MILAN: Italy’s traditional derby match between footballing giants Inter and AC Milan now has a distinct Asian flavor and following, fueled by multi-million dollar investments by the Chinese owners of the two clubs.
Sunday’s derby has gripped Milan including the city’s Chinatown district — and the football fever has spread as far as the Chinese capital Beijing.
The match is not only a duel between the city’s rival teams but also their Chinese owners — Zhang Jindong, whose Suning Group bankrolls Inter Milan and Li Yonghong’s Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux Group, which owns AC Milan.
The flags of both teams flutter across the long avenue via Paolo Sarpi in the heart of Milan’s Chinatown — where many of the city’s 29,000 Chinese residents live — ahead of the Derby della Madonnina.
The excitement is also building thousands of kilometers away in Beijing.
AC Milan officials on Friday launched the club’s Chinese branch to develop business partnerships.
“With an enormous base of devoted football fans in China, there is huge potential for AC Milan and for professional football in China,” AC Milan’s chief commercial officer Lorenzo Giorgetti said.
“We are going to organize an event starting from next Sunday with our Fan Clubs in Beijing.
“We are looking forward to embracing more and more Chinese partners who will help us on our journey back to glory!“
Most of the Chinese residents in Sarpi hail from the Zhejiang region in eastern China. The younger generation, in particular, have grown up with football and are devoted fans.
Many of them will be among the 70,000 spectators at the famed San Siro stadium for a match between two former European superpower teams hoping to rekindle their glory days through the big injections of cash.
AC Milan have been completely overhauled at a cost of €230 million (SR1.01 billion) by Li Yonghong, who already paid €740 million to buy the club last April.
But despite the heavy investment, Milan have failed to find their rhythm on the pitch yet, with Montella’s side currently sitting in seventh place on the Serie A table.
Milan last won the Serie A title in 2011 while Inter’s last championship was the previous season in 2010.
Zhang’s Suning group paid nearly €270 million for Inter Milan in June 2016.
The club finished a disappointing seventh last season, one place behind AC Milan, but have made a brighter start to the 2017-18 campaign, winning six of their first seven matches.
They currently sit third in the standings but are well aware of the added importance attached to Sunday’s traditional derby match.
Football: Milan derby fever rages from Chinatown to Beijing
Football: Milan derby fever rages from Chinatown to Beijing
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli secure victories as Al-Ittihad get back to winning ways
- En-Nesyri bags first Saudi Pro League goal in Al-Ittihad’s 2-1 win over Al-Fayha
- Al-Ahli remain three points behind Al-Hilal in the title race as both sides surge to victory
RIYADH: The second day of round 22 in the Saudi Pro League delivered plenty of drama, beginning with a seven-goal thriller as Al-Ahli cruised to a 5-2 victory over Al-Shabab.
That result was followed by a comfortable 2-0 win for Al-Hilal against Al-Ettifaq, before Al-Ittihad edged past Al-Fayha 2-1 to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Al-Nassr.
In the opening match, Al-Shabab found themselves 3-0 down inside 26 minutes at a packed SHG Stadium in Riyadh. Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring in the sixth minute, delivering a free-kick from the edge of the box that was finished by Rayan Hamed after a scramble in the area.
Mahrez continued to torment the Al-Shabab defense, flicking a ball over the back line for Franck Kessie to latch onto in the 20th minute before finishing past Marcelo Grohe.
The Algerian then got on the scoresheet himself six minutes later, meeting a low cross from Zakaria Hawsawi to make it 3-0.
Al-Shabab pulled one back in the 33rd minute when a Yannick Carrasco free-kick found its way past Edouard Mendy. The momentum barely lasted a minute, however, as a defensive error allowed Ivan Toney to win possession in the box before laying it off to Enzo Millot, who restored Al-Ahli’s three-goal cushion.
The first-half drama was not over. Hussein Al-Sibyani was brought down in the box just before the break and Carrasco converted from the spot, sending Mendy the wrong way to reduce the deficit.
After a frenetic opening half, the tempo slowed following the restart. Grohe made two important saves to keep Al-Shabab in contention, but the hosts were unable to mount a comeback.
Toney sealed the victory in the 83rd minute from the penalty spot, becoming the first player to reach the 20-goal mark in the Saudi Pro League this season.
Less than 30 minutes away at Kingdom Arena, Al-Hilal welcomed Al-Ettifaq.
The visitors — who have proven difficult to break down this season, holding Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli to draws and beating Al-Ittihad in Jeddah — set up in a deep defensive shape.
Their 6-3-1 formation was not enough to contain former Al-Ettifaq midfielder Mohammed Kanno, who delivered a commanding display. A corner from Malcom was met by a towering header from the Saudi international in the 13th minute to give Al-Hilal the lead.
Kanno nearly doubled the advantage five minutes later, only for Marek Rodak to produce a crucial save. With Karim Benzema making his first home appearance, Malcom and Salem Al-Dawsari were afforded greater freedom across the final third.
That approach paid off in the 31st minute when Al-Dawsari doubled the lead. A clever run from Malcom was spotted by Kanno, whose perfectly weighted through ball led to a cross that Rodak could only parry into the path of Al-Dawsari, who finished for his seventh goal of the season.
Al-Hilal slowed the tempo after the break as Al-Ettifaq grew into the game, registering nine shots in the second half compared to just one before the interval. It was not enough, however, to prevent the league leaders from temporarily extending their advantage at the top to three points, pending Al-Nassr’s clash with Al-Fateh on Saturday.
The final fixture of the day took place in Jeddah, where Al-Ittihad hosted Al-Fayha. Known for troubling the league’s top sides, Al-Fayha posed an early test, but Youssef En-Nesyri eased concerns by scoring his first Saudi Pro League goal from a corner in the 35th minute.
Al-Fayha responded in the 55th minute when Yassine Benzia delivered a cross to the far post for the unmarked Fashion Sakala, who headed past Predrag Rajkovic to level the score.
With momentum building, Al-Ittihad pressed forward and found the winner in the 83rd minute. Left-back Hassan Kadesh capitalised on a weak clearance from the Al-Fayha defence to send the home supporters into celebration.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Saturday, with Al-Riyadh facing Al-Khaleej, Al-Najma hosting Al-Kholood, before Al-Fateh host Al-Nassr in a fixture expected to mark Cristiano Ronaldo’s return after missing two league matches.
