Beginner's guide to Milan derby

We reach closer and closer to the moment that I wait for eagerly as an AC Milan fan. The Milan derby,the San Siro duel or Derby della Madonnina as it is officially called. Name it whatever you please,there’s no doubt that in terms of history,intensity,caliber,prestige and bragging rights that this rivalry between two of three most successful Italian teams ranks right up there in the various derby battles. It matters not whether you are a Milan or Inter fan,you will have the same sense of anticipation and nervousness as the D-day arrives. Let’s just sit back and celebrate one of the most gripping battles in the footballing annals,turn back the pages and revel in the passions of these warriors while playing it.

History:

Like every great rivalry,this one too has a great storied history. Both clubs have the same original history. In 1899,English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin, and a few of his friends in Italy along with Alfred Edwards founded the Milan Cricket and Football club. This club would achieve success immediately,winning the Italian championship in 1901,1906 and 1907. However things did not remain so rosy for long. There were internal struggles and tiffs on many issues. Primary among them was the topic of whether or not to involve foreigners to play for the club. After arguments failed to reach a consensus,in 1908,a group of Swiss and some Italian members decided to sever ties with the club due to unhappiness over the domination of Italians in the starting line-up and formed a rival team based in Milan. They named it FC Internazionale Milano,thus underlining the fact that they welcomed the involvement of foreigners if it meant it was for the better of the club. What remained of the original Milan cricket and Football club was renamed Associazione Calcio Milan,or AC Milan,focusing on home-grown players initially. Ironically Inter,who were resenting the excess Italian involvement had the Italian name FC Internazionale Milano. Likewise AC Milan who were fully Italian essence,kept the British spelling ‘Milan’(not the Italian ‘Milano’) in their official name. AC Milan’s home kit would be red-and-black stripes,gifting them the name “Rossoneri” and Inter would wear blue and black,giving them the name “Nerazzurri”.

Individual paths after the split:

This aforementioned split would cost AC Milan dearly as they failed to capture a single Italian League Championship from 1908 to 1950. Meanwhile Inter,within the same period would win 5 Italian titles with great players like Ermanno Aebi,Emilio Agradi(who had a fantastic first run with Inter),Attilio DeMaria amongst others. But the player who achieved legendary status and reached the pinnacle of reverence in Inter (and to a great extent in the history of Milan football as a whole) would be a man who’s name is synonymous with greatness. He would be Giuseppe Meazza,who’s name is justifiably familiar even for newcomer Inter/Milan fans as it is him,after whom the stadium of San Siro is officially named. Meazza was a Nerazzuri favorite as he spearheaded the Inter revolution in Italy,helping them capture 3 Serie A and a Coppa Italia between 1927-40(not many games were played during the second World War) and at the national level helped Italy conquer the 1934 and 38 world cups. Although issues with alcohol and a colorful lifestyle outside the ground eventually lead to his playing career petering out slightly anti-climatically,there is no doubt the Meazza defined Inter’s history in the initial years.

Milan too had its share of notable players Pietro Arcari,Aldo Boffi and the like but were mostly overshadowed during this time by the Inter side.

The Rivalry Strengthens: 1950s

Gre-No-Li

The 1948 London Olympics saw the football gold medal go to Sweden,with its finest team in history play the likes of Gunnar Nordahl,Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm. Gren,Nordahl and Liedholm were instrumental in the Swedish prowess and were collectively known as Gre-No-Li(after their last names). This Swedish trio would be swooped up by an AC Milan side who had struggled with championships and desperately required some firepower in the attack. The effect was instantaneous with AC Milan returning to the old dominance by winning 4 scudetti in the 50s decade. Gunnar Nordahl was the chief contributor to the cause,amassing an astonishing 210 Serie A goals in only 257 matches..the best goals per match record in Serie A history for those who have exceeded 100 goals. This also makes Nordahl the second highest Serie A goal scorer(after Silvio Piola,who played almost twice the number of matches),and the highest foreign goalscorer. He won the Capocannoniere award an amazing 5 times in 6 years(1950,51,53,54,55). A stocky figure yet deceptively quick,Nordahl combined skills with deadliness and was a Messi like nightmare for opposition sides in the 50s.

One of the main creators of Nordahl’s goals was Nils Liedholm..the Xavi Hernandez of the team. Liedholm was the quintessential provider,with passes,crosses,cut-throughs,lobs all with equal accuracy and command. According to a Milanese legend,Liedholm did not misplace a single pass at the San Siro for nearly 3 years,and when he did,the crowd delivered him a standing ovation for 5 whole minutes. Gre-No-Li thus cemented a permanent place in AC Milan history.

Inter,though falling behind,did manage to capture two back to back scudetti in 1953 and 54 and tried to keep pace with the Rossoneri.

The Rivalry Peaks:Rivera-Mazzola Years(1960s)

Inter's Mazzola and Milan's Rivera

The Milan rivalry really reached a fever pitch in the 60s decade when Inter were heralded in the line-up by the supremely talented Sandro Mazzola and Milan had Golden Boy Gianni Rivera in their ranks. Mazzola had the more aggressive and direct style in contrast to Rivera’s swift and elegant touch-trickery.

Both teams were excellent and had a deep line-up and the opportunity for bragging rights for each set of fans was too good to let go. Although both Rivera and Mazzola had mutual respect for each other,the fans regarded them as the warriors of their respective teams set out to outdo one another. The media,adding fuel to the fire,much like it does today made constant comparisons between both players and set the ball rolling for heated debates and arguments between fans,sometimes spilling to bar fights.

Player comparisons was usual fare but probably for the first time even managers were highlighted and pitted in comparisons. Milan were then managed by Nereo Rocco and Inter were shepherded by the legendary Helenio Herrera. Herrera already had a reputation coming into Inter,from his days as manager of FC Barcelona team which had succeeded in silencing Real Madrid domestically to a certain extent,when they were so dominant in Europe. Herrera was probably the first manager to outshine the players’ reputations- a rarity in those days.

In terms of domestic and European trophies Rocco’s Milan managed to secure two scudetti and its first two European Cups-in 1963(when Cesare Maldini held aloft the trophy) and 1969 with the help of Rivera,the elusive Brazilian born striker Jose Altafini and future manager Giovanni Trapattoni. Inter matched this with success of their own-3 scudetti and back to back European cups in 1964(beating Real Madrid) and 65 with the help of Mazzola,Luis Suarez(again from Herrera’s Barcelona),Mario Corso,Giacinto Fachetti etc led the Inter team to the name ‘Il Grande Inter’. Fachetti went on to be a powerful figure in Inter history,first as a great left back,then as club director. As a posthumous honor,his no. 3 jersey was retired by the club.

This decade is often seen as the highest point of the rivalry as both teams were equally good,with a talisman that stood out,with competent managers and equal European success. However it also had its ramifications. Crowd trouble would often be difficult to curb and this ultimately reached to players’ feeling of ill-will as well. Rough games,hard tackles,war of words was at a high and the ultimate loser was the Italian national team. Such prodigious talent emerging ought to have given Italy international success. However the potential tensions in the two Milan camps led to the managers’ policy of never playing an Inter and a Milan player together-one often coming off for the other. This policy had ultimately disastrous consequences as in the 1970 final,Mazzola and Rivera weren’t played together(both were inthe same position). Instead of making the substitution at half-time,Rivera came on in the 85th minute,with Italy already lost at 1-4.

The Baresi Brothers:(1980s and 1990s)

Milan's Franco Baresi

Who doesn’t like a good competitive rivalry between two siblings? Sport is riddled with such examples like Michael and Ralf Schumacher in F1,The Williams sisters in tennis and many more. Similarly Football has its own rivalry between two brothers,same family,same city but different teams. I am talking of course,about the Baresi brothers. Giuseppe Baresi,the current assistant manager at Inter,was a long serving Nerazzuro,with his Inter career spanning 16 years. An adept mid-fielder,’Beppe’ made 559 appearances with Inter and scored 13 goals. However,unfortunately for him,he was always over-shadowed by his more celebrated and more famous younger brother Franco. Franco Baresi was and remains one of the finest and most excellent defenders in footballing history with his remarkable career spanning about 20 years,all of them at AC Milan. He is one of the few one-club men and was voted Milan’s greatest player of the 20th century. As both their parents passed away when the brothers were of a young age,it wouldn’t be wrong to say that these men were raised by their respective clubs,almost like surrogate parents to them. In a documentary,Franco Baresi reveals that the rivalry did not lead to any direct animosity between the brothers but a week before the derby game,both brothers would put their phones off the hook and avoided any contact,telephonic or otherwise,between each other. Such was the impact of both the clubs on them.

After a brief lull in the later 70s,the match fixing scandal in the early 80s which lead to Milan being relegated for the first time in their history,both teams sprang to life in the later 1980s. Inter were being managed by former Milan great Giovanni Trapattoni and won a Scudetto in 1989,A supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup in 1991.

Gullit, van Basten and Rijkaard

AC Milan themselves were undergoing a transition after the successive shocks of being held guilty in the Totonero scandal and relegated twice that decade. The acquisition of the club in 1986 by then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi marked a turning point in the fortunes of the club. Berlusconi armed with his riches acquired the services of the famed Dutch trio of Marco van Basten,Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard who would help the Oranje in securing the European Championships of 1988. This proved to be the masterstroke as these three(much like the Swedish Gre-No-Li) would usher in the Golden Era of Milan football. After beating Milan in the Coppa Italia with Parma,Arrigo Sacchi impressed Berlusconi enough to be appointed the manager of the team. This team would go on a rampage in Italy as well as in Europe winning the Scudetto and till date,the last team to win back to back European Cups,doing so in 1989 and 1990,which included memorable victories like a 5-0 thumping of Real Madrid in the 1989 semifinals and 4-0 thrashing of defending champions Steaua Bucuresti in the final. Milan retained their title in 1990 by beating 2 time champions Benfica 1-0. One of Milan’s finest achievements would arrive in the 1991-92 season under manager Fabio Capello when they completed an entire season without a single defeat leading to the name ‘Gli Invincibili’. Their unbeaten streak extended from 1991-93 consisting of 58 unbeaten matches before ending in a 1-0 home defeat to Parma. Milan boasted of a staggering line up of the likes of Galli,Tassotti,Costacurta,Tassotti,Maldini,Baresi himself,Colombo,Donadoni,Ancelotti,Rijkaard,Gullit,Savicevic,Massaro among others. Milan went on to clinch a 3rd European Cup(renamed UEFA Champions League) in 6 years by battering the Dream Team of Barcelona 4-0 in the final without the services of the suspended Costacurta and Baresi.

Inter on the other hand struggled after the 1989 Scudetto. Although they had the World Cup winning German trio of Juergen Klinsmann,Andreas Brehme and Rudi Voller,they would not win another domestic title for 17 years but did manage to have moderate European success in the 90s winning the UEFA Cup in 1991,1994 and 1998. It also saw the arrival and emergence of exciting prospects like Luis Ronaldo,Christian Vieri,the controversial Diego Simeone and future captain and club legend Javier Zanetti. Inspite of this,Inter’s years in the 90s were punctuated with lack of success in the Serie A,playing second fiddle to Juventus,Milan and even Lazio and Roma and pressure began mounting on Massimo Moratti,son of former owner Angelo Moratti,who had taken over the reigns from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995.

Pre and Post Calciopoli(2000s and 2010s):

Inter’s entry into the new millenium did not start on a bright note. Personally,they did finish ahead of Milan in the first two seasons,they suffered their worst defeat at the hands of their city rivals in many many years. Also they missed the 2001-02 Scudetto by a whisker. Leading the title race for most of the season upto the last day,they were the favorites to with the title. However a last day 4-2 defeat to Lazio away(even after leading 2-1) and a Juventus victory against Udinese meant the title went to Turin. To this day,many Inter fans and even players like Marco Materrazzi are haunted by the defeat.

Milan too started the millennium indifferently in the league but gradually stamped their class in Europe. The arrival of Andriy Shevchenko and his rise through the ranks helped power Milan through Europe’s most elite club competition. With the help of Shevchenko,Filippo Inzaghi,Manuel Rui Costa,Gennaro Gattuso and another defensive mountain comprising of the likes of Cafu,Alessandro Nesta,Jaap Stam and Maldini,Milan won the 2003 and 2007 Champions League tournaments and reached the 2005 final. Milan faced and beat Inter in both the 2003 and 2005 versions,the first one on the away goal rule(0-0 and 1-1 draw,Milan being the ‘away’ side for the second leg) and 5-0 in the 2005 version(2-0 and a 3-0 forfeit after crowd trouble).

The turning point for Inter arrived at the end of the 2006 season,when following charges of manipulating match referees were leveled at Lazio,AC Milan,Juventus,Reggina and a few others meant the winners Juventus were stripped of the 2005 and 06 scudettos,relegated to Serie B,various penalties handed to the other clubs and the 2006 scudetto handed over to Inter. Juve’s relegation meant an exodus of several key players,two of which ended up in Inter(Vieira and Ibrahimovic) to bolster the squad put Inter in pole position for the following seasons,and Inter promptly took advantage,winning the 2007 scudetto.

Milan were originally docked 44 points off their original 2006 standing,meaning they ended up in 6th position and ineligible for the 2006-07 Champions League and docked 15 points for the 2006-07 Serie A season. However an appeal resulted in the deduction reduced to 30 points(meaning they finished 3rd and eligible to contest the qualifying rounds of the Champions League) and docked 8 points for the new season. This was a crucial decision as Milan eventually went on to win the Champions League in 2007,leading to captain Massimo Ambrosini unfurl a controversial banner directed towards Inter translating to ‘Shove the scudetto up your asses’(as we have a bigger trophy).

Nevertheless,the balance had inexhorably shifted in favor of the Nerazzurri as they dominated the 2nd half of the decade winning 5 consecutive scudettos,4 Coppas Italia and 3 Super Coppa. Their crowning achievement came in 2010 when they clinched the Serie A,beat Roma to win the Coppa Italia and beat FC Bayern Munchen to win the UEFA Champions League and became the first ever Italian team to win the treble. This gave the Interisti ultimate bragging rights over the others and the fact that Jose Mourinho had predicted ‘zeru tituli’(a misnomer of zero titoli) indicating that Inter would win everything and his rivals would end up trophyless,made it even sweeter. The footballing world was in awe of Inter specially after the 3-1 defeat of defending champions and favorites FC Barcelona and an assembly of a formidable team with the likes of Walter Samuel,Cristian Chivu,Maicon,Javier Zanetti,break out performances by midfielder Wesley Sneijder,Dejan Stankovic,Esteban Cambiasso and iconic forwards Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito and promising youngsters like Davide Santon. Also the Scudetto victory meant that Inter’s 18 scudetti had now surpassed Milan’s tally of 17 titles;more reason,as if needed to taunt the Rossoneri.

Inter's historic treble

Following the treble victory,and the exit of influential manager Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid however,Inter seemed a shadow of themselves under new manager Rafa Benitez. Towards the end of the year 2010,the treble winners were suddenly 13 points off pace in the Serie A which prompted a change of manager to former Milan manager Leonardo. Leo started a comeback which saw Inter climb back up the table and into second place within title contention. However leaders Milan were rejuvenated with summer signings Kevin Prince-Boateng and an on-loan former Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Barcelona and January signing Antonio Cassano,and continued their march at the top. A comprehensive 3-0 victory over Inter which included a brace from Alexandre Pato effectively handed the title to Milan,which they won in a 0-0 stalemate against Roma. Inter did manage silverware by retaining their Coppa Italia title. This led to the first ever Superccoppa Italiana match between the two,which ended in a 2-1 win for Milan.

MEMORABLE MATCHES:

1. Inter Milan 6-5 AC Milan(November 6,1949):

Of course a lot of us wouldn’t have watched this match but it has safely ensconced itself into the derby legends. A match for the ages perhaps merely by the sheer drama of this match. Milan took the lead in the very first minute through winger Enrico Candiani,who soon doubled the lead in the 7th minute. Istvan Nyers pulled one back to make it 2-1 but strikes from Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm made it 4-1 to Milan and seemingly game over. However Inter began an unbelievable comeback through Amadeo Amadei who got a brace and another goal from Myers made it 4-4. Controversial Inter player Benito Lorenzi made it 5-4 for Inter before Carlo Annovazzi made it 5-5. Amadei however completed his hattrick and Inter were 6-5 ahead.There was more drama as Candiani came close to an equalizer late on but it hit the crossbar. The score stayed on,and Inter had achieved a legendary comeback.

2.Inter Milan 1-0 AC Milan(October 6,1957):

Benito Lorenzi was at it again! This match would not be remembered so much for the final score as it would for the extremely controversial antics of Lorenzi. Inter were leading 1-0 when Milan were awarded a debatable penalty late into the game. Lorenzi,who was sucking on lemons during the time,pretended to put the ball in the penalty spot and surreptitiously placed a half lemon under the ball. This action was seen by everyone (including the Milan fans behind the goal) except the referee and the Milan players. The Milan fans who desperately tried to gain the players attention began screaming ‘Veleno Veleno!’(literally “Poison”) but to no avail.Tito Cucchiaroni stepped up to take the spot-kick but the lemon acted as a divot and the ball sailed over the goal,resulting in an Inter victory. After the match there was a brawl between players of both sides and Lorenzi received in excess of 5,000 hate-filled letters and death threats from the Milan faithful. It was after this match that Lorenzi gained the nickname ‘Veleno’.

3. Inter Milan 0-6 AC Milan(May 11,2001):

The Scudetto had already been in favor of Roma,but the match of the season was the incredible 6-0 thumping by Milan against an Inter side who did fairly well in the season but were totally hapless and in shambles on that day. Even in their dreams Cesare Maldini’s Milan could not have dreamt of such an emphatic win as they tore through the Inter defence. Milan quickly took the lead through a brace from Gianni Commandini. A free kick from Federico Giunti should have been stopped but crept into the right corner to make it 3-0. This was followed by a brace by super striker Andriy Shevchenko. However the man of the match undoubtedly was Serginho who shook the Inter line-up with blazing runs. He notched up 3 assists in the match and deservedly scored the 6th goal,capping off a humiliating night for Inter.

4.Inter Milan 0-1 AC Milan(Match forefeited 3-0 to AC Milan):

This match took place on April 12,2005. It was the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League. AC Milan had won the first leg 2-0 following two second half goals from Stam and Shevchenko. In the second leg,Inter were the designated home-team. Milan again took the lead through yet another Shevchenko goal. However things turned ugly in the second half when referee Markus Merk controversially disallowed a goal from Esteban Cambiasso,leading to furious protests from the Inter players. The Inter Ultras,just behind the goal also rained in with debris like bottles,paper cups and glasses and then to flares.As Milan GK Dida tried to take a goal-kick and cleared up the mess,a flare thrown by an Inter fan hit him on the shoulder and he had to be taken off as Christian Abbiati took his place. After a 30 min stoppage for clearance,the Inter fans once again pelted the field with flares,leading the game to be forfeited 3-0 to Milan and 5-0 on aggregate.

5.AC Milan 3-4 Inter Milan(October 28,2006)

This match came fresh off the heels of the Calciopoli scandal. A revamped Inter side,took an early lead through on-loan from Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo’s header. They doubled the lead through a fine strike from Dejan Stankovic. Early in the second half,new arrival Ibrahimovic made it a commanding 3-0 after superb improvisation,scooping the ball over a diving Nesta and volleying the ball in. Former Inter man Clarence Seedorf pulled one back to make it 3-1 but Inter then made it 4 through a goal from the most hated player in the world that time,Marco Materrazzi. However Milan kept fighting and were rewarded when Alberto Gilardino scored a header in the 76th min. The match was set up for a thrilling end and sure enough,in injury time Kaka‘s left footed strike was not cleared by Stankovic and it ended up crashing into the roof of the goal to make it 4-3. Inter held on however to record victory in a nail-biting match.

6. AC Milan 0-4 Inter Milan(August 29,2009):

A painful night for a Milan fan,a glorious one for an Inter fan. What could be just as sweet,if not sweeter for an Inter fan than a treble victory in a season? Well,quite simply a personal humiliation of your bitter rivals,which is what Inter dished out that night. Strikes from Thiago Motta,Maicon,Dejan Stankovic and a penalty from Diego Milito would condemn Milan to a painful 4-0 defeat exacerbated by a red card for Gattuso as Inter were on course for a historic year in store.

There you have it. Hopefully ample to keep you intrigued,if not fully interested as to why I am such a huge fan of this derby. San Siro awaits these two teams again tonight! May the best team triumph..um..without lemons or flares perhaps!!