The city of Milan will come to a standstill next month when AC Milan and Inter battle over two legs for a place in the final of the Champions League.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, it is a game that will obviously be felt profoundly by the supporters, but there are players within both squads for whom it means a lot too given their attachment to either the red and black or blue and black.
Firstly there is Davide Calabria, who was born Brescia but lived most of his life in Adro. Now he is the captain of Milan, having made his senior debut in 2015 and having been at the club since he was 11. A boyhood fan of the club could achieve a dream by leading his side out in a Champions League final.
On the other side of the Navigli, Federico Dimarco grew up in the Porta Romana area (where his family have a fruit and vegetable shop) and became a Nerazzurri player at the age of seven. As an Inter fan, he will also feel the two legs a bit more than the others.
Matteo Gabbia was born in Busto Arsizio but lived in Fagnano Olona, a municipality in the province of Varese. Heavily influenced by his family, Gabbia wears number 46 for grandmother Adriana which is the year of her birth. After spells at Fagnano, Como and Lecco, he is now in the senior squad for the team he grew up supporting.
Matteo Darmian is an interesting case, because he made his Serie A debut for the Rossoneri against Udinese on the penultimate matchday in 2006. He played in a number of positions in the Milan youth sector and has admitted that his idol is Paolo Maldini, yet next month he will play against the team he supported growing up.
Sandro Tonali is another player currently achieving a dream as he is a leader of Milan, and every now and then he still remembers when he wrote on a piece of paper that he wanted to be a footballer.
Tonali grew up watching Shevchenko and the other greats that Milan had, eventually making his way to his boyhood club after playing at Lombardia Uno (a youth team linked to Milan) as well as Brescia.
Finally, there is Francesco Acerbi, who was born in Vizzolo Predabissi, in the metropolitan area of Milan. A year ago he was accused by Inter fans of having helped the Diavolo in the Scudetto race after Lazio’s 2-1 defeat to Milan on 24 April when Tonali scored in the 92nd minute.
Beating the Rossoneri in the semi-final of the Champions League would be a personal redemption, but it must be remembered that he played 10 games for Milan in 2012-13 before struggling after the death of his father.
