Belgrade to Buenos Aires – Football rivalries on a very tight budget by Colvin Lee

Author:Colvin, Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2019-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

MILAN

Inter v Milan

(February 27th 2005)

‘Derby della Madonnina’

Top tips for Milan

Always wear sunglasses, even when it’s freezing.

Don’t be jealous of people draped in expensive clobber.

Wear at least two pairs of socks to a game in February.

Don’t think you’re the next James Richardson, with a massive ice cream and a La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

I was born in 1978, but my first real World Cup that I watched from start to finish was Italia 90. You could not help but look in awe at some of the stadiums. Grounds in the UK at that time were falling apart. From seeing top-flight games being played at Plough Lane in England, we were seeing the San Siro and Stadio Olimpico. The stadiums looked massive and I couldn’t wait to sample them once I was older.

Most people growing up in that era were glued to Channel Four's coverage of Gazzetta Italia. The sight of James Richardson with a gigantic ice cream or coffee and a pile of newspapers next to him was great Saturday morning viewing.

At the time Serie A was by far the best league in the world; all the best players played there. Milan had Baresi, Gullit, Rijkaard, Van Basten, to name but a few. Inter had their share of famous names as well, with Matthäus, Klinsmann, Brehme, Zenga and many more. It really was exciting times football-wise in Italy. The Derby della Madonnina was always one I watched and dreamed of going to. It’s called this because there is a Virgin Mary statue on top of the Duomo cathedral and is often referred to as ‘Little Madonna’.

Milan is a very cosmopolitan city and I immediately think of designer clothing, great food and the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium when the city is mentioned. I was still living in Birmingham at this time, so travelling to Milan was very easy compared to some places, a direct flight to Malpensa airport on the Saturday morning with my partner. The game was being played on the Sunday evening.

The centre of Milan is very much what you’d expect of a stylish city, but the outskirts looks really run down with graffiti everywhere. Piazza del Duomo is where most tourists flock to. The cathedral does look pretty impressive and the area around these streets, with all the designer boutiques, is very smart. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall is a work of art in itself. The Italians know how to dress but everybody seemed to be wearing sunglasses in February. You can also see people wearing Armani head to toe yet see poor people only a few yards away.

I was very lazy in looking for match tickets on this trip. I’d had a quick browse online but it wasn’t exactly easy, and at this particular time I didn’t always have internet access. My plan was to walk up to the ground, get tickets outside from one of the many touts and get the best price. If I was going to this derby now, I would do things completely differently.

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