More than 100 players have played for both top Milan clubs ahead of their much-anticipated Champions League semi-final clash
The Derby della Madonnina, also known as the Milan Derby, is a feisty encounter played between AC and Inter Milan, two of Italy's most successful clubs. Over the years, this derby has provided fans with memories of a lifetime, not just in their domestic league but also while competing in Europe.
It is on the continental stage where the latest chapter in this rivalry will be written, as the Rossoneri take on the Nerazzurri in the semi-finals of the 2022-23 Champions League, with the prize for the winner a place in the final on June 10 in Istanbul.
Their iconic stadium, San Siro, is shared between the two clubs, and this derby is the only major rivalry in football that has a common stadium. But while the rivalry is quite intense, more than a century of players have featured for both clubs in their careers ever since the early 1900s.
Who are those players? GOAL takes a look:
GoalGiuseppe Meazza
The greatest Inter legend of all time is undoubtedly Giuseppe Meazza. Such is his impact on the club that the San Siro stadium's actually name is named after this legend as the "Stadio Giuseppe Meazza".
A prolific striker between the 1920s and 1940s, Meazza made 409 appearances for Inter between 1927 and 1940, scoring 284 goals, winning the Serie A title three times and the Coppa Italia once.
After injury issues in 1938–39 and 1939–40, he moved to cross-town rivals Milan in 1940 and stayed with them for two seasons, scoring 11 goals in 42 games.
Meazza moved to Juventus, Varese and Atalanta later in his career before returning home to Inter for one last season in 1946-47 as a player-manager. He played 17 games, scoring the last two goals of his career to save his Inter team from relegation that season.
He then retired from the game. What a story!
AdvertisementGetty ImagesGiorgio Ghezzi
One of the all-time Inter greats, goalkeeper Giorgio Ghezzi joined the club from Modena in 1951.
He spent seven years with Inter, made 186 appearances between 1951 and 1958 and won back-to-back Serie A titles in 1952-53 and 1953-54.
Genoa came calling and signed him in 1958, but he could only feature for one season there before Milan signed him in 1959 as a replacement for Lorenzo Buffon, who had joined Genoa.
Ghezzi went on to be Milan's number-one goalkeeper with over 120 appearances between 1959 and 1965.
With Milan, Ghezzi won another Serie A title in 1962 as well as the 1962–63 European Champions Cup.
GettyAndrea Pirlo
Considered one of the greatest deep-lying midfielders of all time, Andrea Pirlo was a treat to watch when he was in full flow.
Pirlo would dominate midfield proceedings for his team with such ease, that it would almost seem impossible for any regular footballer to replicate.
After rising through the ranks at Brescia, Pirlo joined Inter in 1998 and made 22 appearances in his three-season spell, which included two loan deals.
In 2001, Milan signed Pirlo for €17.04 million and thus began the story of the rise of one of the classiest midfielders in modern-day football.
Pirlo spent 10 years at Milan, made 401 appearances, scored 41 goals, and won two Serie A titles, two Champions Leagues, a Coppa Italia, a Supercoppa Italiana and two Uefa Super Cups along with Milan's first-ever Fifa Club World Cup.
In 2011, Pirlo left Milan to join Juventus as a free agent.
GettyRonaldo
The greatest striker of his generation, Ronaldo was a treat to the eye in his prime.
After lighting up the Dutch league with PSV and scoring over 30 goals in a season with Barcelona in 1996-97, Ronaldo Nazario joined Inter in 1997 for €26.50 million in a world record transfer at that time.
Ronaldo immediately adapted to Serie A as if he was meant to play in that league. In his five-year spell with Inter, the Brazilian maestro scored 49 goals in just 68 games, however, he was unlucky not to win any titles except the Uefa Cup in the 1997-98 season.
In 2002, after winning the World Cup with Brazil, while at the peak of his footballing prowess, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid as a Galactico and went on to spend five seasons there, scoring 83 goals in 127 games and winning two La Liga titles, an Intercontinental Cup and the Spanish Super Cup before returning to Italy, joining Milan for the 2007-08 season.
He made just 20 appearances in his last spell in Europe, scoring nine goals before joining Corinthians in 2009 and ending his career two years later.
This all while sustaining two serious knee injuries during his time at Inter.