The third team of the city against the baby Nerazzurri, it happens in Serie C. This time the Milanese classic will not be Milan-Inter. Gallazzi: “For us all this is a dream”
Milan-Inter, or Inter-Milan. The Milan derby, that of the Madonnina. The first: 10 January 1909, Milan-Inter 3-2. 116 years, 244 matches, 91 Nerazzurri and 82 Rossoneri rings. Stories of screams and tears, joys and pains. Smoke bombs on the pitch, Materazzi’s arm on Rui Costa’s shoulder. I owe the viuuuleeenza of Abatantuono, “better defeated than Milan supporters” by Nicolino Berti. Bitter rivalries: Rivera against Mazzola, Baresi against Baresi, Theo against Dumfries. Goleade, Euroderby. He teased. Peppino Prisco will say: “In Milan there are two teams: Inter and the Inter Primavera”. And what if the lawyer had known that derby number 245 would be played between his Inter and… Alcione, aka the third (or perhaps fourth, sorry Prisco) team from Milan? All true: for the first time in history (at professional level and in official matches), the Madonnina derby will not be Milan-Inter. Date: Friday 17 October 2025. Time: 8.30pm. Location: Breda Stadium, Sesto San Giovanni. Match: Alcione-Inter U23, tenth day of the Serie C championship. Now the context.
ALL TRUE
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Peppino Prisco said: “Serie A is our DNA”. So what are Inter doing in Serie C? The ‘fault’, so to speak, lies with the second team. Thus President Marotta last winter: “We will invest in young people, we are setting up the Under 23”. After Juventus, Atalanta and Milan, here is Inter. The model is the Spanish one: I create a second team, I throw my young players into it, I have them tested in real football and I bring them to the first team. Alcione is a completely different story. Founded in 1952 by Ennio Di Ponzio, in the last eight years it has moved from the Promotion to Serie C. The headquarters are in via Olivieri, a stone’s throw from San Siro, an area where the Orange Stadium will also be built, a proprietary stadium expected for 2026 in Settimo, just outside the Milanese borders. Also a hotbed of talent, Alcione Milano. From here, among many, passed Dossena and Paradiso, Corti and Pistone, the Airone Caracciolo and lastly Rovella, golden boy of Lazio and face of the national team. Then Ernesto Pellegrini, who passed away last May 31st, former Nerazzurri owner… and also Orange. He will say: “Seeing as they didn’t let me play, I bought Alcione”. After the first, historic year in Serie C (quiet salvation), the bar was raised by President Giulio Gallazzi: “We want Serie B, after which we’ll see…”. As if to say: we are here too.
PRESIDENT’S WORD
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Giulio Gallazzi is many things. Among others: former American football professional, entrepreneur, president, federal councilor (newly elected)… and friend of Marotta. He once said: “He often gives me advice.” For the series: Do I want to be president? I learn from one of the best. Gallazzi said this in view of the derby: “I spoke to Beppe these days and told him: ‘See, we can play it with the same points…’. It would be really nice. For us all this is a dream, we experience it first-hand every time we look at the rankings.” Speaking of dreams, here’s the addition: “You know, sometimes they come true. I’m thinking first of all of our younger boys: now they can have the goal of challenging Inter, or Milan, wearing the orange shirt.” After the farewell of Marcello Montini, here is the entry of two new partners: Gruppo UPZ (30%) and Alberto Vigo (10%). Together with Gallazzi, the Alcione of the future. Said of the ‘desks’, the technical part is the business of Matteo Mavilla and Giovanni Cusatis, sporting director and coach. Thus Mr. Orange in view of the Milanese classic: “A derby against Inter was something that couldn’t have been imagined, I think it rewards everyone’s work.” The future? “We know where we started from, what we are doing and where we want to go.”
THE STAR OF THE HALKION
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Andrea Invernizzi, 25 years old, playmaker with easy dribbling, sole and heel shots, more genius than recklessness, ‘diez’ like no more. Milanese and former AC Milan player, the youth teams at Vismara with Bellanova and Brescianini, then great football: Ascoli, Seregno and Alcione. Here, a hundred appearances and three goals. Few but good, see the one against Atalanta U23 last year: Alcione’s first, historic goal in Serie C. Ex-Milan player, therefore. “I’ve played many derbies against Inter, it was always exciting. Well, this year’s derby will be a bit special, a different Milan derby than usual.” Milan is a great Milan, his city. “I grew up here, no team in Italy can boast three teams in the pros. Around people are starting to talk about Alcione, this is beautiful.” And now? “We think one match at a time, this is our secret. We are working well, the new players have integrated and the results are proving us right.” Next stop derby, then. And for Inve it will be special.
INTER: OLD PEOPLE SPEAK
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Stefano Vecchi, born in ’71, the coach, returned to Inter after seven years. Two championships in the Spring (2017 and 2018), accompanied by two Viareggios, the Italian Cup and the Super Cup. Even a handful of benches in Serie A after the dismissals of De Boer and Pioli. “The return? Seeing certain places again, like Appiano Gentile or Interello, is exciting. As are the people with whom I shared so many beautiful moments.” After many matches against Milan, it will be a new Milan derby for him too: “Alcione is a historic team, at youth level they have always been an excellent team. Now they have made a leap in quality thanks to a passionate and far-sighted ownership. I heard the president say that within a few years they want to be competitive and win, I think they are moving in this direction”. And his Inter? “It’s difficult to say where we are. The minimum objective is to consolidate ourselves in the category, everything that comes in addition is a gain. We don’t fully know the boys’ limits yet, so every training session, every match helps them become complete players.” And ready for the first team: “That’s the objective: there’s a lot of work to do, we’re only at the beginning. Everything changes a bit between Primavera and Serie C. It’s different football compared to the academy, the boys have to learn to face difficult moments, defend themselves, manage the game. In Primavera, especially for a team like Inter, this happens much less.”
THE STAR OF INTER
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Matteo Spinaccè, but Spic is enough. 19 years old, left-footed, almost 190 centimeters tall as a centre-forward and around fifty goals in the Nerazzurri academy. The strong point? “Shooting and physicality”. There are also clear ideas on the margins for improvement: “I have to learn to defend the ball better, help the team improve and get more fouls.” The latest aspect is that he is coaching in Serie C, his first year among the greats after five in the Inter youth academy. “In the summer friendlies, when I found myself facing experienced defenders, I struggled. Now things are already better and I can also have my say physically.” Better read it… big time. Three goals so far, the double at Lumezzane stands out: “A start like this? I honestly didn’t expect it”, says Spic. In the meantime, he studies with Pio Esposito: “I played with him and I know him well, he has had an exceptional career. He deserves everything. I take him as a reference model.” The first CR7 idol is now studying Thuram: “I reflect myself in his characteristics. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to him or bond with him, but I can say that he is an exceptional boy, someone who plays with a smile. Then he is good with us young people.” Next stop derby. He played a lot against Milan, he will be the first against Alcione.
WAITING FOR THE DERBY
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These are the protagonists. And therefore their stories, their dreams. On one side the young people of Inter and on the other Alcione, “a team like those in American films, the provincial team that in the end makes it… and wins the championship”, says president Gallazzi. And so the question: who will take the Madonnina?
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