INTER AND MILAN
Two legendary football teams that make the Milanese and non-Milanese hearts beat. So much so that at San Siro the first and only museum in Italy has been set up in a stadium, narrating the history of the teams with shirts, cups and trophies, shoes, art objects and souvenirs of any kind that are part of the legend. And when it’s Derby time the city's passion for football culminates in a challenge that ignites the hearts of the respective teams’ fans.
The origins
AC Milan was founded on December 16th, 1899 as the "Milan Cricket and Football Club" by a few British citizens who were joined by some members of the haute bourgeoisie in Milan and Lombardy, including Pietro Pirelli.
The first headquarters was the Fiaschetteria Toscana in via Berchet.
In 1901, Milan immediately became protagonists when they won their first championship.
Then as an offshoot of Milan, following a disagreement between managers, the International Football Club was set up. This was in 1908, marking the beginning of one of the greatest sports rivalries in history. For many long years, at least until the period hit by the economic boom, the fans reflected two different social categories. On the one hand, the working class fans who supported Milan and the other, the elitist, who sided with Inter.
Sacchi's Milan
The team has been led by some of the greatest coaches in Italian football, such as Gipo Viani, Nereo Rocco and Nils Liedholm. The arrival of Silvio Berlusconi as president on March 24th, 1986, meant significant changes in the team led by his new coach, Arrigo Sacchi, towards a more spectacular game, inspired by the Dutch models of Total Football. Within a couple of seasons the team had hired high-caliber players such as Carlo Ancelotti, Gullit and Van Basten, just to name a few.
With the coach from Romagna, in just four seasons, Milan won a Scudetto (league championship), two Champions League Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups in a row: with Capello in five seasons, they won four league championships, a UEFA Super Cup and a Champions League Cup. In recent years, after the championship won in his first season with the Rossoneri by Alberto Zaccheroni and the brief stint of the Turkish coach Fatih Terim, the team leadership was passed to Carlo Ancelotti.
In the 2009/10 season he was replaced by Leonardo, who became the trainer for a year after 13 years in the Milan world, first as a player, then as a manager. The Brazilian coach was succeeded by Massimiliano Allegri. The team, captained by the Tuscan coach and with a list of foreign players of great technical caliber, such as Pato and Ibrahimovic, was on course to top the league in the current championship.
The Inter team of the great Meazza
The Inter team, Milan’s great opponent, won its first championship in 1910, only two years after being formed. At that time it was known as FC Internazionale Milano, then it became the Società Sportiva Ambrosiana (named after Saint Ambrose, patron saint of Milan). The Ambrosiana-Inter name lasted 13 years. A great figure on the field and off, Giuseppe Meazza, emerged in the Inter of those seasons.
The "magician" Helenio Herrera
It was in the ‘60s, however, that Inter made a huge difference compared to other teams with the arrival of the coach Helenio Herrera, known as "The Magician", who revolutionised the mentality and the techniques of Italian football. 1962 marked the beginning of a magical cycle with three championship wins in four years. In 1964 they won the first European Cup in history and, in the same season, they also won the Intercontinental Cup.
The tycoon Angelo Moratti, who in May 1955 had purchased the team and laid the foundations for a great period, was at the origin of the great successes of the team up until 1970 when it was sold to Ivanoe Fraizzoli. The following year Inter won the championships after a great comeback over Milan.
Another championship – in the meanwhile historical players such as Mazzola and Facchetti had retired - was gained in 1980. Nine years later, led by the coach Giovanni Trapattoni, Inter was the top of the championship with 58 points, a record in the18 team tournament.
In 1995 the Moratti family returned to the scene. This time it was Massimo who bought the team aiming to revive the Inter triumphs of his father Angelo’s era.
The championship was won in 2007. The rest is recent history, like the Inter successes with José Mourinho who, in a single season, won the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League claiming the magical "Triplet", the Treble win.
>> Inter and Milan Museum
OLIMPIA MILANO ARMANI JEANS
The great basketball team that has given so much sporting satisfaction to the city. In its honor the old Palalido venue will be called soon Pala AJ and will become the home of this great team. A combination of fashion and sporting excellence reminds us that creativity can be expressed in many ways, even with a ball in the hand.
Olympia is the most titled basketball club in Italy. It was formed in 1947 from the merger between Triestina Milano of Adolfo Bogoncelli and the Dopolavoro Borletti. Cesare Rubini and Sandro Gamba were amongst the first talents to emerge from the Milan team in the '50s and '60s. The big turning point came in 1956 when they gained the Simmenthal sponsorship. They won 9 Italian titles in 11 years and had the satisfaction of being awarded the Euroleague Champions Cup.
Dan Peterson
In 1978, there was another crucial step for the company. The President Bogoncelli bought the coach Dan Peterson who led Olympia to numerous successes: 5 championships between 1982 and 1989, one Korač Cup, one Euroleague Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. In the early 90’s a new sponsor Bepi Stefanel entered the game and they won a Scudetto and an Italian Cup in 1996. Since then several successive changes of ownership have occurred until the entry into the field of fashion designer Giorgio Armani who took over the team in the summer of 2008.
The current season has seen the much acclaimed return of Dan Peterson as head of the team with the aim of reviving the game, the mentality and the successes that had characterised his bench in the ‘80s.
MILANO HOCKEY ROSSOBLU
A young team, only founded in 2008, they have become world famous even if it is a young and uncommon sport in Italy. Despite this, the team has a large and loyal audience who follow their exploits of these “special" skaters with joy and enthusiasm.
The team follows in the footsteps of the H.C.J. Milano Vipers, a team that has gained prestigious wins like 5 Italian Champions titles, 3 Italian Super Cups and 3 Italian Cups. The youth team is one of the landmarks of the entire Italian hockey sector.
The games are held at the ice hockey stadium, Stadio del Ghiaccio Agorà, in via Ciclamini, 23.
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