Italian Football Trip – Part One – Part Two
Day two of our calcio quest began with a hotel breakfast and discussion revolving solely around one thing: the long-awaited trip to San Siro.
A cathedral of the modern game, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (or San Siro as we often call it) has been on my bucket list of football stadiums for as long as I can remember. Four years ago plans were announced to partially demolish San Siro and erect a state-of-the-art ground in it’s place. The project has progressed slowly since the original announcement but the grand old stadium we’re familiar with looks set to disappear in the near future.
My mind was made up then: I had to visit before I missed my chance.
The anticipation of experiencing the historic ground, now just hours away, was almost too much for me to handle on this leisurely Italian Sunday morning. We soon left our hotel, tickets for Inter Milan versus Lecce securely in our pockets, at the extremely reasonable price of €25 each.
Like the Atalanta game the day before, we had until 6pm before the match kicked off; plenty of time to fit in some Milanese culture. Since we had so much free time, Caleb and I took the opportunity to see Milan’s real cathedral, the Duomo di Milano. We’d passed by and seen it’s majesty from the outside a bunch of times but seeing it from the inside was pretty special.
Lunch involved a visit to Spontini for another slice of Milan’s signature pizza. We’d been in the city less than three days but were already besotted with Spontini and couldn’t pass up the chance to grab more. I’d go back to Milan right now if I could, just for another heavenly slice.
Our stomachs were full but our minds were thinking about heading west, in the direction of the San Siro. However, we had plenty of time for visits to the club stores of both AC Milan and Inter Milan. As we were supporting the Nerazzurri on this day, I succumbed to temptation and bought a classically-designed blue and black Inter scarf. It was only fitting for the occasion, after all.
Before we committed the rest of the day to all things Inter, I’d discovered their rivals in red and black had a large club museum just minutes from the San Siro. In my research for the trip I’d discovered that Casa Milan, the headquarters of AC Milan, display all of their cherished trophies, awards, and historic memorabilia to the public.
Casa Milan did not disappoint. It’s a magnificent temple to AC Milan’s past, with everything you could possibly want to see. The circular trophy room is particularly impressive, with all of the club’s titles and multiple European Cups on show. There’s even a room dedicated to Milan’s Ballon d’Or winners. As a huge admirer of the Brazilian legend Kaka, the last Milan player to win the award, I was instantly attracted to the 2007 trophy bearing his name and the accompanying home shirt on display. If you have any interest in football history I highly recommend stopping by Casa Milan, even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of the club.
I realised later that I’d completed the entire tour of the Milan museum with an enemy Inter scarf hidden in my bag, and somehow managed to escape unscathed. With that in mind, it was time we turned our attention away from the red side of Milan and towards the blue of Internazionale. We hopped back on the metro and were soon bouncing up the steps of San Siro Stadio station into the sunshine, to be greeted by the spectacular sight of the stadium.
It’s a piece of architecture that definitely makes you pause. I won’t venture into hyperbole and say it took my breath away, but the place certainly resonates something in you.
If I can put it in simple terms, San Siro is gigantic. I’ve been to bigger stadiums capacity-wise, but nowhere has loomed over me with such force as San Siro. The place climbs into the sky forever. To get a picture of the whole stadium, you have to step backwards a fair distance from the ground just to fit it all in the frame. It’s enormity leaves you in awe.
Similar to the Atalanta game the day before, we had arrived a couple hours early and I was glad to have done so. The atmosphere was already building and bustling around us. I was shocked how busy it was, but it did leave Caleb and I with plenty of time to get all our photos and fully enjoy San Siro in the light of day.
We didn’t have to wait long for the gates to open and after scaling the never-ending flights of stairs, we made it to our section in the second tier of the Curva Sud, and were greeted by the glorious green of the pitch. There’s something about seeing a new stadium from inside for the first time, when you first catch sight of the grass. It’s a special feeling. With the sun slowly fading outside, the last remaining rays crept through the gaps in the towers, and bathed the arena in an extraordinary glow the closer we got to kickoff.
I’d been warned that in spite of San Siro’s many qualities and the sentimentality fans hold, there are parts of the ground showing it’s age, and this was certainly the case. The quality of the seating and general cleanliness are both lacking in comparison to other modern stadiums I’ve been to. Many Inter regulars around us arrived with their logo-branded seat cushions and after a couple of hours my arse thought they were wise to do so. Part of me feels that all of the faults actually help give the place it’s character; it didn’t feel like much had changed since Italia 90, so in a way it’s like stepping back in time to Serie A’s glory days. However, a lick of paint and a mop wouldn’t go amiss.
There was absolutely no complaint whatsoever with our view. From our vantage point we had perfect seats for the pitch and the players, but also the Inter ultras in the Curva Nord. The northern end of the ground was a sea of green chairs when we arrived but was soon overrun by the masses of fans and flags who call the curva home.
With the match just moments away, the ultras’ drums set the rhythm and their songs crashed into us like waves. The entire curva opposite us became a single entity, unrelenting in it’s support of Inter as the players emerged onto the field. In fairness to the travelling Lecce fans, high up in the third tier behind us, they gave their all and were very vocal early on. But once the Curva Nord were all accounted for, they drowned out their opposition and would continue their barrage for all ninety minutes.
Before kickoff I had the uneasy feeling that Inter, and their pesky marketing team, would deny me the pleasure of seeing the home side in their home kit, those famous blue and black stripes. There were no kit clash issues but they’d insist Inter play in a change strip, just to cash in on selling more shirts. And, what do you know, the players took off their warm-up jackets and stood there, wearing their away kit. Curse you Inter marketing team! It’s actually a really lovely away strip, a cartophile’s dream, but it wasn’t what I wanted at this time and place. Stupid capitalism.
Regardless, any (childish) disappointment I felt disappeared the moment the referee blew his whistle to start the game. I’d made it; I was finally at San Siro.
Inter looked dangerous right away and after just two minutes, an audacious long-range strike from Hakan Çalhanoğlu forced a save from the Lecce ‘keeper. Lecce tried to reply but Inter’s overpowering midfield and wide players were simply too good.
With almost half an hour played, German left wingback Robin Gosens intercepted an errant Lecce pass and ignited the attack. Some cute link-up play between Çalhanoğlu and Lautaro Martínez saw the ball returned to the marauding Gosens, now with the entire left flank at his mercy. On the edge of the box he pulled the ball back to Nicolò Barella and the Italian neatly slowed the ball down as he waited for Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s arrival. The former Arsenal man, and probably the one player I wanted to see most on the day, gratefully received Barella’s layoff pass and curled a first-time shot into the top corner. It was a beautifully taken finish and showed exactly the class the Armenian playmaker can produce when he’s in form.
Interestingly enough, the last top-flight match Caleb and I attended saw Mkhitaryan feature prominently, when he rescued a point for a lacklustre Arsenal side against Wolves. Clearly it was destined for us to see Micky score again years later. This strike for Inter will be right up there among his best.
Early in the second half, Inter put the result beyond doubt with a well-taken second goal. Right wingback Denzel Dumfries burst into space on his wing and cut the ball back to the patient Martínez in the box. The recent World Cup-winning Argentinian peeled away from the Lecce defence to give himself all the time in the world, before sweeping home a first-time strike beyond Lecce ‘keeper Wladimiro Falcone at his near post. It was Martínez’s 14th goal of the season and even with most of the second half still to play, you felt Lecce’s hopes of causing an upset had been dealt the final blow.
Ultimately it was a comfortable and relatively routine Inter victory. Lecce showed spirit and endeared themselves to Caleb and I with their industry, but the quality of Inter’s veterans proved to be too much. The home team celebrated in front of the Curva Nord and deserved all three points.
As we said our goodbyes to San Siro, I paused outside to admire it one last time. To soak it all in before the day comes when that isn’t possible. With the stadium all lit up, the place really does resemble a spaceship. I’d go so far to say it looks even more intimidating in the darkness than it does in the day.
If you have the means and you love football, I wholeheartedly support making the trip to Milan and experiencing a match at San Siro, in all it’s grandeur.
There is nowhere else like it.
Day At The Football 