Team ethic can lead Italians into a new era

Champions' League: Milan derby points to resurgence as celebrity obsession wanes

No one can argue quite like an Italian. Whatever the venue and topic, the hands are clasped together and shaking with frustration, while the eyes are turned to the skies in despair. Italians will happily squabble in cafés and cars about good loving and bad driving, but nowhere are they more passionate than in stadiums when supporting their football team.

So imagine the cacophony raging in Milan, where its two legendary clubs are preparing to do battle for a place in the Champions' League final at Old Trafford later this month. Everyone there has a favourite team and player, as well as plenty of opinions ahead of the first semi-final since 1959 between teams from the same city. But forget the title of champions of Europe, what all the players really want is to be kings of Milan.

"Whoever wins through after these two legs will have bragging rights for at least a generation," says Internazionale's French midfielder Stéphane Dalmat, one of a handful of foreigners who will take part in the historic tie. "You don't have to be Italian to know victory is a must."

Milan derbies are fiercely contested at the best of times, but the chance of ruling Europe as well as the city has put added pressure on the players. "Sometimes we wonder whether people have forgotten that this is the semis, and there's still a final to win," Dalmat jokes. "But it's true that these are the biggest games in a long, long time."

That is, the biggest games for two clubs who have failed to win any major silverware for four years, but also for the Italian game as a whole. Hard as it is to believe, these are the first appearances of Serie A clubs at this stage of the competition since 1999 – an eternity for a nation that dominated European football for the latter part of the Eighties and the majority of the Nineties. Following several years of over-spending and under-achieving, Italian football is in desperate need of a lift, both on and off the field.

"Everyone is hoping that this is the big comeback year of the Italians," says Dalmat, whose own club have had serious financial difficulties of late. "It's been a strange time for the Calcio, but everyone knew we'd be top again."

French World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, who is a key member of the other Italian club to reach the semi-finals – Juventus, who play Real Madrid – feels that this is just the first step towards rehabilitation. "It's been a great achievement getting three clubs in the last four," the Juventus defender says, "but I don't think we can speak of a return to prominence quite yet. Just look at how close our qualifications were." All three clubs had to wait until the final match to know their fate, Milan scoring in the dying seconds, Inter sneaking through on away goals and Juventus winning by a single goal after extra-time.

Thuram adds: "What has changed, though, is the way Italian clubs play. We've stopped buying as many stars as possible and tried to build teams instead. For too long, Italian clubs relied too heavily on big names as opposed to solid foundations. That has changed now, and the results are following."

Dalmat falls very much into the category of player described by Thuram. Along with most of his Internazionale team-mates, the Frenchman is a solid professional as opposed to a megastar. "At Inter, we are all about team-work," Dalmat confirms. "We still have some great players like Christian Vieri [who is injured until the end of the season] and Gabriele Batistuta, but we are no longer obsessed with celebrities such as Ronaldo." The same is true at Juventus and Milan, where only a few key players such as Alessandro del Piero, David Trézéguet, Filippo Inzaghi and Rivaldo are truly world renowned.

The one problem with this policy is it has left the three Serie A semi-finalists bereft of any real flamboyance. Instead, there has been a steady return to the old-fashioned catenaccio style. Following his team's narrow defeat to Inter in the quarter-finals, the Valencia coach Rafael Benitez even went so far as to say that the Italians had "killed the game" and "played anti-football". "He can say what he wants," Dalmat snaps, "all I know is that we are in the semis. Valencia may be prettier to watch, but we win matches. That's all that counts. And the fact that Italian football is being criticised proves it is back in the limelight."

The all-Milanese semi-final promises to be typically tight. Both league matches finished 1-0 to the red half of the city, and few chances were created. "Derbies are always tense," Dalmat explains, "but when a final is at stake they are unbearably nervy. Like us, Milan have failed to win the league, so both sets of players and managers are playing for their futures over these two legs. Add to that the common ground between the clubs, and this can't be anything but a memorable occasion."

Milan and Inter are a lot more than just neighbours. Not only do they cohabit at the San Siro stadium, they also share a lot of history. The Nerazzurri, as Inter are commonly known, were formed 92 years ago when a rebel faction broke away from the then Milan Cricket and Football Club (formed by the Englishman Alfred Edwards). The Rossoneri have never officially forgiven the act of treachery, but rival fans get on well. "This is a family affair," Dalmat says. "Different members support one team or the other during the match, but after that everyone gets on." Some derbies across Italy, especially those in Rome and Turin, often spill over into violence, but such clashes are rare in Milan. There are none of the political, social or religious divides found at the Rome, Glasgow or Madrid derbies.

So expect the two sets of fans to be enemies for two nights but happy neighbours thereafter. "Especially if Juventus get to the final," Dalmat declares. "Believe me, if a Turin club is at Old Trafford, then the whole of Milan will unite."