game. I can vividly remember discovering Italian football as a youngster, and being enthralled by the likes of Adriano, Figo, Kaka, Pirlo and Maldini. Discovering these already established legends of football felt like uncovering another world of football outside of England. Ever since, I have been incredibly interested in Italian football, and I just enjoy everything about the way Italian teams play, through to the country itself, making the country one of my top European holiday destinations. Unfortunately, I am yet to actually attend a live football game in Italy, however I’m putting the biggest match-up of them all to the very top of my bucket list in the Milan Derby. In recent years, the 2 sides haven’t quite continued their great legacies, however in the last year or two, under Conte, Inter have rebuilt and become the top side in Serie A, while Milan are undergoing this rebuild project with Stefano Pioli and of course Zlatan leading the line. As a result, the last few Milan derbies have really re-ignited the rivalry between the two great sides, which bumps it much further up my bucket list as soon as we can travel and as soon as fans are allowed into stadiums (obviously).

In this post, I will as always, talk briefly about why attending one of these fixtures is on my personal Bucket List, and then I will move on to talk about the history of the Milan Derby (from my internet research). To wrap things up, I will finish off the post with a recommendation of a COPA90 documentary video from YouTube, in which they experience the Derby and it will show just why the game is so magical and intense.

Enjoy…

Why It’s On My Bucket List…

As with most entries thus far into the football bucket list, attending the Milan Derby feels fairly self-explanatory, however it has so much more for me on a personal level. From my aforementioned discovery of European football from the AC Milan side of 2005/2006 and onwards, to now switching my allegiance to Inter as I have learnt more about the nature of the clubs history and stature within Milan (Not that I’m necessarily a massive fan of either side, however I would now be rooting for Inter). Additionally, it spawned what I now have as a love of all European football, and appreciation for the way the game is played across the various major European leagues, it’s the reason I can now spend evenings watching random Turkish league games, or a Brazilian league match, as these 2 sides meeting up in the beginnings of my footballing education expanded my knowledge and love of the game outside of just England, and for that I will be ever grateful. Now, after sparking my initial interest, I have an additional love of this fixture, as I love the country of Italy, from it’s great food to the sunshine and diverse cities/towns to explore. It pushes this fixture high up on the list as the experience of returning to Milan as a city boosts the appeal of this massively.

From a general football supporting standpoint, this will be a match on most bucket lists, due to the history of course which I will discuss shortly, but also the rivalry itself, and the atmosphere produced from these 2 football obsessed fanbases. The legendary bouts have created an often unmatched atmosphere as despite the football on-field, it’s the battle of the city, of who has bragging rights at work the next day, or in the café or pub, just as we often experience in England and around the world. Some of the images from the previous fixtures are reminiscent of the Superclásico we have written about previously, as the atmosphere is a spectacle in itself, with flares and chanting filling the stadium to create a hostile, passionate and wild atmosphere.

Obviously, these sides are some of Europe’s giants of the game, who have dominated respectively for a long time in Italy and frequently across the whole of Europe. However, despite their recent downturns in form and performance’s, they are both in the growth stages of a rebuild and redevelopment, with each side having their own reasons for optimism and a positive outlook. Just a few years ago, both sides were seemingly down and out, as Juventus capitalised and dominated for a long few seasons, however this year has been almost all Milan, with AC getting off to a flier, and Inter are now closing in on the title to break Juventus’ dominance. As a result, this game has re-lit the fire and spark of a contest between the two sides, with both sides playing good football once again. It’s now recaptured what it had 10+ years ago of a real on-field battle, with recent matches having the standard expected drama, cards and of course goals. With both teams showing an up-turn in form and squad, it has reclaimed it’s deserved place on the bucket list, and on my personal list it’s back near the very top. Obviously the inability to travel and attend football games puts this one on the back-burner, but when writing this, it just makes me that much more hopeful of ticking this one off as soon as physically possible.

History Of The Milan Derby…

The Derby Della Madonnina, or Derby di Milano or probably more commonly referred to as the Milan Derby by you and me, dates back all the way to 1909 when the sides first met in an official match-up. Just a few years before this Milan cricket and football club was founded by an Englishman by the name of Alfred Edwards. In 1908 however, the club was split over the issues of signing foreign players, and so Football Club Internazionale, or as we now know as Inter, were formed as a split of the two sides. The first match between the two sides took place just a year later in Switzerland of all places, as the match ended 2-1 in favour of the slightly more established AC Milan. Upon the formation of the first Italian football league in 1926-27, the sides have faced each other twice yearly ever since.

Between the two sides, there has been a total of 228 official matches, and 71 unofficial matches, with Inter having won the majority of official matches, with a record of 84 Inter wins, 77 Milan victories and 67 draws, despite the scoring being almost matched with 315 Inter goals to 304 Milan. If we were to include the unofficial matches, Milan would be the leaders with 113 victories in total, however I have been unable to locate a record of many of these games, thus I will stick with the official matches only. It’s been a fairly even rivalry, with both sides having their own respective periods of being considered the ‘top team’ in Italy. Looking at the individual statistics, Shevchenko is the derbies top scorer, bagging 14 goals in the Milan derby matches in his time at Milan, Maldini holds the record for most appearances, with 56 Milan derbies in his long, successful career. Meanwhile, Lukaku holds the current record for scoring in the most consecutive derby matches, scoring in the last 5 meetings in a record that still is ongoing, the oldest scorer in a Milan derby belongs to Zlatan who scored in January of this year at age 39, while 6 players have scored a hattrick in the games, most recently Mauro Icardi for Inter back in 2017. Several players have stepped out for both sides in their careers, including Viera, Davids, Baggio, Zlatan, Crespo, Seedorf, Ronaldo, Pirlo, Balotelli and even a relative of the great Gigi Buffon, Lorenzo Buffon who kept goal for both sides in the 50s and 60s.

Both sides are fairly even matched in their domestic honours, with both having 18 Serie A titles in their history, Milan have 5 Coppa Italia wins and 7 Supercoppa Italiana victories in comparison to Inter’s 7 and 5 wins respectively. The only separation between the two in domestic trophies is Milan’s 2 Serie B titles which they received in the early 80s which I’m sure Inter fans won’t feel to disappointed about. Of course, in a few weeks time, Inter may just edge the trophy stakes if they can break Juve’s current run of titles and see out their great season. On a European stage, it’s Milan who take the lead, as their legendary 7 European Cup/Champions League wins is up there with the best, while Inter are sat on 3 titles with the most recent of which coming under Mourinho in their remarkable treble season. Milan have never claimed a UEFA Cup/Europa League title, while Inter have 3 UEFA Cup’s to their name, which again I’m not sure Milan fans will mind too much. It’s remarkable how alike these clubs have been throughout their history, and their ups and downs are similar in terms of success.

What is even more extraordinary about this rivalry in comparison to many others, is the shared stadium of the San Siro. It is incredibly rare to witness a shared stadium at all between two sides, let alone two major rivals who are both in Europe’s elite tier of clubs. The stadium itself is one of Europe’s, and is Italy’s largest with a capacity of around 75,000. The logistics of hosting both sides is something to behold, and when the derby day rolls around, just adds the extra hint of spice to proceedings. The stadium is an architectural masterpiece and has an unmatched tradition and history that will hopefully continue for years to come.

If you’ve made it to this point in the post, can I now recommend you head off immediately to YouTube and watch this documentary by COPA90 who truly encapsulated the derby in all its glory.