Derby Della Madonnina - Red-and-black Superiority at International Level

Red-and-black Superiority At International Level

The two Milanese teams have previously encountered each other in European competition on two separate occasions. Both of them had been controlled by the Rossoneri. In the semi-finals of the 2002-03 season, both derbies finished equal (0-0; 1-1), but Milan won on "away" goal, as the away side in the second leg, even though both legs were played at San Siro. One of the most notorious derby matches was the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal on April 12, 2005. With Milan leading 1–0 thanks to an early Andriy Shevchenko goal and a 3-0 clear scoreline on aggregate, the referee Markus Merk controversially disallowed a goal from Inter-player Esteban Cambiasso. Inter's hardcore supporters became infuriated and various debris were subsequently thrown onto the pitch, but soon escalated to lit flares one of whom struck Milan's goalkeeper Dida.

Merk halted the match at the 74th minute. After a 30-minute delay in which firefighters were called in to remove the burning flares from the pitch, the match was restarted. Dida, however, was unable to continue, and was substituted by Christian Abbiati. Less than a minute later, though, Merk finally abandoned the match after more flares and debris rained down. The match was awarded as a 3–0 victory, totaling a 5–0 aggregate, to Milan. Inter were fined €200,000 -the largest fine ever handed down by UEFA- and were ordered to play their first four Champions League matches behind closed doors in the 2005–06 season as punishment.

Regarding their titles at worldwide stage, the two Italian giants have an excellent performance. Nevertheless, Milan dominate over Inter undoubtedly as the holder of eighteen officially recognised international cups, in comparison to Inter's nine successes.