STADIUMS
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Milan / Inter
More than a stadium. A living archive of Milanese football, where rivalries, rituals and generations of history share the same concrete.
- CITY
- Milano
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- OPENED
- 1926
- CAPACITY
- 80,018
- STATUS
- In Use
THE STORY
Opened in 1926, the stadium is home to both of the city’s giants: AC Milan and Inter Milan. Milan traditionally calls it San Siro, after the district where it stands. Inter, and the city itself in official terms, often uses its formal name: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, honouring the legendary Italian forward who played for both clubs.
The rivalry even extends to the name.
For Milan, it is San Siro. For Inter, it is Giuseppe Meazza. For everyone else, it is one of football’s great cathedrals.
The stadium has hosted two FIFA World Cups, including matches at the 1934 and 1990 tournaments, as well as European Cup and Champions League finals, countless Milan derbies and some of the most iconic nights in Italian football.
A FEW DETAILS
1926 - The stadium opens with 35,000 seats.
1939 - Inter begins using the stadium as its home after San Siro is expanded.
1980 - The stadium is officially renamed Stadio Giuseppe Meazza following the death of the Italian football legend.
1990 - A huge third tier is added for the World Cup, giving the stadium its distinctive red roof and towering concrete structure.
THE DERBY - When Milan and Inter meet, the stadium becomes the stage for the Derby della Madonnina, named after the Madonna statue atop Milan’s Duomo.
THE ARCHITECTURE - Its spiralling external ramps and enormous concrete towers have made San Siro instantly recognisable far beyond football.
THE ATMOSPHERE - Curvas packed with tifosi, enormous choreographies and the sound bouncing around the three tiers have become as much a part of the stadium's identity as the football itself.
San Siro is not simply where Milan and Inter play. It is where two identities occupy the same piece of concrete, and spend 90 minutes trying to make it theirs.