It’s inevitable for there to have been some memorable games between two rivals who constantly compete for league titles in their division. This easily applies for the rivalry between Inter and Juventus. The derby has a name, for crying out loud.
These two teams have produced some entertaining clashes over the years, with high quality and high stakes. Having read the overview for the derby (you have read the overview, right?) here’s a list of six memorable Derby d’Italia clashes over the years that have made this game a special one to watch.
This crushing rout remains La Vecchia Signora’s biggest victory to date, and their fans must be glad the game was even held to begin with.
With Inter furious that their 2-0 victory in the original clash had been overturned by the Italian football federation in favour of a replay, club president Angelo Moratti instructed head coach Helenio Herrera to field a youth team in protest. In his mind, they had already lost the title to their rivals thanks to this ruling.
And as experienced and tactically intelligent as Herrera was, he could not overcome I Bianconeri with a team of youngsters. The Turin side ran riot and put nine into the Inter goal. Striker Omar Sívori, who went on to win the Ballon d’Or that year, was clearly the star of the show, scoring six goals himself.
This crushing victory remains long in the memory of Juve fans, and is seen as the game that sparked the birth of the rivalry between the two clubs.
The 1998 title race looked too tight to call, as Juventus led their counterparts by a single point, with just four games to play in the campaign.
Alessandro Del Piero put the hosts in front in the first half, with no further goals scored before half time (…obviously, you’ve seen the score).
Inter striker Ronaldo burst in on goal, and was fouled by Mark Iuliano inside the box, only for referee Piero Ceccarini to wave away the away side’s claims for a spot-kick. Only seconds later, La Vecchia Signora were given a penalty themselves, sparking fury amongst the Neruzzurri.
Despite Del Piero’s miss, the hosts held on for a 1-0 victory. Post-game, the game was debated intensely, with members of Italy’s parliament even verbally arguing with each other over the result. The game remains a sore spot for fans of the Milan team, who saw this as an example of the Bianconeri being favoured by the football authorities.
While there wasn’t a goal for 89 minutes, this game came alive in the dying moments, with dramatic acts that couldn’t have been scripted earlier.
A controversial penalty (see a theme developing?) was awarded to the visitors, which was converted successfully by Del Piero. In the aftermath, his teammate Antonio Conte and Inter’s Dominic Morfeo were sent off for their part in instigating a fight between both sets of players on the pitch.
But it didn’t end there, and Inter won a corner in the 95th minute. Up came goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, who managed to deflect the ball towards striker Christian Vieri, who fired it past Gianluigi Buffon to rescue a draw at San Siro.
It remains one of the most remarkable finishes to a Derby d’Italia that we’ve ever seen.
You knew this would be a hotly contested game when the Inter team bus arrived in Turin to be pelted by eggs thrown by the home support.
After just 20 minutes, the visitors’ manager José Mourinho was sent to the stands following his sarcastic applause of Massimiliano Saccani’s decision to award a free kick to La Vecchia Signora, who scored from the set piece through Giorgio Chiellini’s header.
It was a heated game, shown by the multiple bookings and the sending off of Juve’s Felipe Melo, as well as a on-field clash between Thiago Motta and Buffon. But after Samuel Eto’o equalised for I Nerazzurri, it was Claudio Marchisio who cleverly finished past Júlio César to hand the Turin side the win.
Having gone 49 games unbeaten in the league, I Bianconeri were in a confident mood for their home encounter with their rivals.
And it looked to be another victory for the hosts when Arturo Vidal put them in front just 20 seconds after kickoff. But Andrea Stramaccioni’s side improved as the game went on, and drew level after the break thanks to a Diego Milito penalty for a foul by Marchisio.
The Argentine striker doubled the lead with 15 minutes to go, quickly reacting and sliding in to send the ball into the back of the net after Buffon had saved Fredy Guarín’s strike. After Juve sent men forward in a desperate attempt to find an equaliser, Rodrigo Palacio finished them off on the counter-attack to seal a famous win.
With Napoli hot on their heels, La Vecchia Signora needed a win badly to maintain their slender lead at the top of Serie A.
Winger Douglas Costa opened the scoring for the visitors, and it got better for them when opposing midfielder Matías Vecino was sent off for a foul on Mario Mandžukić. Even with that advantage, the closest they got to a second goal was Blaise Matuidi’s strike; which was ruled out for offside.
The hosts roared back to life after half time, and turned the game around completely. First it was Mauro Icardi who nodded in to level the score, before an own goal from Andrea Barzagli meant that the Nerazzurri’s ten men led for the first time.
But disaster struck for the home side when Milan Škriniar put the ball in his own net to give the visitors a way back into the game – which they took with both hands, Gonzalo Higuaín nabbing a late winner to ensure the three points (and eventually the title) headed back to Turin.
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