I Learned Hard Lessons Watching the Milan Derby So You Don't Have To
I recently watched AC Milan vs Inter, the so-called Milan Derby, in Milan, Italy.
The venue was AC Milan’s home ground, San Siro. For my generation, this place carries real emotional weight (it lines up exactly with AC Milan’s golden era). It was my first time experiencing it, and I picked up several lessons along the way, so I’m sharing them here for those who come after me.
The standard route is AC Milan’s official website. (For Inter home games, it’s Inter’s official website.)
This isn’t unique to the Milan Derby, but season pass holders get first access to tickets, so outsiders like us end up several days behind. And once it actually goes On Sale and you try to get in, in my case that meant a 45-minute wait. By the time I finally got through, only the top corner of the third tier on the away side was left. I hesitated, understandably, and went to bed that night without deciding — that was the fatal mistake. By the next morning, everything was Sold Out.
A chance to watch the Milan Derby doesn’t come around often. Regretting my “hold off” decision from the night before, I decided to buy through a third party. In the end I landed a pretty good spot near the corner of the main stand through P1 Travel UK (https://www.p1travel.co.uk/), a UK-based site.
That said, you need to be careful choosing a site. Plenty of sites compile reviews of ticket sellers, so check several before deciding. In particular, avoid any site that turns up complaints when you search “site name scam.”
Even so, the email said “your e-Ticket will arrive 1 to 3 days before,” but of course it arrived right at the last minute, the day before. Still, that much was within expectations.
<Access (Getting There)>
Since this Milan Derby was at AC Milan’s home stadium, San Siro, taking the metro (M5) is the way to go. There’s zero chance of getting lost transferring or figuring out where to get off. Plenty of landmarks guide you the whole way.
The ticket voucher tells you what time to pass through the gate. Being diligently Japanese about it, I showed up right on time, but judging from the scene outside, most people were pretty loose about it. Plenty of groups were drinking outside.
Still, getting inside the stands about an hour early is far from a bad idea. Once the match starts, everyone watches strictly from their assigned seat, but before the match it’s different. Within your Category, you’re free to stand wherever you like. Most people gather at the front railing and sing chants while they wait.
Warm-ups start roughly 45 minutes before kickoff. The warm-up itself gets abnormally hyped. About five times more than I expected.
Watching the warm-up to gauge which players look locked in and which seem a bit off, and using that to decide who to focus on for the day, is a real pleasure. The biggest advantage of watching in the stadium is being able to keep your eyes on the player you want to watch for the whole match. For the record, my pick that day was AC Milan’s Tonali.
Once the match starts, everyone in the main stand sits down to watch. (I was surprised at how well-behaved it was.) And whenever a chance looks like it’s coming, everyone jumps up at once.
The clearest example is when Leão gets the ball facing forward on the left in the Final Third, or when a good ball recovery in midfield sparks a short counterattack. Everyone reads the game well.
If you’re slow to stand up at these moments, you can’t see anything, and sometimes you catch a splash of beer on the back of your head from someone behind you jumping up excitedly. (laughs)
So stand up every time. Knees bent, ready to go.
In the main stand, some people join in the chants and some don’t, and a few even wear Inter (away) jerseys. But you can watch peacefully, and everyone seems to be genuinely enjoying the football, so I really do recommend the main stand.
The supporters’ section, meanwhile, looks like what you’d expect if you image-searched “hooligans.” The intensity at the Milan Derby lived up to its reputation.
If you drink too much beer before or during the match, you’re eventually going to need the restroom. The smoothest window is somewhere between the 40th and 45th minute of the first half. At the Milan Derby, almost nobody leaves their seat during play. You should be able to go without any trouble.
<Access (Getting Back)>
Now, this is really where the tips matter.
Honestly, getting back was tough. San Siro’s capacity is 80,018, and of course it was completely full.
First, if you want to take the same M5 line back, you have to leave your seat before the match ends. But that’s such a waste! It’s such a rare opportunity!
Rule that option out, and even if you rush to M5 right when the match ends, you’re honestly at the mercy of the crowd. The metro entrances also have strict entry restrictions in place.
There’s also a tram, and I believe a bus nearby too. But watch out: they all run on the road. As far as I could confirm afterward, there was heavy congestion across roughly the three stations around the stadium. So even if you manage to squeeze onto the tram or bus, there’s a good chance you’ll get stuck somewhere.
If you’re traveling with small children, a car is probably the best option. Several parking lots sit right near the stadium, so you just get in the car, and since it’s late anyway and the kids will fall asleep, all that’s left is for the driver to grind through it.
But how do you get home with reasonable certainty, without getting caught in the crowd?
[The Standard Route]
Most people did the standard thing: “drink until it clears up.” The metro’s last train runs until around midnight, so people just drink and make noise. The food stalls stay open in anticipation of this, so you won’t have trouble finding food or drink.
Look around a bit and you should find portable restrooms too. There was at least one near the tram stop.
[A Bit of Luxury]
Book a hotel. Several hotels sit within walking distance. People who want to take it easy probably book one for just the night.
[If You Have Energy]
Walk. Walking a few stations along the M5 line won’t help, since it’ll still be packed, so instead walk to a station on a different line, or to where M5 crosses another line. In my case, I walked about 30 minutes to where M5 meets M1. That spreads passengers out enough that I got a normal seat. It was fairly tiring, but if you grab some food from a stall and walk with a beer in hand, it should be fine. Plenty of other people were walking the same way, so I didn’t feel much anxiety about safety.
These tips might be useful depending on the situation, or they might not help at all. Even so, I’m convinced there’s no harm in knowing one “case from someone who’s been there.” I hope you get to enjoy the Milan Derby at San Siro.
Originally published in Japanese at https://clazytech.com/2022/09/1340/. Translated with LLM assistance and reviewed before publication.