Derby della Madonnina

The Derby della Madonnina (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdɛrbidellamadonˈniːna]; named after the Madonnina statue on top of the Milan Cathedral), also known as the Derby di Milano (English: Milan Derby), is a derby football match between the two prominent Milanese clubs, Inter Milan and AC Milan. Both clubs are among the most successful in Italian football history.

In the past, Inter Milan (commonly abbreviated to Inter) was seen as the club of the Milan bourgeoisie (nicknamed bauscia [baˈyʃa], a Milanese term meaning "braggart"), whereas Milan was supported mainly by the working class (nicknamed casciavid [kaʃaˈʋiːt], meaning "screwdriver", with reference to the blue-collar worker). Because of their more prosperous ancestry, Inter fans had the "luxury" to go to the San Siro stadium by motorcycle (motoretta, another nickname given to the Nerazzurri). On the other hand, the Rossoneri were also known as tramvee or tranvee (i.e. able to be transferred to the stadium only by "tram", or public transport). Today, this socioeconomic divide has largely been mitigated and preference for either club is personal or familial.

Taking place at least twice during the year via the league fixtures, this cross-town rivalry has extended to the Coppa Italia, Champions League, and Supercoppa Italiana, as well as minor tournaments and friendlies. It is one of the only major crosstown derbies in association football that are always played in the same stadium, in this case the San Siro, as both Inter and AC Milan call San Siro "home". Though both clubs share this stadium, Inter ultras traditionally occupy the stadium’s northern end (Curva Nord) while Milan ultras occupy the southern end (Curva Sud).

History

On 13 December 1899, Herbert Kilpin and others founded the Milan Cricket and Football Club. Alfred Edwards, a former British vice-consul in Milan and a well-known personality of the Milanese high society, was the club's first elected president. Initially, the team included a cricket section, managed by Edward Berra, and a football section managed by David Allison. The Milan team soon gained relevant notability under Herbert Kilpin's guide. The first trophy to be won was the Medaglia del Re ("King's Medal") in January 1900, and the team later won three national leagues, in 1901, 1906 and 1907. The triumph of 1901 was particularly relevant because it ended the consecutive series of wins of Genoa, which had been the only team to have won the title prior to 1901. On 9 March 1908, issues over the signing of foreign players led to a split and the foundation of Football Club Internazionale.

The first derby match between the two Milanese rivals was held in the final of the Chiasso Cup of 1908, a football tournament played in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on 18 October of that year; the Rossoneri won 2–1. While Inter and Milan faced each other sporadically in the early years, the rivalry has been renewed annually since the inaugural 1926–27 season of the Divisione Nazionale, the first truly national Italian league. The two teams have played each other at least twice a year since then.

Inter won the first Serie A title in 1929-1930, in the first edition of the Italian Football Championship (the third league title for the club after 1910 and 1920). Inter won again in 1938 and 1940 with one of the greatest players of all time Giuseppe Meazza who held the title of top scorer in the Milan derbies until 2005. Between 1928 and 1938 there were 10 victories for Inter, 7 draws and none for AC Milan, the longest period without a win in the history of Derby.

In 1951 Milan finally win the first Serie A, and the first league title since 1907 after 44 years.

In the 1960s, the Milan derby saw two big stars of Italian football come face-to-face. One of the most representative players of Inter was Sandro Mazzola, the son of former Torino player Valentino Mazzola who, along with most of his Torino teammates, died in the 1949 Superga air disaster after dominating Serie A for four seasons. His Milan counterpart was Gianni Rivera, nicknamed "Golden Boy" for his talent. This era saw brilliant derby matches and an increasing rivalry: while Milan won the European Cup in 1962–63, Inter with one of the best teams in Italian football history followed with back-to-back success in 1964 and 1965 and with two consecutive Intercontinetal Cup win and with others two European Cup finals played in 1967 and 1972. Milan again won the title in 1968–69. During this successful period for both teams, Milan were coached by Nereo Rocco and Inter by Helenio Herrera, both coaching many notable players. The rivalry continued on the Italy national team, where two players from their respective clubs would often not play together, with one usually being substituted by the other at half-time. Rivera ended up losing the starting line-up to Mazzola in the 1970 final against Brazil, in which Italy was defeated 1–4 by the South Americans. He would later enter in the 84th minute after Italy were already far behind.

The derby did not take place in 1980-1981 and 1982-1983 in Serie A, due to AC Milan's double relegation to Serie B. Arguably Milan's greatest-ever era took place during the late 1980s and had extended through to the mid-2000s. Often hailed as the greatest-ever Milan side, the team stemming from the 1989 European champions managed by Arrigo Sacchi, contained legendary Milan players, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Paolo Maldini, amongst others. Milan's dominance, both domestically and internationally, had seen them capture four league titles and three European Cups (finishing runners-up two additional times) between 1989 and 1998. During this time, Inter win 1988–89 Serie A title with an all-time record points in Serie A history with 18 teams under Giovanni Trapattoni and with great players like Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme (with Milan ending only third), and also Inter had gone on to finish runners-up in the 1992–93 season (behind Milan) and in a controversial 1997–98 season (with Milan that ended 10th) and won three UEFA Cups out of four finals played.

The two clubs famously met in the semi-finals of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, their first ever European matches against one another, in which Milan went through on the away goals rule despite both clubs playing at the same stadium; Milan would go on to win the competition. They met again in the quarter-finals of the 2004–05 edition; Milan triumphed on aggregate after UEFA awarded them a 3–0 victory in the second leg, as the match was abandoned due to flares thrown by Inter fans.

Inter's long wait for a league title that began after 1989 finally arrived in 2006, when the Calciopoli scandal stripped Juventus of the 2005–06 title (as well as deducting points from Milan's final overall total) and handed it to Inter, who originally finished third behind both Juventus and Milan. This was seen as a controversial decision by many, as even though the title won the previous season by Juventus was also stripped, it was left unawarded, which many felt should have also been the case with the 2005–06 title. Inter went on to win the 2006–07 Serie A title as well in a season that saw Juventus relegated from the top division, and Milan, as punishment, starting the season with negative points. Inter's triumphant campaign included a record-breaking run of 17 consecutive victories and victories in both fixtures against Milan. During the same season, however, Milan had captured their seventh European Cup/UEFA Champions League, defeating Liverpool in the final in Athens. As the Italian league recovered from the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal, Inter continued to dominate, winning each league up until the 2009–10 season in which they secured the title on the last day of the season. That season had also seen Inter become the first Italian side to win a treble. In addition to their league title, Inter also secured the Coppa Italia and their first Champions League title since 1965. The following season, however, Milan, with the acquisition of several players that included former Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, recaptured the Scudetto, their 18th overall, leading the league standings from as early as November until the end of the season. That season also saw Milan win both derby matches, keeping clean sheets in both fixtures.

Between 2011–12 and 2019–20, both Milan teams lagged behind Juventus in Serie A, with a disappointing ninth-place finish for Inter in 2012–13 and a difficult campaign for Milan in 2014–15, finishing tenth. However, Inter ended Juventus' nine-year streak by winning their 19th title in 2020–21, overtaking Milan's total. Milan tied Inter's total by winning their own 19th title in the following season. In January 2023 Inter won 2022 Supercoppa Italiana defeating Milan 3-0 in Riad final.

The two clubs met once again in the semi-finals of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League; the tie was their first European derby in 18 years, as well as being both clubs' first appearances in the semi-finals since winning the trophy in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Inter won the tie, defeating Milan 2–0 in the first leg and 1–0 in the second, reaching the final.

In 2023–24, Inter defeated Milan 2–1 as the designated "away" side on 22 April 2024; the result confirmed they had won their 20th league title, marking the first time the Scudetto had been decided in a Derby della Madonnina. The title put Inter one clear of Milan's 19 titles, and ensured a second star on the club's badge; the game was also Inter's sixth successive win over Milan, the joint-longest winning streak of either side the derby's history. Milan got revenge on Inter by winning the derby matchup in the 2024 Supercoppa Italiana after a 3–2 comeback victory.

Official match results

• SF = Semi-finals
• QF = Quarter-finals
• R16 = Round of 16
• R32 = Round of 32
• GS = Group stage
• R1 = Round 1
• R2 = Round 2

Milan win Draw Inter win

Statistics

As of 8 March 2026

Top scorers

As of 8 March 2026

Below is the list of players with the most goals scored in official games.

Most appearances

As of 8 March 2026

Below is the list of players with the most appearances in official games.

Managers

Appearances

As of 8 March 2026

Below is the list of managers with the most appearances in official games.

Records

• Most goals in a single derby: 11, Internazionale 6–5 Milan (6 November 1949)
• Largest derby margin of victory for Milan: 0–6 (11 May 2001)
• Largest derby margin of victory for Internazionale: 0–5 (6 February 1910)
• Most derby wins in a row: 6, Milan (from 5 February 1911 to 9 February 1913, and from 30 May 1946 to 11 April 1948), Inter (from 18 January 2023 to 22 April 2024)
• Most consecutive derby draws: 4 (from 29 September 1935 to 7 February 1937)
• Most consecutive derby matches without a win: 17, Milan (from 10 November 1929 to 7 February 1937)
• Most goals in consecutive derbies for a player: 5, Romelu Lukaku (from 21 September 2019 to 21 February 2021)
• Fastest derby goal scored for Internazionale: Sandro Mazzola, after 13 seconds (24 February 1963)
• Fastest derby goal scored for Milan: José Altafini, after 25 seconds (26 March 1961)
• Most goals in a single derby for a Milan player: 4, José Altafini (27 March 1960)
• Most goals in a single derby for an Internazionale player: 3, Giovanni Capra (6 February 1910), Amedeo Amadei (6 November 1949), István Nyers (1 November 1953), Diego Milito (6 May 2012) and Mauro Icardi (15 October 2017)
• Most derbies played in a calendar year: 5 (2023, 2025)
• Youngest goalscorer in a derby: Edoardo Mariani (27 February 1910, aged 16 years and 359 days)
• Oldest goalscorer in a derby: Zlatan Ibrahimović (26 January 2021, aged 39 years and 115 days)

Most goals in a match

• 11 goals on 6 November 1949, Inter 6–5 Milan
• 9 goals on 30 April 1911, Milan 6–3 Inter
• 9 goals on 6 November 1932, Inter 5–4 Milan
• 8 goals on 6 February 1949, Inter 4–4 Milan
• 8 goals on 27 March 1960, Milan 5–3 Inter
• 7 goals on 22 February 1914, Inter 5–2 Milan
• 7 goals on 28 March 1965, Inter 5–2 Milan
• 7 goals on 28 October 2006, Milan 3–4 Inter

Biggest wins (4+ goals)

Head-to-head ranking in Serie A (1930–2025)

• Milan with 40 higher finishes, Inter with 50 higher finishes, and 1 equal finish (as of the end of the 2024–25 season). No head-to-heads in 1981 and 1983, since Milan was in Serie B.

Notes:

• 1945–46 Italian Football Championship is not included in Serie A statistics.
• Both teams finished with the same number of points in 1958, and the regulation of the time did not contemplate tiebreakers: both teams finished in ninth place.
• Both teams finished with the same number of points in 1991, but Milan had better goal difference: Milan finished in second place, Inter in third.

Players who played for both clubs

Note: Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. Player names in bold are still active for one of the two clubs. Updated per 12 April 2026.

Inter, then Milan

Milan, then Inter

Managers who worked at both clubs

Inter, then Milan

Milan, then Inter

Trophies

As of 6 January 2025

• Numbers with this background denote the competition record.

External links

• Deprecated link archived 19 July 2012 at archive.today