A Look At Derbies

The Milan derby is of course one of the biggest in the world football. The rivalry is magnified at least partly because the stadium is shared. The San Siro, which opened in 1926 and now with a modern capacity of 80,000, has been the subject of several plans by one of Inter or Milan with the aim of being the sole owner, or the two teaming up and renovating it, meaning they will take control of it from the city of Milan. However it turns out in the future the fact that the two teams share it – and have their ultras in the curva nord and curva sud – has served to enhance the rivalry.

The Derby della Madonnina, named for the famous statue of Virgin Mary in the city of Milan, first started in 1908 not long after Inter had broken off and formed the new team. Milan won that first derby 2-1. The 1960s featured a few famous matches – the two teams led by with Gianni Rivera on one side and Sandro Mazzola on the other and coached by Nereo Rocco and Helenio Herrera – made the encounters more famous The 80’s brought more success for Milan and the Serie A was propelled into a major league attracting the biggest stars due in big part to the money of the likes of Berlusconi and Moratti family. Both teams signed and fielded star studded teams. Italy show casing itself with the 1990 World Cup further assisted.

The Milan teams and the league itself have faded in the 21st century and the stadium it is a matter of time one team moves out. Beyond the next few years the rivalry and status of the derby is unlikely to diminish but the history of it will always be the main highlight.

Some notable derby wins for Milan include the famous 6-0 win on May 11th 2001 with goals from Gianni Comandini (2) and Andriy Shevchenko (2), Federico Giunti and Serginho. Andriy Shevchenko is the all time Milan derby top scorer with 14 goals, one ahead of Giuseppe Meazza who, though mainly an Inter star, played and scored for both teams.

Below are the head to head statistics that highlight the Milan and Inter rivalry.

In addition to the Milan derby an infographic that was produced by Betfair football odds is included. The infographic features various derbies that have current and past history in England.

(click for full size)