by Jason Toon
San Siro cuts a suitably distinctive figure for this most style-conscious of cities, Milan. The original 1920s stadium (officially named Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which nobody calls it in practice) sits inside a shell built around it, to add a third tier of seats and a partial roof for the World Cup in 1990. The visual drama comes from this addition, with the massive red girders jutting out at each corner and the towering spiral walkways. It glows in the murk of a cloudy September evening like a monument built by a dead alien civilization.
I'm in the crowd of pilgrims for tonight's episode of the twice-yearly Derby della Madonnina, the clash between the two teams that share San Siro: Internazionale Milan, who wear black and blue, and who everyone calls Inter; and AC Milan, who wear black and red, and who are confusingly called simply Milan except by Inter fans, who opt for the equally simple "merda" (shit).
If you listen to the pessimists, that dead civilization might be Milanese soccer itself. It's true that Inter and AC Milan are both going through rebuilding periods. After dominating the Serie A league for decades, they spent last season mired in the middle of the pack. For the second straight season, the Champions League of the top European clubs has no Milanese entry, a streak that had gone back to 2001.
San Siro cuts a suitably distinctive figure for this most style-conscious of cities, Milan. The original 1920s stadium (officially named Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, which nobody calls it in practice) sits inside a shell built around it, to add a third tier of seats and a partial roof for the World Cup in 1990. The visual drama comes from this addition, with the massive red girders jutting out at each corner and the towering spiral walkways. It glows in the murk of a cloudy September evening like a monument built by a dead alien civilization.
I'm in the crowd of pilgrims for tonight's episode of the twice-yearly Derby della Madonnina, the clash between the two teams that share San Siro: Internazionale Milan, who wear black and blue, and who everyone calls Inter; and AC Milan, who wear black and red, and who are confusingly called simply Milan except by Inter fans, who opt for the equally simple "merda" (shit).
If you listen to the pessimists, that dead civilization might be Milanese soccer itself. It's true that Inter and AC Milan are both going through rebuilding periods. After dominating the Serie A league for decades, they spent last season mired in the middle of the pack. For the second straight season, the Champions League of the top European clubs has no Milanese entry, a streak that had gone back to 2001.
The view from the cheap seats.
Inter created some buzz in the offseason by bringing back former coach Roberto Mancini, who took Inter to three straight league titles during his first stint in 2004-2008, and buying up a toybox full of new players to play with, including French phenom Geoffrey Kondogbia, Manchester City attacking midfielder Stevan Jovetić, and the return of lightning-quick ex-Inter winger Jonathan Biabany to join top striker Mauro Icardi.
Under a new coach of their own, ex-Inter assistant Siniša Mihajlović, AC Milan went on their own spending spree after fielding a notorious cut-rate squad last season, dropping tens of millions of Euros to acquire hotshot South American strikers Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano and a couple of young Italians, Andrea Bertolacci and Alessio Romagnoli. They also welcomed back "Super Mario" Balotelli, the quintessential "talented but troubled" striker, who has scored goals as often as he made headlines for his attitude during stays at Inter, Manchester City, and Milan, but whose career faltered during a disappointing year at Liverpool.
But even these acquisitions perhaps lacked the glamorous A-list sizzle once expected of Italy's greatest rivals. The preseason spotlight remained fixed on Juventus, Turin's top club, and the resurgent Rome rivals Roma and Lazio.
Well, don't believe the gripe. What I saw at San Siro remains one of the great spectacles of the continent, and one of the most exciting displays of this weird thing humans do called sports.
Inter, as the official "home team" of this episode of the twice-yearly roommates' clash, drew the bigger crowd tonight. And each team's most rabid fans, the flag-waving, flare-lighting ultras, do their thing at opposite ends of the stadium. But the friendly nature of this rivalry meant that fans of both teams intermingle in the same sections of the crowd - and even sometimes in the same families.
Under a new coach of their own, ex-Inter assistant Siniša Mihajlović, AC Milan went on their own spending spree after fielding a notorious cut-rate squad last season, dropping tens of millions of Euros to acquire hotshot South American strikers Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano and a couple of young Italians, Andrea Bertolacci and Alessio Romagnoli. They also welcomed back "Super Mario" Balotelli, the quintessential "talented but troubled" striker, who has scored goals as often as he made headlines for his attitude during stays at Inter, Manchester City, and Milan, but whose career faltered during a disappointing year at Liverpool.
But even these acquisitions perhaps lacked the glamorous A-list sizzle once expected of Italy's greatest rivals. The preseason spotlight remained fixed on Juventus, Turin's top club, and the resurgent Rome rivals Roma and Lazio.
Well, don't believe the gripe. What I saw at San Siro remains one of the great spectacles of the continent, and one of the most exciting displays of this weird thing humans do called sports.
Inter, as the official "home team" of this episode of the twice-yearly roommates' clash, drew the bigger crowd tonight. And each team's most rabid fans, the flag-waving, flare-lighting ultras, do their thing at opposite ends of the stadium. But the friendly nature of this rivalry meant that fans of both teams intermingle in the same sections of the crowd - and even sometimes in the same families.
Break it up, you hooligans
It wasn't always like this. Like the fevered intra-city clashes between teams in places like Glasgow and Madrid, the Milan Derby once had its own political overtones and eruptions of violence. AC Milan was the traditional team of the left-wing working class, while Inter was the club of the right-wing elite. But those distinctions dissolved over the decades as Milan became the poster child for Italian upward mobility, then were decisively obliterated when Silvio Berlusconi, hardly a proletarian socialist, bought AC Milan in 1986. For their part the ultras on both sides reached a pact in the 1980s to eschew violence, an agreement that has held to this day.
The atmosphere at a Milan derby is more carnival than carnal, more bros arm-in-arm than brothers taking up arms. To my Midwestern mind, it felt like a Cubs-Cardinals or Blues-Blackhawks game. The requisite squad of riot police seemed as relaxed as everybody else, leaning on their shields and checking their phones.
The atmosphere at a Milan derby is more carnival than carnal, more bros arm-in-arm than brothers taking up arms. To my Midwestern mind, it felt like a Cubs-Cardinals or Blues-Blackhawks game. The requisite squad of riot police seemed as relaxed as everybody else, leaning on their shields and checking their phones.
The long lines at the gates and the two-stage entrance procedure (first your passport is checked against your ticket, then you scan your ticket at a second gate a little further on) had me worried I'd miss kickoff, but the line flowed smoothly and I was inside the mighty San Siro 40 minutes before game time. I climbed one of those endless, dizzying towers to the upper deck, then up the vertiginous stands to the Milan equivalent of the Bob Uecker seats. Already, the ultras were in full roar, taunting each other back and forth across the stadium. Evidently, being an ultra demands the same physical endurance as playing the game.
Oh yeah, the game! Both teams rose to the occasion, attacking with the intensity this crowd came to see. Even though we're only a few games into the Serie A season, and neither of these teams is expected to immediately contend for a title, the game had what Americans would call a playoff atmosphere. The crowd surged with every counterattack, sighed at every fumbled pass, roared with every rough tackle. The Inter crowd welcomed new Brazilian roughneck midfielder Felipe Melo with as much gusto as they jeered AC's mohawked enigma Balotelli when he entered the game as a sub.
And when Inter's Fredy Guarin drove home a sweet curving strike from 20 yards out, pandemonium.
And when Inter's Fredy Guarin drove home a sweet curving strike from 20 yards out, pandemonium.
That goal would be enough to overcome AC Milan's persistent pressure, including a near-equalizer from Balotelli among other heart-stopping near misses in the final quarter of the game. The referee's final whistle brought even more pandemonium. Then, as I was filing out, a low hum built in intensity, rose in pitch, got louder and louder. Tens of thousands of Inter fans were singing one long, climbing note: "ooooooOOOOOOOOOOO..." The Inter players joined hands on the field, turned toward their ultras, and took a bow together. "....LEEEEEEEE!" This extended "ole!" must be a tradition. But it was the first I'd heard of it, and it was impossible not to smile.
(By the way, Inter has now started the season with three straight wins, sitting atop the standings with 9 points. Mighty Juventus sits at 16th, with a single point. Small sample size, sure - but so are the last few seasons, relative to Italian soccer's long history. If Inter is in terminal decline, nobody told the players.)
I'm not a knowledgeable enough observer to comment intelligently on the relative fortunes of the Milan teams these days. Or to offer any insights into how the quality of play compares with legendary Milan teams of yore. But I can tell you that this was one marvelously entertaining evening, from the packed but jolly Metro train to the flashes of brilliance on the field. Tonight, the Milan Derby was a can't-miss spectacle. And a beautiful game.
(By the way, Inter has now started the season with three straight wins, sitting atop the standings with 9 points. Mighty Juventus sits at 16th, with a single point. Small sample size, sure - but so are the last few seasons, relative to Italian soccer's long history. If Inter is in terminal decline, nobody told the players.)
I'm not a knowledgeable enough observer to comment intelligently on the relative fortunes of the Milan teams these days. Or to offer any insights into how the quality of play compares with legendary Milan teams of yore. But I can tell you that this was one marvelously entertaining evening, from the packed but jolly Metro train to the flashes of brilliance on the field. Tonight, the Milan Derby was a can't-miss spectacle. And a beautiful game.
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