Former Inter and AC Milan full back Francesco Coco has shared his belief that this evening’s Derby della Madonnina between Inter and AC Milan at San Siro will be a fun one.
“The derbies are unique matches because something can always happen, the strongest team doesn’t always win,”
he explained in an interview with Italian news outlet Mi-Tomorrow.
“Certainly Inter are the team that has strengthened the most and are a team that will compete for the Scudetto with Juventus. It will be a fun derby and open to all because AC Milan are the team in the best form post-lockdown. They have been for months now.”
Coco, who spent seven years at the beginning of his career with AC Milan and five years at Inter later on in his career, then went on to state that he thinks the respective fan groups of each side should be able to have their displays sitting in the stands for the match.
“I think we should take advantage of this situation for an initiative and give the Curvas the opportunity to exhibit their choreographies and leave them there in some way for the duration of the match, not just at the start of the match, as has always been the case in ‘normal’ conditions. It has always been the best part of the Milan derby.”
Asked to choose which team he prefers between Inter and AC Milan, the former Italian national team player explained: “I have a lot of respect for Inter, I found myself well there, but I grew up at AC Milan. The club made me learn, grow and become a man.
“I went through the ranks of the youth system, I made my debut in the first team, I made myself get to know great football
“I arrived at Inter in the summer of 2002 after the World Cup in Korea and Japan. In that transfer campaign, Crespo and Cannavaro also joined me. We had a great season, and reached the Champions League semi-finals. The whole Inter environment was depressed after what happened on May 5.”
During his five year spell with Inter, which came between 2002 and 2007, Coco found himself limited to just 41 appearances across all competitions. He provided one assist when on the field and one the Coppa Italia with Inter in the 2004/05 season.