Inter Milan vs. AC Milan: 10 Amazing Moments from Past Milan Derbies

The fiercest derby in Italy will be renewed on Sunday as AC Milan and Inter clash for the second time this season at the San Siro.

These city rivals have played each other 213 times in official matches over the course of history. Parity makes rivalries so much more interesting, and these two teams have, on the whole, been almost level since they first met. The Nerazzurri narrowly lead the series by 76 wins to 74 with 63 draws.

The most recent of those draws came back in November, when the two teams played out a drab game that finished 1-1. Indeed, the last few games between the sides have lacked the fireworks of derbies past. That is probably a symptom of the struggles both teams have endured over the last few years.

There's always greater intensity in a derby when teams are fighting for places at the top of the table, so if they slip down the standings, there will always be a slight loss of that zeal regardless of how fierce a rivalry may be.

The Derby della Madonnina has indeed given us some memorable moments over the years. In this article, we revisit 10 occasions—both full games and individual moments qualify—that show just how special this matchup can be.

Maicon Ends Milan's Title Defense, 2012

The 2011-12 season was a difficult one for Inter. A combination of injuries and an uneven situation in the manager's office saw the team fall to sixth in the standings—and it took an impressive run of form in April and May to get them there.

That made it all the more galling that Milan were at the top of the table, attempting to retain their league title in a dogfight with a resurgent Juventus. In fact, they had spent much of 2012 in top spot, but a loss to Fiorentina in early April dropped them into second.  That's where they were on May 6 when they took on Inter in the penultimate game of the season.

Juve were playing Cagliari and held a one-point margin. If they won and Milan lost, they would secure their first title since Calciopoli.

Inter kicked off the scoring, going ahead through Diego Milito after 14 minutes. Zlatan Ibrahimovic then stung his old team twice, first when Julio Cesar was wrongly judged to have fouled Kevin-Prince Boateng in the box and again when he cleverly controlled a pass with a backheel before scoring from an acute angle.

It was then when the Nerazzurri took control. A pair of penalties gave Milito a hat-trick and Inter a 3-2 lead. Juve had led their game since the sixth minute, and Milan were now desperate to at least equalize and give them hope in the last round.

It wasn't to be. With three minutes remaining Maicon carried the ball from just inside the opposing half to a point about eight yards from the far corner of the penalty area.  From there, he unleashed a thunderbolt that flew past substitute goalkeeper Marco Amelia and into the back of the net.

Any derby win is satisfying, but this one gave Inter the added bonus of denying Milan a second straight title.

Inter Fans Senselessly Throw Flares at Milan Goalkeeper

The Derby della Madonnina has been contested in Champions League play twice in its history. This moment from the most recent European edition qualifies as amazing simply because of its stupidity.

Milan had won the first leg of the 2004-05 quarterfinal 2-0 as the designated home team. In the return leg a week later, Andriy Shevchenko gave Milan a crucial "away" goal after half an hour. In the second half, Esteban Cambiasso put the ball into the net. The goal would have given Inter life in the tie, but German referee Markus Merk disallowed it.

Inter fans—by far the majority as the home team—rioted. Debris began to rain down from the stands at the San Siro. Garbage quickly turned into flares, and no fewer than four flew into the Milan penalty area before another, thrown from the upper decks, hit Milan goalkeeper Dida on the back of the head.

The game was halted for almost half an hour as firefighters removed the flares. Dida was replaced by Christian Abbiati, but less than a minute after the game was restarted, another hail of debris and flares saw Merk stop the game for good. Dida suffered bruising and first-degree burns but amazingly didn't miss any time.

Milan was awarded a 3-0 forfeit, which gave them a 5-0 aggregate win for the tie. They went on to reach the final, in which they lost to Liverpool on penalties.

Alexandre Pato's Quick Start

The April 2, 2011 edition of the Milan derby was a top-of-the-table clash. Going in, it looked like it would decide the title—and indeed it did.

Milan dominated the contest, and they set the tone early thanks to Alexandre Pato.

The Brazilian started a move at the top of the box, laying the ball off and following Robinho's run toward the goal. Robinho's shot was saved by Julio Cesar, but Pato was in the right place to corral the rebound. One touch later, and Milan had the ball in the back of Inter's net within 42 seconds of kickoff.

It was one of the fastest goals in the history of the derby, but not the fastest. We'll come to that...

The Rout

Milan and Inter were level on points heading into the 30th game of the 2000-01 season. Unfortunately, they were both 20 points behind eventual champions Roma and mired in mid-table.

It was with this backdrop that the season's second derby took place. Milan took control within two minutes, when Gianni Comandini, who had been bought from Atalanta the previous summer, scored his first Milan goal. He added his second 18 minutes later to put Milan firmly in the driving seat.

It was in the second half when the wheels came off for Inter. Federico Giunti delivered a free-kick into the box, and its intended target missed his header. However, Sebastian Frey was wrong-footed and watched helplessly as the ball bounced into the net. Andriy Shevchenko's two close-range goals made it a rout, and Serginho's solo effort after stealing the ball in Inter's half capped off an embarrassing 6-0 scoreline.

It was—and remains—the biggest victory by either team over the other. Inter recovered in the season's final three games and finished two points ahead of Milan, but this is a loss that still stings Inter fans.

Inter Holds on in Festival of Great Goals

2006-07 was a strange season. The Calciopoli scandal had hit Italy over the head with a mallet, and it looked like it would take a few months for Serie A to find its footing.

But by the end of October, it was clear that there was a superpower brewing. Inter went 5-0-3 in their first eight matches. Their ninth was the first derby of the year.

Milan was caught up in the scandal but came off relatively lightly in comparison to the likes of Juventus and Fiorentina. They soon wiped out the eight-point penalty they had received in the first three weeks of the season and were playing well in the Champions League—a competition they would go on to win later that campaign.

Both teams were looking to prove a point coming in, and it was Inter who made theirs first. Hernan Crespo fired a header past Dida to open the scoring before Dejan Stankovic fired in the first of several long-range goals this game saw.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic made it 3-0 five minutes into the second half and the game seemed done and dusted. Clarence Seedorf's deflected effort from range looped into the goal to get Milan on the scoresheet, but Marco Materazzi headed in from a free kick to seemingly put the game away soon after. However, three minutes later, Materazzi was sent off for a second bookable offense.

That opened up space for the Rossoneri, and they started to gain steam. Alberto Gilardino headed the ball in Milan's second in the 79th minute, and Milan then forced Julio Cesar into several top-notch saves.

In stoppage time, Kaka volleyed in a rebound to set up a grandstand finish, but Inter held on. It was a big win for Inter and propelled them onto a fantastic season, in which they finished with a Serie A record—since broken—97 points.

Amadei's Hat-Trick Settles Thiller

The 1940s and '50s were a time when huge goal totals were not uncommon. Earlier in 1949, Inter and Milan had played to a 4-4 draw, but in their first meeting of the 1949-50 season, the doors were kicked off the barn.

Enrico Candiani opened the scoring within a minute, and by the time the game was 20 minutes old, Milan were up 4-1.

But then the Nerazzurri awoke. Amadeo Amadei scored in the 39th minute and Istvan Nyers scored his second goal of the game less than a minute later, and the teams went to the locker rooms separated by just one goal.

Amadei scored his second five minutes into the second period and was followed by Benito Lorenzi eight minutes later. Improbably, Inter had taken the lead.

But proceedings were far from done. A minute later, Carlo Annovazzi tied the game at five apiece, but five minutes later, Amadei completed his hat-trick and restored his team's lead.

The game nearly saw a 12th goal late on when Candiani clattered the bar, but 6-5 was the score that stood, meaning Inter were the winners of the highest-scoring Derby della Madonnina to date.

Hateley's Rossoneri Joy

As Goal.com's Anthony Wright notes, "Milan were in a dark period of their history at this time, having been demoted to Serie B due to a betting scandal in 1980. Though they immediately returned, their sub-standard side was relegated again in 1981/82."

They fought their way back again and won Serie B for the second time in three years, but by that point, Inter had taken a stranglehold on the derby. Going into the first derby of the 1984-85 season, Milan hadn't won in nine attempts.

Things didn't start well for the Rossoneri. Alessandro Altobelli sent the blue half of the city into raptures with the breakthrough after 10 minutes, but 23 minutes later, Agostino Di Bartolomei leveled the scores.

The game remained deadlocked until just after the hour, when Pietro Paolo Virdis fired a cross from the right wing toward Mark Hateley.  The former Portsmouth striker rose above Fulvio Collovati and sent a powerful header past Walter Zenga.

Milan finally had a win over their hated rivals. Hateley's goal is still remembered by the faithful. When Milan played Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup in 2008, Milan CEO Adriano Galliani spoke fondly of Pompey as the team "where Mark Hateley played," per Goal.

Sandro Mazzola's Record

Sandro Mazzola went into his first Derby della Madonnina in 1963 with little experience but a lot of promise—and of course his name.

Sandro was the son of Valentino Mazzola. If you're an Italian football fan worth your salt, you know that name. If you aren't Italian (or worth your salt), allow me to introduce you to the best player you've never heard of.

Mazzola Sr. was truly great. He effectively invented the modern-day attacking-midfield position and was the engine behind the Torino team that dominated the Italian game during and immediately after World War II.

His exposure to audiences outside of Italy was limited because he never played in the World Cup. A year before the first World Cup after the war, Mazzola and his Torino teammates were on a plane coming home from a friendly in Lisbon when it crashed into Turin's Superga hill, killing all aboard.

It decimated the Italy national team, which drew 10 of its starting XI from the Granata. It also robbed the world of the chance to see Mazzola in action against the world's best. Had his life not been cut so tragically short, it's entirely possible that his name would have been spoken in the same breath as Pele and Diego Maradona. His lasting legacy, though, was son Sandro.

The younger Mazzola was six when his father died. He spent 17 years with Inter and was one of the key players in the era of the team's history known as La Grande Inter.

With the team heading for its first Scudetto under coach Helenio Herrera, Mazzola prepared to play in his first derby. He made a huge impression, setting the record for quickest goal in the history of the derby by scoring after just 13 seconds.

Milan Slips by and into the Final

Associated Press

Shevchenko's goal put Milan into the Champions League final.

The first European meeting between the two city rivals had none of the disgusting displays of two years later.

Meeting in the semifinals of the 2003 tournament, Milan and Inter played to a goalless draw in the first leg before meeting a week later with Milan as the designated "visiting" team.

On the stroke of halftime, Andriy Shevchenko danced his way through the Inter penalty area and scored a vital away goal.

Milan stood firm for most of the second half. Obafemi Martins scored six minutes from time to set up a grandstand finish, but Milan held out for one of the ultimate one-ups in the history of this series.

Clarence Seedorf's Screamer

One of the best comebacks in recent Madonnina history, this matchup from February 2004 shows you just how unpredictable these games can be.

Inter was putting some of the pieces into place that would drive their post-Calciopoli dominance. Milan was in the midst of a decade that saw them make the Champions League final three times and win it twice. These were two fantastic teams at the top of their game—a true joy to watch.

Inter went into into the locker room with a 2-0 halftime lead thanks to Dejan Stankovic and Cristiano Zanetti, but it was by no means comfortable. Francesco Toldo had been forced into a string of excellent saves by Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko in the first half.

The Rossoneri response was lightning quick. Eleven minutes into the second period, substitute Jon Dahl Tomasson halved the deficit. Less than a minute later, Kaka fired past Toldo to equalize.

For almost half an hour, it looked like the teams would share the spoils, but Clarence Seedorf had other ideas.

Seedorf was one of the men surrounding a free kick in the 85th minute. Shevchenko took it and sent it into the wall. The rebound fell to Billy Costacurta, who tapped an innocuous pass to the Dutchman. Seedorf shook off Giorgos Karagounis and drove into the middle of the field.

From 35 yards out, he headed back toward goal and sent a piledriver past Toldo and into the far corner to give Milan the lead. They would hold on for the victory.