The history books of the Derby della Madonnina contains many chapters, and within those are sub-plots that bring even more life to tonight’s game.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, tonight isn’t just about AC Milan vs. Inter, but also the players and coaches within it who have a link in some way to the opposition. It is not just the obvious ones either, like Hakan Calhanoglu and Francesco Acerbi.
Chivu, Modric, Max and more
What if Chivu had gone to Milan instead of Roma? The Romanian, the young captain of a phenomenal Ajax team featuring Ibrahimovic, Van der Vaart, Sneijder, and so on, cost €12m. That year, he faced the Rossoneri in the Champions League quarter-finals and held firm until the final minute of the second leg. In the end, he didn’t join Milan a Roma overtook everyone and signed him.
The rivalry between Luka Modric and Inter is deeply rooted. He has been a Milan fan since he was a boy, when he would get excited watching Boban. In the 2010-11 Champions League group stage, he faced the Nerazzurri for the first time, when Gareth Bale scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 loss. Luka faced the Nerazzurri five more times, and won each time.
There was a time when Acerbi was at Milan. In the summer of 2012, the centre-back from Vizzolo, about 40km from San Siro, arrived at Milanello after a year with Chievo. He made just 10 appearances in six months fo the Rossoneri, having admitted he hit ‘rock bottom’ mentally. In the January, he left Milanello to return to Chievo.
The link between Massimiliano Allegri and Inter is long and goes back a long way. In January 2009, he held Mourinho’s Nerazzurri to a 1-1 draw at San Siro with a goal from Acquafresca. In the return game, on May 24, they won 2-1 and emerged undefeated from the two-legged tie against José. The Nerazzurri are his second-most faced team after Lazio. The record: 13 wins, 13 losses, 9 draws.
The connection between Chivu and Esposito goes back a long way. Years ago, before a match with the Primavera, he handed him the armband. Pio took the field and scored three times against Cagliari. Tonight, he’ll start his first derby. He’s already scored in the Primavera derby, under Chivu’s coaching, netting pass Devis Vasquez in a 2-2 draw. Davide Bartesaghi also scored that day.
This is the latest story: the never-ending derby between Bartesaghi and Pio Esposito. The two are the same age and have crossed paths since their youth years with the Azzurri. From the U17s to today, they’ve faced each other four times. The first was in 2021, Inter 2-3 Milan. Earlier this season Davide started (he should be on the bench tonight), while Esposito came on for the final five minutes.
