All emotions are at the highest level by players, coaches, managers and fans when arch-rivals from F.C. Internazionale and A.C. Milan on Sunday night match up at the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza in Milan. The local derby between two of Italy\u2019s most traditional and winning football clubs is the highlight of the year for all Milanese, but the derby \u2013 named after the gilded statue of the little Virgin Mary sitting on top of the city\u2019s stunning cathedral Il Duomo \u2013 will also be followed with great excitement all over Italy and among football fans all over the world. A victory for F.C. Inter in the \u201cDerby della Madonnina\u201d will bring the club very close to the national championship \u2013 Il Scudetto \u2013 for the 21st time. It will distance the leaders by 13 points from A.C. Milan and 14 points from the defending champions SSC Napoli before the last 10 games.<\/p>\n
Rivalry between social and political classes<\/strong><\/p>\n The rivalry between A.C. Milan and F.C. Inter have been intense since the first match of the two clubs was played in 1908. A.C. Milan was founded in 1899 by English immigrants, who chose the name \u201cMilan Cricket & Football Club\u201d. A.C. Milan is thus among Italy\u2019s oldest clubs. In 1908, the club experienced an internal fight over the acquisition of foreign players. The discrepancies led to the formation of the F.C. International. As the name suggests, the intention was to create a club which also consisted of foreign players, coaches and managers, which stood in contrast to A.C. Milan, which at that time only allowed players of Italian descent. Historically, F.C. Inter is considered the Milanese middle and upper class club, while A.C. Milan has traditionally been supported by the working class as well as immigrants from southern Italy. Today, the division of supporters into social classes is far from as widespread and strong as before, but both clubs have always had a number of fan groups \u2013 \u201cUltras\u201d \u2013 who also express extreme political messages, both right- and left-wing.<\/p>\n Extremely equal competition between two top European clubs<\/strong><\/p>\n Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, built in 1920s fascist Italy and owned by the municipality of Milan, is home to both A.C. Milan and F.C. Inter. For A.C. Milan fans, the stadium with space for 76,000 spectators, will always be called \u201cSan Siro\u201d after the district where it is located. F.C. Inter fans, however, prefer the official name after Guiseppe Meazza (1910-1979), who won the World Cup for Italy in 1934 and 1938 and scored 247 goals in 348 matches for F.C. Inter. The Serie A top scorer played for both Milan clubs \u2013 14 seasons for F.C. Inter and \u201conly\u201d 2 for A.C. Milan. The local derby on Sunday is the 246\u2019th official match between the two clubs. The official matches, which include national matches in Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italia as well as international matches (Champions League and Europa League), have always been extremely equal: F.C. Inter have 91 wins, 71 derbys have ended in a draw, while A.C. Milan has pulled victoriously out of the derby 83 times. Also in relation to goals in official matches, the position is exactly the same: F.C. Inter have scored 339 goals against A.C. Milan 317 goals. The intense competition also applies to the number of national titles: F.C. Inter have won the Italian championship \u2013 \u201cIl Scudetto\u201d \u2013 20 times, while A.C. Milan has become national champion 18 times. On the European stage, both clubs have also achieved impressive results: A.C. Milan has won the most prestigious European tournament (European Cup for Champions and Champions League) a total of 7 times (1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994 and 2003), while F.C. Inter have 3 titles within the same category (1964, 1965 and 2010).<\/p>\n F.C. Inter \u2013 the only Italian club to have won<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe Treble\u201d In the 1960s, F.C. Inter are among the world\u2019s best clubs with players such as defensive legends Tarcisio Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti, midfielder Sandro Mazzola and striker Luis Suarez. Also in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, F.C. Inter several titles \u2013 both in Italy and Europe \u2013 with goalkeeper Walter Zenga and super defender Giuseppe Bergomi as well as the German trio Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matth\u00e4us and J\u00fcrgen Klinsmann as the dominant players. The period 2006-2010 with 5 national championships in a row was also a golden time for F.C. Inter. The highlight came in the 2009-2010 season, when the club with Jos\u00e9 Mourinho as coach \u2013 as the only Italian club so far \u2013 won \u201cThe Treble\u201d: Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League. F.C. Inter\u2019s largest shareholder today is the privately owned Chinese company \u2013 Suning Holdings Group \u2013 with billionaire Zhang Jindong at the front.<\/p>\n A.C. Milan \u2013 the iconic back chain and the Dutch trio<\/strong><\/p>\n A.C. Milan was bought in the mid-1980s by the controversial billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, who, led by coaching legend Arrigo Sacchi, staged one of the world\u2019s strongest club teams with the iconic back chain: Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, who did not in their careers played for clubs other than AC Milan. The frightening defense was \u201csupplemented\u201d by the Dutch trio: midfield strategist Frank Rijkaard, creator Ruud Gullit and top striker Marco van Basten. During that period, the club won the Champions League no less than 3 times (1989, 1990 and 1994) and as many as 6 national championships. Berlusconi, who was the Prime Minister of Italy in the period 2008-2011, in 2017 sold the club to one of the world\u2019s largest investment companies \u2013 Elliott Management Corporation.<\/p>\n Failure in European football<\/strong><\/p>\n Both F.C. Inter and A.C. Milan had both sporting and financial difficulties in the period 2011-2020, where Juventus FC from Turin won the national championship 9 seasons in a row and also achieved European success with, among others, two Champion League finals. In recent seasons, F.C. Inter has had sporting success with national championships in the 2020-2021 and 2023-2024 seasons, but also major failures in European football. The defeat to Bod\u00f8\/Glimt from Norway in the Champions League a few weeks ago was a serious blow to self-understanding, both among F.C. Inter’s “tifosi” and all supporters of Italian football. A.C. Milan has also had a very difficult time in the European tournaments in recent seasons. Among other things, the club did not even qualify for European football this season after a very disappointing 8th place in Serie A. Regardless of the lack of results in European football, the weekend is all about the \u201cDerby delle Madonnina\u201d for all Milanese. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the most important football match of the year: \u201cForza Nerazzurri\u201d \u2013 \u201cForza Rossoneri\u201d!<\/p>\n You can read more about the two clubs here:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.inter.it\/en<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.acmilan.com\/en<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"