Milan - The Guiseppe Meazza - “San Siro” - Capacity: 85,700 All Seater
The Stadium – The Guiseppe Meazza - “San Siro” Stadio San Siro, Via Piccolomini 5, 20151 Milan
Without a doubt one of the cathedrals of world football, the San Siro is a magnificent sight when it is full on a match day. The stadium was originally built between August 1925 and September 1926. The first game played in the stadium was actually a Milan derby, with Inter winning 6-3 in front of a capacity crowd of 35,000. Ten years later a second tier was added by the local government, taking the capacity to 60,000. In 1980 the stadium was renamed after the Inter Milan legend Guiseppe Meazza. The stadium then went through a massive upgrade in time for the opening game of the 1990 World Cup finals, with the result being an all seater stadium capable of holding 87,500. The views from most of the seats are magnificent. The stands rise steeply from the pitch, and unlike a number of other big stadiums in Italy, there is no running track. The seats in the lower tier are not the best, with glass screens providing a barrier between the crowd and the players. The middle tier is where the Tifosi are located – to the north end for AC and south end for Inter. All of the seats in the standard areas are the bucket types, with no backs making them uncomfortable for long periods of time.
However, the atmosphere on a match day builds from hours before kick off. The fans spend weeks rehearsing their “presentations” and it is almost a crime to roll up to your seats five minutes before kick off and miss their wonderful efforts. In Italy, as with a number of other countries in Europe, firecrackers and flares are common place. Within the San Siro these create a magnificent spectacle, but be warned – the first time you hear the firecrackers in the stadium will make you jump. The stadium also has an excellent museum and daily tour that takes place on non-match days from Gate 21 from 10am to 5pm. You can pre-book a place on the tour by emailing the stadium management team at tour@sansirotour.com.
Who Plays There? Inter are currently the reigning champions of Italy, and have set the pace this season. However, the title was handed to them after the match fixing scandal that saw Juventus stripped of the title and relegated, and Milan docked 30 points. 3rd place Inter were therefore elevated to Champions. This season they have taken advantage of the absence of Juventus, and Milan and Lazio’s points penalties to lead from the front, dropping jut 6 points for their first 13 games, and easily qualifying for the Champions League 2nd round stages with games to spare. It finally looks as if the club under the expert guidance of Roberto Mancini could be about to end a barren run of sixteen years without a title.
The club were founded in 1908 after a spilt in ideas at the Milan club on the recruitment of foreign talent. Two years later they won the Scudetto for the first time, taking the title off Milan. The club achieved a second title in 1920, before entering a period best forgotten in their history in the 1930’s when Benito Mussolini made the club change its name to Ambrosina-Inter to rid themselves of the communist style Internazionale name.
Between 1930 and 1942 when the club played under this name they won the championship on three occasions, as well as a Coppa Italia. After they were able to shed their Ambrosia, Inter went back to winning ways with back to back championships in 1953 and 1954. The 1960’s came and the club started slowly but in 1963 they captured their eleventh title. The following season they beat Real Madrid in the European Cup final, repeating the feat 12 months later on home solid versus Benfica. They also won two further championships in 1965 and 1966.
The 1970’s are a tough period for the club. They were runners up in the 1972 European Cup final to Ajax but failed to add to their Scudetto apart from in 1980. A couple of Coppa Italia titles were scant reward for a demanding crowd. In 1989 the club regrouped and brought in foreign imports such as Jurgen Klinsmann and Lother Matthaus.
The following season the club won the Scudetto and followed it up with a UEFA Cup win against AS Roma in 1991. Three years later they won the cup again, beating Casino Salzburg. Apart from a further UEFA Cup win against Lazio in Paris, and winning the last two Coppa Italia’s, the Inter cupboard has been bare. They have come close to reaching the Champions League final on a number of occasions, but have lost twice at the semi-final stage to AC Milan.
The club do have the honour of being the only Italian club never to have been relegated from the top division, and with the weakened Serie A this year will surely extend this record for the next season at least. The current squad includes some real world class players such as the Italian national goalkeeper Toldo, Luis Figo, the Brazilians Adriano and Julio Cesar, Patrick Viera and Hernan Crespo up front.
AC Milan are another example of a famous club founded by an Englishman. In 1899 Alfred Edwards founded the club on some very British traditions, one of which was the actual name – the club were called, and still are today, Milan instead of the Italian Milano. The club entered the national leagues in 1901 and were soon challenging the domination of Genoa (another club formed by an Englishman as a cricket club), winning the league in that first season as well as in 1906 and 1907.
The following year the club were split on the policy of signing foreign talent, and a number of the players decided to form their own team – which is now known as Internazionale. Amazingly it would be a further 44 years before the club won another title. The pre-war domination of Italian football by the clubs from Turin was beginning to make the league very predictable, but after the Superga disaster (See section on FC Torino), Milan amongst others saw an opportunity. In 1950’s they embarked on a magnificent few years in a team that featured Cesare Maldini, winning the title in 1951, 1955, 1957 and 1958 as well as a couple of Italian Cup victories.
In the 1960’s the club were credited for creating Catenaccio – the dull way of grinding out 1-0 victories – which was perfect for the European style of football. This did not go unnoticed as the club became the first Italian team to win a major European trophy when they defeated Benfica in the European Cup Final in 1963. They followed up this success with a European Cup Winners Cup victory in 1964 and another European Cup title in 1969. This was also the period when English-legend Jimmy Greaves and Denis Law tried to break the traditional of British players being poor travellers.
The title, however, continued to elude them in the 1970’s although European success was still coming in with another Cup Winners Cup. Finally they captured their 10th title, and won the right to wear the star over the badge with a lost fought campaign. Nobody could have foretold what would happen though just twelve months later. The club were dumped out of the European Cup in the first round to Porto, and after a disappointing league campaign, news broke that the club had been heavily implicated in a betting scandal featuring a number of their players such as Paolo Rossi. Their penalty was relegation from Serie A, along with SS Lazio.
Unsurprisingly the club bounced back within twelve months but the effect of a season in Serie B was soon evident as they lost a hard fought campaign in 1982 against relegation. Despite coming back up in 1983 the club was floundering. Lifelong fan and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi saw an opportunity to revive the club and took control in February 1986, to start the golden period of Milan.
Within twelve months gone were players like Liam Brady, Ray Wilkins and Luther Blissett, and instead new coach Arrigo Sacchi had assembled a team featuring Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit as well as home grown talent such as Carlo Ancelotti. The title returned in 1988, and the following season they won their third European cup with a 4-0 win versus Steaua Bucharest. Twelve months later they retained their trophy in Vienna with a 1-0 win over Benfica.
In 1992, Fabio Capello took over the coaching reigns and continued the club’s pursuit of greatness. The squad had been strengthened with players like Marcel Desailly, Zvonimir Boban and Paolo Maldini and they responded to the Presidents call for domination with back to back championships in 1992, 1993 and 1994, as well as three consecutive Champions League final appearances. The 4-0 demolition of Barcelona in Athens is considered by many as the most complete ever final performance. However, this was sandwiched between defeats by Marseille and Ajax.
Capello moved on to Real Madrid and the club struggled – failing to make Europe in 1997. In 1998 Capello was tempted back to Milan to bring back the glory days. Unfortunately an embarrassing 6-1 home defeat to Champions-elect Juventus saw the end of the once-revered Capello. His replacement was Alberto Zaccheroni who replaced some of the failures in the team such as Patrick Kluivert and Patrick Viera with seasoned campaigners such as George Weah and Olivier Bierhoff. The result was a 16th Championship title, wrestling the crown from Juventus.
Managers came and went with regularity over the next few years. The club did have a number of high points including the 6-0 derby win versus Inter in April 2001. In 2003 under the control of former player Ancelotti they reached the European Cup Final where they met Juventus. In one of the most predictable dull scoreless draws ever seen, Milan took the trophy on penalties. For a team full of such talent as Rui Costa, Shevchenko and Nesta it was disappointing to see such tactics.
The following season the club recruited young Brazilian play maker Kaka, as well as seasoned defenders Cafu and Jaap Stam. The difference was amazing as the team swept all before them to win the Scudetto with weeks to spare. All seemed to be going well in the Champions League as well as they took a 4-1 to La Coruna in the Quarter Finals. Unfortunately on a night when nothing went right for the team, they lost 4-0 and lost a chance to retain their trophy. Twelve months later it seemed they had laid the ghost to rest as they led 3-0 at halftime in Istanbul versus Liverpool in the Champions League final. The subsequent 90 minutes are that of legend as the team then conceded 3 goals to Liverpool then went on to lose on penalties.
Last season the club tried but failed to break the monopoly Juventus had on Serie A. With Paolo Maldini entering his 20th year in the team, and Kaka still pulling the strings, hopes were high for the team. Unfortunately, Juventus again proved too strong for Milan, and Ancelotti’s team had to make do with 2nd place. They also reached the semi-final of the Champions League where they met Europe’s hottest team Barcelona.
A 1-0 defeat on aggregate was a bitter pill to swallow, but not as bad as the next few weeks when it became clear that the club were heavily implicated in the match fixing court case. Initially the club were found guilty and relegated along with a stiff points penalty. However, on appeal they were re-instated into Serie A with an 8 point penalty, and still allowed to compete in the Champions League. So far progress has been steady as the team have easily qualified from a weak group in the Champions League, and are currently in 15th place, which taking into consideration the points penalty would have actually seen them in 4th place. With Juventus out of the picture for at least another season, AC will hope to retain the crown of Italy’s top club.
How to get to the San Siro The stadium is located to the west of the city centre, close to the outer ring road. The simplest way to reach the stadium is to take the underground line (the red one) to Lotto, and then walk alongside the racetrack to the stadium. There is a free shuttle bus from Lotto station, but due to the sheer volume of people trying to get on board, and the traffic that makes its way to the stadium on a match day it is much easier to make the 15 minute walk.
For a more detail view of where the stadium is in Milan, go to Footiemap.com.
How to get a ticket for the San Siro For most games tickets are available to purchase on the respective clubs website – http:///www.acmilan.com and http://www.inter.it. Both of these sites have full English instructions on how to use the respective tickets, and you can opt to have them sent to the UK, or collect them from the San Siro on a match day. Tickets are also available from the respective club shops in the city centre.
In the 2005-2006 season new laws have been introduced to help fight violence in football stadiums. Tickets are supposed to be issued to named individuals, upon provision of address and ID. The application of these laws is causing a headache for everyone, and as we write most clubs still haven't organised their online ticket sales or published guidelines for purchase. Some interpretations mean you need to buy your ticket in advance (with no sales on matchday at the stadium) upon presentation of ID, address and maybe even an Italian tax code. This seems to us to discriminate more against the innocent (like the overseas fans who turn out in force for Italian fixtures), than the guilty. Overseas fans buying tickets online will have been used to providing their details anyway, but now it is likely that full details are required for each member of your party. If you can't buy tickets online before your trip, purchase them as soon as you arrive in Italy. Hotels can sometimes be good sources of advice. Make sure everyone in your group takes their ID (passports are best) with them when you collect your ticket, and to the football ground.
Around the San Siro The Stadium sits out in the west of the city, next door to the race track. On a non-match day it is a peaceful neighbourhood, although at night the main roads do tend to be the hunting ground for prostitutes. There are no bars or cafes in the area – the nearest is the McDonalds outside Lotto metro station. However, on a match day the whole area around the stadium comes alike with temporary stands selling food, drink and merchandise.
Linate is located close enough to the city centre to be classed as a real time saving option for business and leisure travellers. It is only 4 miles from the Duomo, and reached by taxi (€15 and 15 minutes) or by bus 73 to the central station every 30 minutes, costing €2. The airport is expanding all the time, as Linate is the preferred choice for Easyjet and other budget carriers.
The main airport for the region, Malpensa, is located close to Lake Maggiore, some 45 miles north west of the city. Many operators are now switching their operations to Linate due to the continued problems the airport suffers due to fog. Only BA and Alitalia fly into Malpensa from the UK. The best way into the city centre is the train from the airport to Ferrovie Nord Railway station in Piazzale Cadorna which runs every 30 minutes from 6.50am every day. Tickets cost €9 each way. There is also a shuttle bus which runs between the two terminals and then onto the central station every 20 minutes, and costs €5. Journey time is almost 70 minutes on a good day though. A taxi can easily cost up to €100.
Milan Orio Al Serio Airport (Airport Code BGY) Telephone: +39 35 326111 Website: http://www.sacbo.it
Whilst calling itself Milan’s third airport, Orio Al Serio is actually based in the city of Bergamo, some 40 miles north east of Milan. However, through the investment of Ryanair, the airport is now a major hub for budget European travel. To reach Milan, catch one of the regular coaches which meet arriving flights and transfer passengers to Milan’s central station in around 45 mins.
The Stadium – The Guiseppe Meazza - “San Siro”