Greatest Rivalries in Football - Inter Milan vs AC Milan

In 1899, AC Milan was founded by a small group of men, led by Englishmen Herbert Kilpin and Alfred Edwards. Nine years later, a dispute within the club about the purchase of foreign players erupted. A group of Swiss members of the club were upset with the number of Italian players in the club. They split and formed FC Internazionale Milano.

With the founding of Inter and their immediate success as well as the continued success of AC Milan, added in of course with the bitter split, one of sport’s greatest rivalries was born.

One of Italy’s oldest clubs, A.C. Milan has historically been known as the club of Milan’s left-wing and working-class population. That changed some what when the Italian real estate and media tycoon, and, later, conservative prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi acquired the club in 1986.

Still, clouds of red smoke from the flares fans traditionally set off billow through the stands of the San Siro stadium in Milan every weekend. Those are the Rossoneri’s doing. Because of the flares, A.C. Milan, nicknamed Rossoneri for their red and black jerseys, always look like they’re playing with riots on the terraces. But they are considered relatively tame compared to the Inter fans who share their stadium.

Inter’s fans, which contain a large right-wing element and tend to draw from the wealthier Milanese, are notoriously rowdy. Their behavior regularly lands Inter on the wrong side of FIFA’s disciplinary sanctions. Since 2001 alone, they have caused at least four games to be halted or abandoned because of the barrage of projectiles they were throwing on the field.

In recent seasons, the two halves of the city have both basked in their team’s success with Inter claiming the last three scudetti (the 2005-2006 title was assigned to them after a match-fixing scandal). A.C. Milan, meanwhile, has made its mark on the Champions League, winning the competition twice in the last six years.

The rivalry has no shortage of history and meaning.

In addition to the breakup and the fact that they share a city (and since 1947, a stadium), there is also the baggage of AC Milan representing the working class and Inter having more support from the bourgeoisie; the fact that the rivalry divides families, friends, and colleagues; and the long list of talented squads they constantly threw at each other.

Many of the world’s best players have worn the colors of both teams at one point or another in their career. Giuseppe Meazza, Christian Panucci, Clarence Seedorf, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Roberto Baggio, Patrick Viera, Andrea Pirlo, Dario Simic, Ronaldo, and Hernan Crespo, among others, have all worn both the red and black of AC and the blue and black of Inter.

Players to watch out for this season-
  : Handanovic, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Pereira, Kovacic (Inter Milan)
  : El Shaarawy, Balotelli, Robinho, Kaka, Mexes (AC Milan)