The whole of Italy was talking about the upcoming Milan Derby.
The Apennine Peninsula not only produced countless superstars and various great teams, but also the century-old feud between rivals in the same city. Everyone knew how popular the "Eternal Derby" between Roma and Lazio was, but the most exciting one was the Milan Derby.
AC Milan and Inter Milan were both famous. In terms of city glory, Milan had few rivals: the two teams had won a total of 30 Serie A titles, 10 Coppa Italia, 9 Champions League, 4 UEFA Super Cups, 3 Intercontinental Cups, 3 UEFA Europa Cups, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. Wandering around the San Siro Stadium museum was like being in a huge treasure house.
The Milan Derby was called "Derby Della Madonnina" in Italian, after the statue of the Virgin Mary in Milan's Cathedral. It was probably because of this that every time there was a Milan derby, the stadium gave people a sense of religious ceremony. In the two Milan Derbies every season, fans from both sides challenged each other, and the stadium was full of scolding. The Milan Derby was not only a typical window to observe European football, but also an excellent showcase to understand the sport.
In 1980, in honor of the legendary striker Giuseppe Meazza, the official name of the San Siro Stadium was changed to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Meazza has played in both Milan teams and has become a bridge between these two rivals who have spanned a century. His peak career was naturally in Internazionale, but he also played for Milan for two years later. According to reports, after playing for AC Milan in the Derby and scoring, he was still in tears.
Like all football Derbies, the Milan Derby was also mixed with political, social, and other factors. For both Milan, the Derby could improve their relationship, but also increase their dislike for each other. The rivalry that extended to football had a historical background: because of the difference in political standpoints, both the left and the right regarded the Derby as a potential powder keg.
In 1899, AC Milan was founded by Englishmen Herbert Gilpin and Alfred Edwards as the "Milan Football and Cricket Club." They quickly rose to become one of the most powerful football teams in Italy. In 1908, the club, which had been around for less than 10 years, split and its influence continued to this day. Due to disagreements over the use of foreign players, a small number of Milan F.C. players left to form Inter Milan F.C. At that time, Italy was xenophobic, and Milan focused on developing local players, while Inter became a shelter for foreign players.
After the separation, the two Milan grew stronger under their own ideals. Soon, Inter Milan became the main team of the city's middle class and wealthy businessmen, while AC Milan became popular among the working class. In the football world, it was very common for both sides of the derby to speak for the upper class and the other to speak for the working class. This kind of division implied many social problems, different social classes and their respective social influences, and the Milan derby was no exception. This was one of the reasons why the fans from both sides were at daggers drawn when it came to the derby.
When a city had two teams that could not tolerate each other, the wonderful derby would set a label for the city. On October 18, 1908, history ushered in the first "Milan derby." Although AC Milan won the first game 2: 1, because of Inter Milan's departure, AC Milan's strength was severely weakened. Since the 1907 Serie A title, they had not won a title for 42 years. This was the famous "42 Years of Ice Age" in AC Milan's history. Although this period was not Inter Milan's glory days, they still suppressed AC Milan with five Serie A titles.
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The escalation of the rivalry between the two sides began in the 1960s. Two of the greatest talents in football, who were enough to be elegant models of their respective clubs, Sandro Mazzola (Inter Milan) and Rivera (AC Milan), were the leading stars of the Milan derby.
The two men lived in the same era, and both made great contributions to the rise of Milan as a major city in European football. AC Milan won the UEFA Champions League in 1963, and Inter Milan won back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965. During this period, the masterpiece of the Milan derby was Inter's 5-2 thrashing of Milan. Mazzola scored twice and led his teammates to a big victory, and established his status as an international legend. After this game, Inter Milan was undefeated in seven consecutive derbies, and won three Serie A titles in four years from 1963 to 1966.
In the following 20 years, the Nerazzurri won the Serie A title many times. The former Inter Milan vice-president, Prisco, said proudly, "The city of Milan has two great teams. One is Inter Milan, and the other is Inter Milan's youth team."
In the 1980-81 season, AC Milan was penalized to Serie B because of the match-fixing incident. After returning to Serie A, the team's strength was greatly reduced, and they were relegated again. Then, they were promoted for the second time and returned to the top of the rankings. The Milan derby in October 1984 was another classic. AC Milan won 2-1 and announced that they were leading Serie A again after many years.
With Berlusconi's takeover in 1986, AC Milan began to reverse its disadvantage and became the most famous club in the world. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, AC Milan, led by Arrigo Sacchi, swept across Europe and won the Champions League in 1989. Then, Capello took over and beat Barcelona 4-0 in the 1994 Champions League final, and won the Big Ears Cup again.
If one were to talk about the most infamous Milan derby, it would be the infamous Champions League 14 final in the first half of 2005. This should have been a Milan derby that would go down in history, but in the end, the fans were given a ticket and AC Milan was awarded a 3-0 victory. The fuse of the conflict was that Inter Milan midfielder Cambiasso's goal was disallowed. Nellazuri was furious. Fireworks and drink bottles flew in the stadium, and the game was suspended for 20 minutes. After that, the game resumed for a while, but not long after, the referee decided to stop the game.
Even though the "Derby de Fireworks" was a dark chapter in the history of the Derby de Milan, there was a scene in the game that would forever be fixed: the international defender, Materazzi, had one arm on the shoulder of the Milan midfielder, Rui Costa. Together, the two of them quietly watched the rioting fans and the thick smoke that covered the sky.
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For Inter Milan, the most embarrassing thing for them was that they had not won the Serie A title for 16 years in a row since 1989. And from 2002 to 2005, Inter Milan did not beat AC Milan in 10 consecutive derbies. In 2001, they even lost to AC Milan 0: 6, setting the record for the biggest Milan derby in history.
With the Milan derby approaching, AC Milan club president Silvio Berlusconi was restless again. When a reporter mentioned that AC Milan was now four points behind Inter Milan in the Serie A standings, the Italian prime minister proudly said that AC Milan had won 10 consecutive games against Inter Milan, and in the weekend's derby, this number would become 11 consecutive wins.
In addition, Berlusconi began to talk about the 6-0 2001 game. "Every time I recall this game, I am still very excited. People can't live in their memories, so I hope we can continue to write the glory."
Berlusconi's words were immediately released by the media. Tuttosport even used the words' Berlusconi orders Ancelotti to recreate the glory of a 6-0 win 'in their report.
For a moment, the whole of Italy was lively because of Berlusconi's big mouth.
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Li Ang was a little angry. Before the Milan derby, he did not intend to start a war. He was not a saint. Inter Milan was in a good state now, and the Milan derby was almost a game that did not require any mobilization. The players were bound to go all out. In this case, there was really no need to create a tense situation.
However, it was rare for him to stop. Berlusconi's big mouth really pissed him off.
"I really sympathize with Ancelotti." Li Ang said in an interview with Inter Milan's official radio station. "The president is always pointing fingers at him and always making unrealistic requests. Now the people on Earth know that we play better than our rivals in the same city. We always win, and we are ranked higher than them. Under such circumstances, asking AC Milan to beat us and win beautifully is an impossible task. Isn't he making things difficult?"
The next day, Li Ang's response immediately blew up the Italian media.
Li Ang's remarks mainly expressed four points:
First, Berlusconi was always pointing fingers at Ancelotti.
Second, Inter Milan was now playing better than AC Milan.
Third, Inter Milan was ranked higher than AC Milan.
Fourth, AC Milan wanted to win. It was a fool's dream.
For a moment, all the media were excited. This was the Milan Derby. How could it be so calm before the game? It was normal to be full of gunpowder and shooting at each other.
Some media helped Li Ang to summarize his words. In one sentence, Inter Milan was playing beautifully and winning constantly. AC Milan was not as good as them!
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The most direct follow-up to this incident was that the media broke the news that Berlusconi was so angry that he directly ordered Ancelotti to win the Milan Derby and teach the arrogant Chinese a lesson. Not only did they have to win, they had to win beautifully! His AC Milan played the most beautiful football in Italy!
A reporter immediately went to interview the AC Milan manager, Ancelotti, to ask if the president had given such an order.
Ancelotti refused to answer the question. He only said, "For a manager, winning is always our pursuit. This is even more so for the Milan Derby! Mr. President's love for AC Milan is great. Of course, he wants us to win. "
Li Ang's sarcasm followed. "Yes, they have always been doing well. However, we are better, so we are ranked higher …"
Berlusconi's butler, Galliani, immediately came to the rescue. "This is just the cry of the weak. We have won ten consecutive Milan Derbies. This is the best proof."
Li Ang's response came immediately. "Only those who fall behind will reminisce about the past."
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Ancelotti was a little upset. Li Ang was barking like a mad dog, constantly exaggerating the strength of Inter Milan. This affected the whole AC Milan team. It was as if the Milan Derby was the final of the Champions League. If they lost, the season would be over.
This was a very unfavorable situation for AC Milan.
Inter Milan was four points ahead of AC Milan. Even if Li Ang's team lost the game, they would still be ahead of AC Milan. If they lost, at most, their morale would be affected. However, they were about to enter the winter break. After the winter break, the impact on Inter Milan would be minimized.
On the other hand, AC Milan was different. They had already won ten consecutive games against Inter Milan. This was a glory, but also a huge pressure. Coupled with the fact that they were behind Inter Milan in points, if they lost this game, they would be seven points behind Inter Milan. This was a result that AC Milan could not accept. Coupled with the media's hype, AC Milan seemed to have reached the point where losing this game would be the end of the season. The whole team was like a tight spring. This was a good thing, but also a bad thing. Once the spring was stressed too much, it would break.
Under such circumstances, Berlusconi took his private helicopter to Milan Milanello the day before the game. The president lectured the whole team. There was only one theme: they had to win the Milan Derby and play beautifully!
Later, he found Ancelotti again to talk. He even made demands for the game's tactics. They wanted two strikers, to attack, to play beautifully, to score more goals, to … to fiercely attack Li Ang's arrogance.
Ancelotti could not express his bitterness. He was confident that he had studied Li Ang's Inter Milan. Going head-to-head with this team was simply an act of seeking death.
For this game, Ancelotti's original tactic was to focus on defensive counterattack. He wanted to use AC Milan's strong backfield to contend with Inter Milan and strive to find an opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
But now, the atmosphere of public opinion and Berlusconi's strict orders made all of Ancelotti's plans useless.
Ancelotti felt like he had been f * cked by a dog.
He was really dissatisfied with the president. Why did he provoke that mad dog for no reason? Both sides put all their energy into the game. Wasn't it good to be harmonious?!
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Li Ang immediately scolded Berlusconi for going to Milan for an inspection. "You see, this is a manifestation of lack of confidence. They are afraid of us!"
AC Milan's players could not hold it in anymore.
AC Milan's captain, Maldini, criticized Li Ang for going too far. "The game is played on the field, not with words."
Li Ang: "Yes, so we are now four points ahead of them."
Gattuso: "We will win this game."
Li Ang: "Those who are really confident don't need to shout loudly."
The entire Italian media was in high spirits, and so were the Italian fans. As long as they flipped open the newspaper or turned on the television, they could see the war between Li Ang and AC Milan.
On AC Milan's side, Berlusconi, Galliani, Ancelotti, and even their players came out to speak. On Inter Milan's side, Li Ang single-handedly challenged the entire AC Milan team!
The quarrel continued until the game started.
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