Beautiful Game - Milan derby serves up lovely

Rarely has the hype preceding a derby matched the actual fare dished out in the middle. But it did on Saturday night at, of all the places, the San Siro where Milan powerhouses traded heavyweight blows in a fantastic, free flowing derby. The irony of the match wasn’t lost on anyone: the clubs that made defence an art form were also capable of going for the jugular when the situation demanded it. A punter putting his money on a seven-goal thriller would have been greeted with derisive laughs. It indeed rained goals in the riveting endto-end contest. More important than Inter’s three points for their 4-3 win was the shattering of the stereotype that the fashion capital of Europe lacked creativity on the football pitch.

Given the presence of a large Latin American contingent in the Serie A, there has been no shortage of style in the Italian league. The problem was the shackling defensive system imposed by a legion of managers over the years. Players have no choice other than toeing the line of their bosses. It was, however, a day Inter manager Roberto Mancini and his Milan counterpart Carlo Ancelotti broke free of their mental barriers.

The Saturday classic was a match of two halves containing everything that makes a football contest compelling: crunching tackles, flying headers, spectacular pile drivers, suspensions and disallowed goals.
The first half belonged to a rampaging Inter, while the second 45 minutes to a resilient Milan. The historic stadium filled to its capacity of 79,000 provided a perfect stage for two fierce rivals from the same city to battle it out. And fight they did from the kick-off in their shared home turf.

Though Milan’s lively defender Kakha Kaladze missed a glorious opportunity as early as the 40th second, it was Inter who took the match to their opponents with two quick goals. After Hernan Crespo gave the Nerazzuri the lead with a looping header, Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic struck a long-range scorcher, which left Milan custodian Dida petrified. Despite being 1-4 down at one stage, Milan never gave up.

Their Brazilian midfielder, Kaka, in particular ran as if he possessed two hearts. His 90th minute lob gave his team a flicker of hope for a draw, but it was not to be in the end. There was no shame in losing a game like that.