Cynics would argue that history is now crumbling off the walls. Soccer romantics, and not only Italian ones, have a different view of the building: Hardly any other stadium has as much character as Milan’s San Siro, built more than 100 years ago in the district of the same name in the Lombard metropolis. It is not without reason that it is also called “La Scala del calcio”, the great football opera. Such will be performed this Wednesday: Inter and AC, the two major Milan clubs, face each other in the semi-finals of the Champions League – 20 years after a “Euroderby” took place.
Four towers as spiral staircases, steep grandstands, space for more than 75,000 spectators: San Siro makes an impression – provided you don’t have to go to the run-down toilets. The stadium was last refurbished for the 1990 World Cup, where Lothar Matthäus, then in the service of Inter, contributed one of his best goals on the way to the German title. There are plenty of overlaps with German football history: Schalke 04 won the Uefa Cup in San Siro in 1997, FC Bayern won the Champions League in 2001. There isn’t much time left for more chapters. The Milan clubs are planning new stadiums, a demolition of the grand opera is being discussed – but the resistance of the Tifosi is enormous.
