Milan Derby

Milan Derby

Derby della Madonnina, or the Milan Derby as it is sometimes known, is a football match between the Italian clubs A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter). It is a hotly contested local derby and is one of the most followed derbies in football world. It is usually a semiannual fixture in the Italian football league Serie A; however, the derby has also taken place in the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League.

It is called “Derby della Madonnina” in honour of one of the main sights of the city of Milan, the statue of the virgin Mary on the top of the Duomo, which is usually called “Madonnina”.

1980s -1990s
Notable Derby rivalry in the late 1980s and early 1990s was when the Dutch trio of Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit played for A.C.Milan and the German trio of Andreas Brehme, Jürgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthäus defended the Inter colors. Even though in that period A.C.Milan were dominating Italian and European football, this rivalry is mainly remembered for a famous 1990 World Cup match: the Dutch team had entered the competition as one of the favourites based on the fact that they had won the previous European Championship in 1988, and the trio had enjoyed great success at Milan at the European level with back-to-back European Cup titles in 1989 and 1990. Milan had won the 1988 Scudetto and Inter captured that title the following year.

When Holland met Germany in the World Cup, the match was played at the home ground of Inter and Milan, the San Siro, and for many it seemed like a national team version of Milan derby. The high tempered game ended in defeat for the Dutch as Rijkaard got sent-off after spitting on German forward Rudi Völler. Germany won the game 2-1 with two of the Inter players Klinsman and Brehme scoring, a moral victory for Inter fans.

2004/2005 UEFA Champions League

The most infamous of the derby matches between AC Milan and Inter was the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal on April 12, 2005.

With Milan leading 1-0 (and 3-0 on aggregate) thanks to an early Andriy Shevchenko goal, Inter’s hardcore supporters became infuriated after a second-half Esteban Cambiasso score was controversially nullified by referee Markus Merk who, moments later, booked Cambiasso for dissent, due to the fact that he had just whistled an Inter player for a foul on Milan keeper Dida. Bottles and various debris were subsequently thrown onto the pitch, but soon escalated to lit flares. As Dida attempted to clear bottles in order to take a goal kick, a flare hurtled down from the upper deck and struck the Brazilian on the back of his right shoulder. Merk halted the match at the 74th minute. After a thirty-minute delay in which firefighters were called in to remove the burning flares from the pitch, the match was restarted. Dida, however, was unable to continue, and was substituted by Christian Abbiati. Less than a minute later, though, Merk finally abandoned the match after more flares and debris rained down. The match was awarded as a 3-0 victory, totaling a 5-0 aggregate, to Milan.

Dida suffered bruising and first-degree burns to his shoulder, though he did not miss any game time. Meanwhile, Inter were fined €200,000 (£132,000) – the largest fine ever handed down by UEFA – and were ordered to play their first four Champions League matches behind closed doors in the 2005-06 season as punishment.

Milan, however, continued to have success both locally and internationally: they built a squad under Fabio Capello’s lead later nicknamed as the invincibles, that won Milan’s fifth European Cup in 1994, when they beat Cruyff’s FC Barcelona “dream team” 4-0 in one of the most one sided European finals ever. Capello’s Milan reached the final of the European competition three times in a row.

On the other hand, Inter’s long wait for a major title began after 1989, only to end in 2006, when the Calciopoli scandal stripped Juventus of the 2005-06 title and handed it to the team. Inter has since clinched the 2007 Serie A title as well, with a record-breaking run of 17 consecutive victories, on the way winning both fixtures against Milan. The second Milan derby was notable, as Ronaldo had previously starred with Inter in the late 1990s.