For many years football supporters in Milan could look forward to seeing some of football’s immortals at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Both AC Milan and Inter were among the best teams in the world and some of the greatest players graced the pitch in previous derbies.
These days the Milan Derby — or more commonly known as the Derby della Madonnina — is a shadow of its former self. Sadly the Milanese clubs aren’t a force in Italy and a majority of their players are mediocre at best or simply has-beens. Even as a spectacle, recent derbies have been lacking in drama and quality football.
The Players
Some of the greatest Italian players featured in the Derby della Madonnina and so did some of the best foreign stars.
This was a match which the Milanese could watch Italian stars such as Gianni Rivera, Sandro Mazzola, the Baresi brothers and the aforementioned Meazza display their qualities and skills.
AC Milan possessed great foreign talent over the years such as Nils Liedholm, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka, and Inter had the likes of Lennart Skoglund, Luis Suarez, Lothar Matthaeus, Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Nowadays the Italians and the foreign players for both the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri are nowhere near of the same calibre as the stars of yesteryear. AC Milan fans have to settle for the likes of Andrea Poli, Nigel De Jong and Jeremy Menez battling it out against Inter’s Nemanja Vidic, Fredy Guarin and Andrea Ranocchia.
The Derbies
The Milan Derby has produced some classic encounters over the decades. Although both sides have had their share of great victories, their 4–4 draw in February 1949 is worthy of a mention.
Inter defeated AC Milan 5-4 in November 1932 when they were known as Ambrosiana and the Nerazzurri won 6-5 against the Rossoneri in November 1949. Recent Inter wins include a 4–3 victory in October 2006 and a 4–2 triumph in May 2012.
AC Milan have won some close encounters such as their 5–3 win against Inter in March 1960 and a 3–2 win in February 2004, but they have humiliated their rivals on a few occasions, none more memorable than their 6-0 demolition of the Nerazzurri in May 2001.
The Milanese sides also competed against each other in the UEFA Champions League in 2002/03 and 2004/05, with the Rossoneri emerging as victors over the Nerazzurri in both campaigns.
The last four Serie A derbies have not been impressive affairs. Inter has won two of them 1–0, AC Milan won one of them 1–0 and there was a 1-1 draw in February 2013. Even if the scores are not taken into consideration, the recent derbies have lacked excitement and flair.
Can the Derby return to its former glory?
The Milan Derby can regain its prestige in Italian and world football but it is not easy to put a time frame on it.
This depends on how the current squads improve in terms of form and also how both clubs build their squads in the future. It would be easy to say that more money will solve everything but those finances must be invested wisely.
Even in these times, some stars could shine in the Derby della Madonnina such as Keisuke Honda and Stephan El Shaarawy for AC Milan or Samir Handanovic and Mateo Kovacic for Inter.
Roberto Mancini has returned as Inter’s coach and AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi will be coaching in a Milan Derby for the first time. Will they cancel each other out or will both teams show some serious attacking intent?
If recent derbies are anything to go by, the up-and-coming derby should not be expected to be a classic.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
