Xplora

I know someone is probably thinking, why are AC Milan and Inter Milan always mentioned together when it comes to their stadium? Why do they share a stadium despite being fierce rivals, and how do they even fix their fixtures? Let me explain. First, AC Milan and Inter Milan are two completely different clubs. They are bitter rivals from the same city, Milan, in Italy. They compete against each other in the famous Derby della Madonnina, one of the biggest rivalries in European football. Now, here’s the story. San Siro was originally built for AC Milan in 1926. Inter Milan played their home games at a different stadium before eventually moving to San Siro in 1947. Inter Milan moved because their old stadium was small. Since then, both clubs have shared the same stadium for their home matches for almost 80 years. But how can two rival clubs share the same stadium? The simple explanation is that San Siro became a shared home for both clubs. Instead of each club operating a separate stadium, they use the same ground, although they remain completely separate football clubs with their own supporters, ownership structures, histories and identities. Think of it this way, the stadium belongs to the city of Milan’s football culture, but on matchdays, it becomes either AC Milan’s home or Inter Milan’s home, depending on who is playing. So, how do they manage their fixtures? It’s actually quite straightforward. The two clubs coordinate their home fixtures so that they don’t have to play at San Siro on the same day. If AC Milan have a home game on Saturday, for example, Inter can have theirs on Sunday or another day. The league’s fixture scheduling takes this into account. When they play against each other, one club is the home team while the other is the away team. Both sets of supporters enter the same stadium, but the fixture determines the official home team for that particular match. And yes, despite sharing a stadium, the rivalry is very real. Now, why are they building a new stadium? San Siro is an iconic football stadium, but it is ageing, and its facilities no longer meet all the modern requirements the clubs want. Both clubs also want to increase their commercial revenue, improve the matchday experience and compete financially with Europe’s big boys. Rather than build two separate stadiums, they have chosen to continue their arrangement by developing a new shared stadium. The new Generali Stadium is expected to have a capacity of approximately 71,500 seats. The naming rights agreement with Generali is another part of the commercial plan to generate revenue from the new stadium. Football is beautiful right.