Castello Sforzesco was our first stop for the day. The castle had a very unique flavour, it was almost exactly how I imagined fairy-tale castles to be like, surrounded by what was left of an ancient moat, imposing towers and peaceful courtyards. It was first constructed in the 14th century, rebuilt after World War II after suffering from a bombing by the Allies. Now, it houses Milan's museums and art galleries.
left: the tranquil courtyard of Castello Sforzesco
right: With the typically retro Milan trams which looked like they'd break down anytime.
As we were pressed for time, we took a quick tour around the vast grounds of the castle then headed out by it's other entrance, where we saw what they called a 'Snow Park', which consisted of 3 artificial ski slopes made of some synthetic material akin to plastic carpet grass, which produces a scratchy sound as the skiers glided down. Andi was soo tempted to try. Haha.
Just opposite the castle was the Parco Sempione, an immense park that covered twice the land area occupied by the castle. Unfortunately, again we had to commit the tourist crime of touch-and-go although I would have much enjoyed lingering longer in this peaceful santuary.
left: one of the ski slopes of Snow Park '07
right: view of Parco Sempione from the castle
left: the exquisite il ponte delle sirenette (the bridge of the little mermaids), transported to this park when the canal it was built over was closed in 1930.
right: lovers attach locks (there had to be hundreds of them!) on this bridge, hoping to secure a relationship that would last for eternity.
above: one of the streams in the park
The clock struck at noon, which signalled that it was time to head for the San Siro =D. The match was scheduled at 3 but we decided to go early to soak up the pre-match atmosphere and to visit the souvenir shop. Thank goodness for that as the metro started filling up with scores of Inter fans in their blue and black scarfs and beanies, who squeezed their way into the metro. 4 stops after the stop we got on, I could hardly breathe or move. And that was just the introduction to the pretty lawless Italy. =p
Along the 20 minute walk towards the stadium, we passed by countless of souvenir stalls by the roadside hoping to profit from this biennial event, where the majority of the Milanese are split by different allegiances to the two city rivals.
left: THE San Siro, covered in thin fog but majestic nonetheless.
right: forza rossoneri!!!
To be able to go to the San Siro to watch Milan play was already my dream realised, but to be watching the Milan derby was something beyond my wildest imaginations.
left: Merci pour m'accompagner chéri! =)
right: the teeny official merchandise store. It was at most 20 sq metres in size, with only 2 display racks of merchandise for each team. Tons of fans were waiting to enter so the security guards had to allow fans in batch by batch. Once they removed the barrier, the fans from the back would shove those in front hoping to barge their way in, which was horrifying. The risk of a stampede was incredibly real.
When we managed to locate our gate of entry, my worst fears were realised: The tickets that we bought were seats in the Inter sector. I couldn't imagine having to suppress my desire to support my team (especially after paying such a princely sum for the ticket) as blatantly showing support for the opponent in calcio-crazy Italy would be like courting death.
So I decided to try my luck entering the only gate out of about 50, allocated for the Milan fans (the away team). My heart was pounding like crazy as I was queuing up with the other fans to go across the security check as I saw a couple of fans being turned away by one of the burly security personnel. The other guy looked a little 'blur' so I approached him with our tickets and IDs at the ready, trying to look the least suspicious possible. As luck would have it, he didn't notice that we didn't belong there and waved us in!
The relief was somewhat shortlived as alas, there was yet another check-point at the stands. The same tactic didn't work with the old man at the gate and he pointed us in the direction of the gate stated on our tickets. Not wanting to allow the nightmare to come true, I pleaded with him, saying that Andi and I were huge Milan fans. I suppose I must have looked rather desperate so he smiled and waved us in. Couldn't believe our luck! :) Moreover, since no one really follows the seating allocation, you could just take any seat as long as you were early. The seats we chose we much closer to the pitch than the ones we were assigned!
Before the match started, the Inter junior footballers (at most 10 years old) were playing a game on the pitch. Their gift was evident from the effortless manner they passed and tackled. They were very very impressive.
The atmosphere was fantastic, especially when the AC and Inter fans started jeering at one another. The Milan fans, being the minority (about 5%) of the 85 000-strong sold-out crowd, seemed more united in their loathe of their arch-enemy. They started throwing rolled up pieces of the matchday newspaper and throwing the balls down to the Inter fans seated below. Middle-finger pointing and spewing of vulgarities were the orders of the day.
Milan's perennial cheer: Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Inter, Merda (shit)!
Middle-fingers flying everywhere!
The passion of the supporters for their clubs was so deep-rooted that I felt a huge rush of emotion just being a part of it.
Half an hour before kick off, the Milan players came running out from the tunnel to warm up on the pitch. I was ecstatic to see the players I root for in front of my TV before my eyes, especially Maldini, the player I have been admiring the most since the '94 World Cup! :)
right: Dida warming up
left: Milan kicks off the first half
right: 18' Pirlo scored one of his signature curlers and the Milan stand erupted! Everyone was jumping up and down, shouting themselves hoarse, and in their exhilaration, a group of 4 guys got too carried away and one of them fell onto me, knocking me to the ground. Got a bruised knee from being pinned under his weight cos he couldn't get up right away in the wild celebrations, and a very bad shock.
Throughout the game, Inter played with much fluidity unlike Milan, which suffered from a lack of communication among players, resulting in the majority of passes going astray. So it wasn't a surprise that Inter managed to fight back with 2 wonder goals. The first by Cruz, the second from Cambiasso. You could see the whole stadium of black and blue hopping up and down in unison when their team scored, while the Milan fans were silenced in dejection.
right: the move that led to Cruz's equalizer for Inter..sigh. Have to admit though, it took a genius of a footballer to weave past 3 world-class defenders and to slot the ball through such a tight angle.
At the final whistle, the score was 2-1 to Inter, which was, I concede a good reflection of the game. If only I could've seen more magic from the rossoneri, I'd be contented even if they'd lost.
But well... it's a dream come true in any case :)
At the end of the match, 2 Inter fans taunt the Milan fans, infuriating them
above: the aftermath of the derby
After that adrenaline-inducing experience, we went to do more souvenir shopping at the duomo area and had dinner at 'Ciao' again, for want of an alternative idea. Haha. We were just too beat!
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