WORDS: ADAM BUSHBY
When you think of the world’s most iconic stadiums, which ones come to mind? The Azteca, perhaps? Or the Maracanã? A shaking Bombonera during the Superclásico? There’s no doubt that very high up on most bucket lists is the breathtaking brutalist masterpiece, the San Siro.
This Saturday, the old giant takes centre stage once more as AC Milan and Inter meet in the Derby della Madonnina, one of Italian football’s great occasions. Having visited the vast concrete cathedral myself a few years ago, I can safely say that it more than lives up to the billing. There is something almost absurd about its scale, the steep stands rising skywards, the great red girders curling around its flanks, the whole place seeming to loom over the pitch. It is a stadium that gets under your skin, a little rough around the edges perhaps, but all the more magnificent for it.
Rising above Milan’s western suburbs, its distinctive red-steel latticework, towering concrete pillars and sweeping spiral ramps make it unmistakable, an architectural giant as much a part of the city’s identity as the Duomo. For nearly a century, it has been the stage for some of Italian football’s greatest dramas, shared by two giants of Serie A.
The Derby della Madonnina takes its name from the golden statue of the Virgin Mary that stands atop Milan Cathedral, watching over the city from on high. On derby day, the gaze turns west, towards San Siro, where AC Milan and Inter meet in one of football’s great urban rivalries. The noise, the colour, the competing choreography in the stands: this is Milan at its most gloriously divided.
The first derby at San Siro took place on 19 September 1926, when Inter beat AC 6-3 in a friendly. A century on, the stadium has seen European Cup triumphs, World Cup drama and generations of players turn themselves into legends. Its familiar silhouette, however, may soon become a memory. Milan and Inter completed the purchase of the stadium and surrounding land in November 2025, clearing a major hurdle in plans for a new shared home. In October, a regional administrative court rejected challenges to the sale, allowing the project to move forward.
For Andriy Shevchenko, who won the Ballon d’Or during his seven years at Milan, San Siro’s hold is deeply personal. His relationship with the ground began long before he became one of its most celebrated occupants, when he arrived aged 14 for a youth tournament with Dynamo Kyiv.
“As soon as I walked in there, I had a special feeling,” he says. “I love San Siro. The fans make the stadium so special.”
Yet Shevchenko also recognises the argument for change. “I think this is a very important step for the future of Milan and Italian football,” he says. The challenge, he believes, is to ensure that a new home honours the old one. “If you respect the tradition and legacy of San Siro and the legends who played there to the maximum, you're not going to lose it. You can do something really positive because nothing lasts forever.”
It is a compelling argument, though perhaps easier to make when the place you love is still standing. San Siro has already reinvented itself once on a grand scale. Built in 1925–26 as a football-specific ground for Milan, it was transformed ahead of Italia ’90, when a third tier and the distinctive towers supporting the roof gave it the monumental appearance we know today. On 8 June 1990, it hosted the World Cup’s opening match, as Cameroon stunned Diego Maradona’s Argentina with a 1-0 victory.
The case for another transformation is rooted in the changing economics of football. Italy has lagged behind other major European leagues in stadium redevelopment, leaving many clubs with ageing facilities and matchday experiences that struggle to compete with those elsewhere. Milan and Inter believe a new ground can help them close that gap, increase revenue and offer supporters a more modern experience.
The proposed stadium is expected to hold 71,500 spectators, with a wider regeneration project reshaping the surrounding district. Milan president Paolo Scaroni has estimated the overall cost at around €1.5bn, while the clubs envisage a venue that earns its keep beyond the 90 minutes of a football match. Corporate hospitality, concerts, partnerships and other events would help turn it into a year-round destination.
For the clubs, that future is difficult to ignore. For those who love San Siro, the question is what gets lost along the way? A stadium’s history is not simply a collection of famous nights or names etched into its concrete. It is the sound of a crowd gathering beneath the towers, the rituals of arriving at the ground, the peculiar sense of occasion that comes from walking into a place where so much that has passed into folklore has happened before.
The current stadium is expected to remain in use until its replacement is completed alongside it, meaning neither club should need to abandon its home during construction. But once the new ground is ready, the old one’s days will be numbered. The clubs have talked of regeneration, greener public spaces and a renewed neighbourhood; the San Siro district will remain, even as its most recognisable landmark disappears.
There is still time to see a derby at the old ground, but the clock is ticking. The mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, said in September that he wants both clubs to guarantee the stadium will be open and ready for the 2032 European Championships. A new stadium cannot simply reproduce a century of history on demand. For now, San Siro remains what it has always been: a football cathedral, a little battered, gloriously oversized and genuinely jaw-dropping. If you want to understand why it matters, there are few better occasions to visit than when Milan’s two halves come together for a tear-up.