"I want to take charge of 'the great Milan'", sang the divine Ornella Vanoni, a Milan supporter who charmed the Inter fan Bonny. That is the meaning of tonight’s derby, whoever wins takes the city. Inter can stretch the gap to +5, Milan can move to +1. The prize is bigger than the Navigli belt. Is it early to talk about the title? No. It is early to say who will win it, but after eleven matches and with rivals struggling, Juve, Napoli, Roma without a forward line, you already see these two sides running to the end for the tricolour. So yes, this is a title derby.
Milan stumbled in a pair of odd draws, Pisa and Parma, but the last defeat dates back to August 23 against Cremonese, one in thirteen matches. Inter have won eleven of their last twelve in all competitions. The derby is a clash between two fast-moving planets that aim for the top with Cremonese helping by slowing Roma. Milan want to extend the five derbies of last season, none lost, Inter want to extend the six before that, all won. Milan have beaten Napoli and Roma, Inter have lost to Juve and Napoli. Milan look stronger in direct clashes. The derby will confirm or deny.
Cristian Chivu wants to give Inter fans “a Monday without teasing”. Max Allegri wants “a calm week”. The goals match. They also match in the speed with which they have built clear identities for their teams with different principles.
You already see an Allegri Milan and a Chivu Inter, free from the old models. This is expected from Max due to his experience and presence. This is more striking from debutant Cristian who has impressed with clarity in ideas and choices. Skipping the pre-match retreat before his first derby is no small decision. He explains, “Anxiety lies, you must ignore it”. The Romanian strikes with sharp concepts without needing to call anyone “pirla”. He always talks about the smile. You could write the phenomenology of his language. Tactically they differ. Allegri hides in his trenches and leads the team that allows the most play in Serie A, because from those trenches he hits the attackers on the break. Chivu has raised Inzaghi’s pressing line and sped up vertical play without abandoning possession. Max will have studied how to escape the Inter piranhas helped by Maestro Modric to trigger his runners. Cristian will have sealed the preventive coverage which he needs to handle the offensive hit. He must track more than the usual names because Allegri often unleashes Pavlovic who covers heavy ground with the ball, as pointed out via La Gazzetta dello Sport in this morning's print edition.
Stars Based on the script, you see the faces on the derby posters. Calhanoglu-Modric is a meeting of elite minds and feet with echoes of Rivera-Suarez. The Turkish midfielder, top scorer with five goals, will press with Lautaro on the Croatian to block Milan’s circulation. Rabiot’s return after more than a month is a relief for Allegri who shaped Milan around him. He is not only a runner, he is also among the best at pressing and recovering the ball. “My first derby will be electric”, Adrien said. He wants to match it with his first Milan goal. Pulisic scored twice in derbies last season. He brings acceleration and agility in tight areas which Inter’s heavy back line can suffer. Leao of course. Milan fans hope for his Arab-Supercoppa version when he overturned Inter. In twenty derbies he has been involved in seven goals, three goals and four assists. He likes the rush in Milan. Chivu’s gift is the return of Marcus Thuram as a starter after fifty-seven days. Inter fans hope for his first-derby version from 16 September 2023, top corner heater. The French forward brings depth runs, aerial threat and technical partnership with Lautaro. The ThuLa is back. Unlike Milan, Inter have a pure striker in the box ready to open space, link play and, as Ornella would sing, “a ciapà i bott”. The Bull, nine derby goals, chases double digits to sit behind only Nyers on eleven and Meazza on twelve. He will try to honour match number 3503 in Inter colours. Allegri are missing Gimenez, Chivu are missing Dumfries.
A week ago San Siro hosted the embarrassing Italy-Norway match. A derby with joy and quality would wipe away that performance. The hope is for a good and fair match because. Trust the magic of the derby. Magic “without end”, Ornella would sing.
