Like many of the famous nicknames given to players, matches and even positions in Serie A, the clash between Inter and Juventus was labelled the “Derby of Italy” by journalist Gianni Brera. It was he who coined the Rombo di tuono – “Rolling Thunder” – moniker for the great Gigi Riva and described a sweeper as a libero, one of the many of terms he brought into the modern lexicon of Italian football that is still used today.
However, in the late 1990s, supporters and observers who follow Calcio most closely considered moving the Derby d’Italia name to meetings between the Bianconeri and AC Milan rather than their city cousins. The reasoning was simple enough to understand. After all, Brera had invented the expression to describe a meeting between the country’s two most successful clubs, and the Nerazzurri could no longer claim to be in that position.
A decade had passed since their last title win, while their crosstown rivals had gone from strength to strength since Silvio Berlusconi took control of the club. The media tycoon had bought them back in 1986 when they were in Serie B and struggling after being relegated for match-fixing, his heavy investment making them one of the most dominant sides on the continent.
From 1988 and 1999, Milan and Juve had won nine out of 12 possible league titles, adding no fewer than 14 international trophies between them along the way. Only three of the dozen Champions League finals played over that same period went ahead without either of that duo taking part, and in 2003 they would actually go head-to-head in UEFA’s showpiece event.
The name-change never did catch on, but as the current incarnation of the Rossoneri push to return to relevancy, this weekend sees the two old rivals meet once again and the stakes could not be higher. By the time the match kicks off on Saturday evening, Napoli could have temporarily retaken top spot in Serie A, Maurizio Sarri’s men currently two points behind Juve ahead of their trip to Sassuolo earlier in the day. Milan meanwhile will hope to maintain their hope of a Champions League berth, going into this weekend just five points behind fourth-placed Inter, with a direct clash between the two San Siro giants looming just a few days later.
That lends an even greater importance to Saturday’s big match, bringing to mind their many memorable clashes over the last few years. Milan needed a penalty shootout – and Pavel Nedved’s suspension – to emerge victorious from that aforementioned 2003 Champions League final. Thirteen years later the Coppa Italia final in Rome was decided by Alvaro Morata’s winning goal in extra time, a triumph that marked Juve’s ninth consecutive win over the Rossoneri.
However, that run would come to an end just a few months later when teenager Manuel Locatelli smashed home a sensational goal at San Siro to cap a 1-0 victory for the home side. Milan would notch another spot-kick triumph that same December at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Gigio Donnarumma’s save from Paulo Dybala seeing the Rossoneri lift the Supercoppa Italiana to end a five-year trophy drought.
But since then the young Argentine has been a thorn in the side of Milan. He struck in a 2-1 Coppa Italia quarterfinal triumph in January 2017, then added an injury time penalty to secure a league win three months later. In their first meeting this season, it was Gonzalo Higuain who stole the headlines with both goals in a 2-0 win, but Dybala had a hand in both. Laying on the first with a neat through ball, it was also his clever dummy over Kwadwo Asamoah’s pass that allowed his South American compatriot to smash home his second and take home all three points.
Coach Vincenzo Montella lasted only another month after that result, and Gennaro Gattuso has undoubtedly worked quickly to improve Milan ever since. They may have crashed out of the Europa League against Arsenal, but the Rossoneri have otherwise not lost since December 23, winning 12 and drawing three over the following few months.
That streak – which includes victories over Roma, Lazio and Inter – has put them right back in contention for fourth place, while another Coppa Italia final against the Bianconeri awaits them in May. It might not be enough to earn the Derby d’Italia moniker, but there is no doubting that Juventus versus AC Milan is once again a prestigious fixture that will have huge ramifications on the rest of the 2017/18 campaign.
