The Derby della Madonnina is the game between the two most prominent teams in Milan, Internazionale and AC Milan. The name of the derby refers to the statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the Duomo, which is known as the Madonnina.
The match between Inter and Milan takes place twice a year in Serie A and the first meeting between the pair in the 2022/23 season will be played on the 3rd of September.
We must go back to 1909 for the first meeting in Italy between the two Milan clubs and the match ended in a 3-2 win for Milan, who were the home team. That game was contested in the Prima Categoria and played on the 10th of January.
Milan dominated the early fixtures in the Derby della Madonnina and won 6 of the first 8 games between the two teams. It was not until December 1920 that fans saw the first draw in the Milan derby, which was the 12th time the teams had met.
Heading into the 1930s and Inter dominated the derby, going undefeated in 17 matches between November 1929 and October 1937.
Other dominant eras in the Milan derby include a period of dominance for AC Milan in the 1970s, when they went undefeated in 12 games against their local rivals. Things changed again in the early 1980s, with Inter enjoying a period of dominance before Milan took control again in the early 2000s.
Heading into the 2022/23 Serie A season, and it is Inter who have been enjoying the most recent success in the Derby della Madonnina.
Ahead of the fixture on the 3rd of September, Inter have won 7 of the last 11 meetings between the clubs and have tasted defeat only twice in all competitions.
If we look at the overall record in Serie A, it is Inter who have had the better of the derby, coming out on top 67 times in comparison to 53 wins for Milan, who have some catching up to do in the Serie A era. Inter have outscored Milan by 248 goals to 226 goals in Serie A.
However, if we look at individual goal scorers, it is a Milan player who leads the way. Andriy Shevchenko scored 14 times in official matches against Inter and the former Ukraine striker is one goal ahead of Giuseppe Meazza, who scored 12 times for Inter and once for Milan.
Of the currently active players, only Zlatan Ibrahimović comes close and he has scored 10 goals in the Derby della Madonnina, 8 of which have been for current club, Milan. Ibrahimović also holds the record for being the oldest goal scorer in the Milan derby.
Last season, Milan had the better of things in Serie A as they took 4 points from the two league games. However, Inter won the Coppa Italia semi-final meeting, winning the second leg 3-0 to progress to the final.
So, there is little to separate the two teams and we should be in for a cracking Derby della Madonnina this season.