Even people who only have a passing interest in football will have heard of the two Milanese giants, Internazionale (Inter) and A.C., who have won numerous trophies and are the fiercest of rivals.
A lesser-known contest is the rivalry between Inter Milan and Atalanta, a smaller but highly successful club located in the walled city of Bergamo, also in the province of Lombardy, about 60 kilometers from Milan.
Inter Milan has won 19 Serie A titles and Atalanta has earned the nickname ‘Regina Delle provinciali,’ meaning ‘Queen of the Provinces,’ because they might have played 28 seasons in Italy’s second division – Serie B – but they are the most successful club not based in a regional capital.
Reaching the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals in 1988 is that competition’s best-ever showing by the club.
If the contests between A.C. and Inter can be viewed as a Clash of the Titans, the encounters between Inter and Atalanta might be aptly referred to as ‘David versus Goliath.’
This gives these battles an added frisson of entertainment, as everyone (bar the Inter fans!) loves a spot of ‘giant-killing.’
Meeting Rival fans
Online dating has become such a popular and convenient way of getting in touch with prospective partners. There is every chance that signing up to a dating site might put you in touch with singles sharing your passion for your favourite team.
But how do you react when that delectable and charming person you have been enjoying online chats with suddenly reveals – literally – their true colors? Picture this scenario.
You’ve browsed through the personal profiles on askme4date, and fallen for the charms of another site member whose photo has caused your heart to skip a beat. After several texts and emails, you agree to a video chat.
As an Inter fan, you’re delighted to catch sight of the banners and scarves adorning their home – the same black and blue stripes associated with your beloved side.
But when you broach this subject, they are adamant that these aren’t the blue and black of Internazionale at all, but the same colors of the Atalanta home strip. How on earth do you get around this hurdle?
Make Love Not War!
When you get together with a new partner on a dating site, you can engage in a lot of flirty discussions as you find out more about each other’s personalities, likes, and interests.
Should you discover you both have a passion for football, albeit for rival clubs, this may present a hurdle, but at this point, you need to prioritize what you are looking for in life.
If you are merely seeking another buddy who will accompany you to football matches, then help you toast success or drown your sorrows afterward, fair enough.
But if you are seeking a love interest, you need to change the goalposts! Ask yourself which is more important: meeting a football fan (remembering each game lasts 90 minutes) or enjoying a vibrant and vivacious relationship with someone who could turn out to be an extremely important person in your life.
If you can’t answer that question without viewing rival team colors, you deserve a red card!