Graziano Mannari has his favorite San Siro moment and who can blame him. It happened in March 1989, when he was introduced as a substitute with AC Milan already two up against Juventus. “The crowd was in full celebration mode,” he says Sky Sports.
“They shouted ‘olè’ with every pass we made. The ball circulated beautifully among the whole team – Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, Carlo Ancelotti, Marco van Basten – again and again, and every touch got another roar of ‘olè’ from the stands.
“In my head I kept thinking, ‘I just want to touch the ball once so I can get my own ‘olè too!’ But the ball never came my way – until Roberto Donadoni whipped in a perfect cross. I got up, connected with a diving head and buried it in the top corner.
“There was no gentle singing of ‘olè’ that time – the stadium erupted into a thunderous ovation. In the split second when I landed, I couldn’t quite believe I had scored. But my teammates rushed over to hug me. Later I scored again to make it 4-0. It was a dream.”
Mannari’s memory is one of thousands of special San Siro moments. The following month, the AC Milan side would beat Real Madrid 5-0 in a European Cup semi-final, marking a power shift in the game, ushering in an era of Italian dominance on the continent.
At the following year’s World Cup, the San Siro hosted the opening match as Cameroon stunned Diego Maradona’s Argentina. Since its inauguration in 1926, with Inter’s 6-3 victory over Milan, it has been home to great matches, moments and even photographs.
The old photo of Milan’s Rui Costa and Inter’s Marco Materazzi watching as flames raged inside the San Siro has become iconic. Unity and division. Beauty and the Beast. It provides a snapshot of the Italian game at its most evocative, but also at its most fleeting.
Inter’s legendary captain Javier Zanetti played in that match. “It will always be a stadium that brings memories,” he says Sky Sports. “And that brought a lot of wins.” A personal favorite was his debut. “I could never have imagined that it was the first of 858 games.”
Javier Zanetti pictured during his playing days with Internazionale
Christian Eriksen’s Serie A debut for Inter came in the Derby della Madonnina. He would go on to score a game winner. “It’s a fantastic stadium,” he says Sky Sports. “The Milan end and the Inter end, the different curves. The story speaks for itself.”
For Mannari, that history represents football as high culture. He compares it to La Scala. “Just as the famous Milanese opera house hosted the most beautiful performances and the greatest artists, this stadium has staged the game’s finest exhibitions,” he says.
But a century after it all began, the clock is ticking for this San Siro. There are plans to knock it down. “They’ve been saying that for the last 10 years,” Eriksen says with slight disbelief. But this time the plans are gaining momentum after the municipality approved the sale.
Milan and Inter will now be the owners, and they share the rights and responsibility for the construction of a new stadium, built just to the west in the San Siro neighborhood. “Hopefully they will keep some of the old stadium,” adds Eriksen. It’s part of the plan.
Iconic stadium design
His longing for the old place is understandable. Iconic is a word so overused that its meaning has long since been diluted, but how else to describe the San Siro. While Wembley always had its own power, the Maracana is also this place the stadium in the mind’s eye.
These concrete towers spiral towards the sky, the jutting red girders making it seem like a spaceship under construction. Other places sneak up on you. The incongruous San Siro can be seen for miles around. Like all cathedrals, it is designed to inspire awe.
“When you play at the San Siro, with its towering rings of stands pressing close to the pitch on all sides, it really feels like you’re stepping into another dimension. You can’t even hear yourself talking to your team-mates – you have to shout,” explains Mannari.
“The ground literally shakes when the crowd erupts in joy or whistles in disapproval. It’s truly an indescribable, unique sensation. Unless you’ve experienced it firsthand, it’s hard to imagine. It’s the most beautiful stadium I’ve ever played in.”
But what makes it beautiful? It’s a little harder to explain. If you were to draw a stadium, San Siro might be an early bet, but is that because of something innate or because of its fame? In a world of slim stadiums, it feels different. And more now.
Meets modern requirements
Andrew Edge is an architect specializing in stadium design. The company he works for, Arup, is currently working on the project to refurbish Fiorentina’s new stadium. He is well placed to discuss the aesthetics but also appreciate the role of these amphitheatres.
“Stadiums are a fundamental part of a club’s history, but often they have been in the background of the story. But today we see modern designs that firmly place the stadium at the center of a club’s image or brand, making them stand out and instantly recognized around the world,” he says. Sky Sports.
“The stadiums are the stage set that allow the fans to experience the memorable matches or events that are about to happen, so it is really important when designing a new stadium to understand the essence and soul of a club and identify the key ingredients that will make the stadium so different and special.”
And not to lose them. Part of the second level will be used in the construction of the new San Siro. “There are characteristics that people will immediately identify when they think of the San Siro. The red truss or the spiral ramps for example. They are all part of the stadium’s DNA. You have to recognize these particular characteristics and use them as inspiration,” says Edge.
A general view of the Giuseppe Meazza San Siro stadium in Milan in the late 1980s
“When you’re designing a new stadium, it’s really important to respect the strong emotional connections that fans have with the old ground. You have to make the transition and that takes time. It takes time to get comfortable with it, get used to it, understand how it works and start to form an attachment or bond with the new stadium.
“To make this transition successful, it is essential to have the physical reference points and nods to the former stadium integrated into the new design. The personal stories on the walls, pictures of famous players, memories of certain goals or incredible matches.
“It’s about how you tell ‘your’ story. It creates the emotions that inspire the fans, that builds the fantastic atmosphere and, together with an iconic design, creates a very special stadium.
‘Fantastic opportunity for Milan’
“Milan has a fantastic opportunity to create another version of San Siro. You have the perfect ingredients – the unique stories of both teams, an iconic stadium that deserves an equal, all set in a global city like Milan with inspiration from history, architecture, fashion, music and food that will make it very, very special.”
The change is necessary. One of the many catalysts for this move was the fact that the San Siro was deemed unfit to host Euro 2032 in its current state. Unthinkable. But a consequence of modernity and the changing demands of the consumer.
“There has definitely been an increase in the evolution of stadium design over the last 20 years or so. Both in terms of what we think a stadium is, but also in terms of what fans expect when they arrive at them.
“We’re always breaking down the fan experience to understand each step of their journey through the spaces we design for their seat in the bowl. How will fans interact with the physical spaces in the stadium. How will they feel? What will they hear?
“It’s about creating the spaces that stimulate the human emotions and touch the senses. It’s about creating the drama and tension and doing it in an authentic way.
“This speed of development is only increasing. There is the natural competition between teams and stadium owners to have more seats or the latest technology, for example. But the world is also changing. Trends are changing. Fashion is changing.
“Fans’ expectations are also rising. So as stadium designers we have to adapt and respond and design accordingly and build in that flexibility so the stadium can evolve as well.
“Clubs are constantly tweaking and changing their stadium and the experiences they provide. Some of these new stadiums are less than five years old!” Many Italian grounds are as they were for Italia ’90.
‘It will always be at San Siro’
Given that “renovation projects can be even more challenging to bring up to modern standards”, a new San Siro was always inevitable. The ancient site will host the opening ceremony for next month’s Winter Olympics. But we’re in the playoffs now.
Even those with more reason to be emotional about the subject can understand the need for change. “The historical part is something you will miss, but it needs an upgrade, I think,” admits Eriksen. While Zanetti, now vice-president of Inter, is on notice.
“Everything has changed,” he explains. “I believe that a team as important as Inter worldwide needs a new, ground-breaking stadium. The important thing is that it will always be at San Siro. I hope that we will also be able to create special memories there.”
And the San Siro will once again echo these songs of ‘olè’.