Milan Derby Fortezza: The Old Cathedral Becomes A Fortress Of Structure And Resistance | OneFootball

The Milan derby is one of those fixtures in the Italian football calendar, or even the football calendar in general, that you simply have to sit down and watch. Every minute, every second, every battle; every detail matters. Inter and Milan are rich in history, class, passion, quality, togetherness and fight. But the one thing that truly unites them as one is this iconic fixture at the home of Italian football.

A cathedral of greatness, although past its best, San Siro is the place where division is brought to unity. From history, form, the key battles and the tactical setups between a young coach and a seasoned one, this is a Milan derby preview you will certainly find fascinating.

The history: how did the Milan derby come to life?

We go back 126 years to learn about the history of this great rivalry. In 1899, a group of English people founded a club called AC Milan Cricket and Football Club (they later dropped cricket). At that time, the dominant side was Genoa who had won the Italian title in consecutive seasons before Milan won it themselves in 1901, putting an end to Genoa’s time at the top. Milan then went on to win the title again in 1906 and 1907.

You might be asking, where was Inter Milan? Well they weren’t officially formed until 1908 and the story to their birth is interesting, although it’s a short one. The members who founded Milan in 1899 had a disagreement over Milan signing foreign players. As a result, it led to some of those members splitting, and with those members splitting away from those who stayed on at Milan, it led to Inter Milan being born into life.

There is actually no official definitive date for when these two met in a game for the first time. But some say they met in Switzerland in the Chiasso Cup, with Milan supposedly beating Inter 2-1 in the final. The first ever recorded game between the sides came in the Prima Categoria (the name of the Italian top flight at the time) in January 1909, with Milan winning the match 3-2.

In terms of rivalry on the pitch, it started to really grow in the 1960s. Milan won the European Cup in 1962/63, whilst Inter also won league titles in the following seasons after that, before Milan also tasted their own domestic league success in the 1968/69 campaign. This time period would also bring thrilling derby day matches to further fuel the rivalry between the two.

The Milan derby today, how do the sides match up ahead of Sunday night?

THE RECENT FORM

Inter and Milan have enjoyed positive spells and bad moments so far this season. They both occupy spots inside the top four, with Inter sitting top of Serie A ahead of their city rivals by two points.

Inter have had the better recent form prior to the November international break, winning four of the last five Serie A matches, where the only defeat they recently suffered came away from home at the Champions Napoli.

Milan haven’t lost any of the last five, but they’ve only won just twice against Fiorentina and AS Roma. They’ve drawn three of the last five, which includes throwing a two-goal lead away at Parma just before the international break.

THE TACTICAL MATCH UP

Both sides set up in a 3-5-2. Both sides also have two strong wing backs, a balanced midfield three and a strong defence. But what are the key differences between Cristian Chivu’s 3-5-2 and Max Allegri’s 3-5-2?

What Cristian Chivu looks for in his Inter setup is a strong balance between attack and defence. One of his wing backs is very attacking, with the task of getting very high and wide in order to provide crosses for those attacking the penalty box; that is the role of Federico Dimarco.

What the other wing back does is essentially ‘fall back’ into a more traditional full back role to help provide the balance. The right-sided wing back would be tasked with being an extra body in defence to cover off the possible space that could appear in case of a possible turnover of the possession. But should there be sustained pressure against the opposition, they’d have the licence to get forward with either a centre back or midfielder covering the vacated space.

The rotations, the work rate and the cooperation from the players as one team are important for the system to work; otherwise, what you’d get is a disjointed team with a broken structure. Chivu has done a great job so far in maintaining the structure Simone Inzaghi put in place, and that continuity has worked for Inter so far this season.

The way Inter use the back three as well, it’s a more modern version of how this shape is historically viewed. Yes the structure is important, and yes from a defensive perspective, they have plenty of bodies to be very tight and compact. But rather than that being the number one priority, Chivu wants to see attacking intent, a beautiful fluidity and plenty of proactive movements to help create space and craft top-quality chances.

The way Allegri uses the same shape is probably more old school and traditional. But since he took over as the Head Coach of Milan, he also brought in a modern aspect into his 3-5-2 shape, which he likes to use. Milan structurally are coached to be very tough, very solid and well organised. That is a classic Italian way of playing. Defensively, based off the statistics, you can already see the impact that has had, with Milan having one of the best defences in Serie A, conceding just nine goals after the first eleven games.

The best game that truly highlights how well structured they’ve become under Allegri is their win over Napoli. In the second half, all the control and attacking intent came from Napoli, and when Milan went down to 10 men after Pervis Estupiñan got sent off, it was probably expected by many that with the likes of McTominay, Politano and Kevin De Bruyne on the pitch, Napoli would find a way to get past the ten men. But they didn’t. Milan stayed disciplined, remained compact, communicated very well, put their bodies on the line and as a result they took home all three points.

The modern ‘twist’ to how Massimiliano Allegri is using his 3-5-2 compared to his last spell at Juventus is the importance of Alexis Saelemaekers at right wing back. He’s an attacker by trade, but with that successful loan spell last season under Claudio Ranieri at AS Roma, he has developed into a very reliable wing back for Allegri. Particularly in the transitions, Milan often look to find him in space out wide on their right side to turn defence into attack in a quick and direct manner. In a way, his attacking importance and quality from wing back is a bit like Amad Diallo at Manchester United.

Saelemaekers is a fantastic dribbler with the ball, with that ability to go either inside or outside. But especially when he gets onto that left foot, it can be such a dangerous weapon whether it be with crosses or shooting. He may have only contributed to three goals in Serie A so far this season, but his ability to create and drive at defenders is a nightmare to deal with for defenders.

Another modern aspect of Massimiliano Allegri’s side is the use of the three midfielders. Luka Modric has this free role where he can just drop so deep to get onto the ball and his quality just does the rest. He’s so cool, so calm, and that sort of presence that kind of midfielder brings is so valuable and what he’s won in his career is also priceless. He can be a key player in the derby for Milan.

Ahead of Modric, Allegri has two no. 8s. One is usually Adrian Rabiot, but he’s injured, so it has been Samuele Ricci on the left of Modric. Then on the right is Youssouf Fofana. What those two are basically tasked with is getting forward to support attacks when Milan have the ball and then also sitting in when Milan don’t have the ball. The general key to doing both roles efficiently and excellently is having plenty of energy, which someone like Fofana certainly brings as well as a bit of physicality too.

Whilst Samuele Ricci is a wonderful technical player that can create chances, can pass the ball well, and can make things tick. He isn’t the same sort of profile as a Rabiot, and since the latter has been out injured it’s clear in some moments in some games this season, they miss that energy and that someone who can cover an insane amount of ground per 90. This was an issue in Milan’s last game against Parma.

How can they hurt each other in the Milan derby?

Inter’s biggest weakness seems to be when the game is played in transitions. They just haven’t quite got that same physicality and speed in defence that they would like, and that is something Milan can look to exploit since they have speed in their attack with the likes of Rafael Leão and Alexis Saelemaekers.

Inter will aim to control the game and try to pin Milan into their own half. They hope to do this in order to allow their midfielders to make those deeper runs into the box which would then lead to big chances and potentially goals. They will hope they can get Dimarco high and wide on that left hand side with Alessandro Bastoni in support. This would then allow Inter to create the right crossing angles or to recycle the possession if an avenue is blocked off.

Milan will look to be tough and stubborn, classic Allegri style. But when they do have the chance to transition, they’ll certainly look to attack with speed and directness in the wide areas. Especially if the wing backs are caught out, and if Inter and Milan can find a pass out to one of their attackers, they could hit the jackpot. This is because Rafael Leão, for example, is a far quicker player than one of the Inter defenders, whether that be Manuel Akanji or Stefan De Vrij. Leão is also a far more dangerous player when running at defenders with his speed and trickery.

The Milan derby will be one of control vs transition, and this tactical battle will be fascinating to see as the game develops on Sunday evening.

Conclusion

A Milan derby, like any derby around the world, will have that intensity and that fight as well as the passion. But the battle that could make all the difference is the tactical battle, whoever wins that has the best possible chance of winning this derby.

From the old and new to the retro-like cathedral of football, San Siro is in for a treat this Sunday night.