Top facts about San Siro, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

The San Siro, or Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, is a football stadium in the San Siro area of Milan, Italy, that is home to A.C. Milan and

. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of Europe's largest and Italy's largest stadiums.

The stadium was named after Giuseppe Meazza, a two-time World Cup champion (1934, 1938) who played for Inter and temporarily for

in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and managed Inter for two spells.

Later in the article of top facts about San Siro, we will talk about the derby which takes place in this arena but for now, let us read about the article itself.

An informative article of top facts about San Siro, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

In this article of top facts about San Siro, we have put the history of this amazing Italian field first. After that we have learned about the prime days of this field, we would talk about the derby, the other utilizations of this ground, and the transportation system as well as the structure itself.

Now without further ado let us hop into the tour bus and read the

top facts about San Siro

.

San Siro history

It is only right for us to start the article of top facts about San Siro from the beginning of the stadium's time just to avoid any facts being left out.

The stadium's construction began in 1925 in Milan's San Siro area, with the new stadium's initial name being Nuovo Stadio Calcistico San Siro (San Siro New Football Stadium).

Piero Pirelli, the president of A.C. Milan at the time, had the idea to build a stadium in the same region as the horse racing track. Inter defeated Milan 6–3 in front of 35,000 fans during the club's opening on September 19, 1926.

The ground was formerly the home and property of A.C. Milan. Inter, who used to play at the downtown Arena Civica, became tenants in 1947, and the two have shared the ground ever since.

Early development

Engineers Armando Ronca and Ferruccio Calzolari worked on the second enlargement of the stadium from 1948 to 1955, with the goal of increasing capacity from 50,000 to 150,000 people. Calzolari and Ronca proposed three more rings of spectator rows, set vertically.

The higher decks were reached through 19 spiraling ramps, each 200 meters long. The tallest of the three rings was abandoned during construction, and the number of visitors was limited to 100,000. The capacity was then lowered to 60,000 seats and 25,000 standing for security concerns.

The stadium was named after

(1910–1979), a legendary Milanese player, on March 2, 1980. Inter fans used to refer to the stadium as Stadio Meazza because of Meazza's closer ties to the club (14 years as a player, three stints as manager). In recent years, however, both Inter and Milan fans have referred to the stadium simply as San Siro.

San Siro's most recent significant refurbishment, which cost $60 million and was completed in time for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, took place between 1987 and 1990.

The stadium was modernized by raising its capacity to 85,000 people and adding a roof. The work was given to the architects Giancarlo Ragazzi and Enrico Hoffer, as well as the engineer Leo Finzi, by the Municipality of Milan.

A third ring was added to improve capacity, and it is supported by eleven support towers and ringed by helical ramps that allow public access. Four of the eleven concrete towers were positioned at the corners to support a new roof with projecting red girders.

A museum tracing the history of A. C. Milan and Inter was opened within the stadium in 1996, with historical jerseys, cups and trophies, shoes, art artifacts, and souvenirs of all types on exhibit for visitors.

Future plans

Now that we have talked about the history of the field, we can move on to the future plans that the officials have about this field and in this section of

top facts about San Siro

we will talk about this matter. AC Milan and Internazionale revealed their plans to build a new stadium to replace San Siro on June 24, 2019.

The proposed 60,000-seat stadium, which would be built next to San Siro and ready for the 2022–23 season, is expected to cost US$800 million. The new stadium's design is claimed to be inspired by the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The current Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, and the comune of Milan have requested more time, stating that San Siro would be retained at least until the 2026 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics, which will be hosted in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Several supporters of both clubs expressed suspicion and resistance to the proposed idea.

A. C. Milan and Internazionale revealed two prospective designs for a new stadium next to the existing ground, provisionally dubbed the Nuovo Stadio Milano, on September 26, 2019, created by Populous and MANICA, respectively.

On May 22, 2020, Italy's heritage authority stated that it has no issues regarding the demolition of San Siro.

San Siro name

This field is known by 2 names about which we will talk in this section of top facts about San Siro.

The stadium was formerly known as San Siro, after the district in which it was built. The stadium was then renamed Stade Giuseppe-Meazza in 1980. Indeed, following the death of interist champion Giuseppe Meazza, who also played for AC Milan from 1940 to 1942, the stadium was renamed after him in 1979.

San Siro was the nickname given to Stark's Park, the home stadium of Scottish club

, who were dubbed San Starko by their fans.

You should also be aware of this fact of top facts about San Siro that when Inter Milan plays at home, the stadium is referred to as the Giuseppe-Meazza, and when AC Milan plays at home, the stadium is referred to as the San Siro.

San Siro important matches

In 2003 and 2005, San Siro hosted two Milan derby Champions League knockout ties, both of which A.C. Milan won. Inter received a huge fine and a four-game ban on spectators attending European matches in the following season as a result of their fans' response to approaching defeat in the 2005 match.

Here is another fact of the top facts about San Siro; the Italian national team plays games there on occasion, in addition to Milan and Inter.

It was also used for the European Cup finals in 1965 (won by Inter), 1970 (won by Feyenoord), 2001 (won by FC Bayern Munich) and 2016 (won by

).

The stadium has hosted the home leg of three UEFA Cup finals in which Inter participated (1991, 1994, and 1997), when the competition was split into two legs.

It was also utilized by

for their 'home' leg in 1995 when they elected not to play their most important matches at their own Stadio Delle Alpi.

Except for 1991, the second leg was played in San Siro, and the victors were presented with the trophy there. Since the tournament switched to a single-match final format in 1997–98, the stadium has yet to be chosen as the host stadium.

San Siro has never held a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, but it did hold the Latin Cup in 1951, a four-team tournament won by A.C. Milan. The city hosted the 1956 edition of the Latin Cup (which Milan also won), although the matches were held in Arena Civica.

The Associated Press branded the UEFA Champions League match between Bergamo team Atalanta B.C. and Spanish club

at San Siro on February 19 as "Game Zero" amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.

The match was the first time

had advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League, and it drew a crowd of over 40,000 people—roughly one-third of Bergamo's population.

By the 24th of March, about 7,000 people in the province of Bergamo had tested positive for COVID-19, and over 1,000 people had died as a result of the virus, making Bergamo the pandemic's hardest-hit province in Italy.

San Siro derby

As mentioned before we are going to talk about the derby which takes place in this field in this section of top facts about San Siro.

The Derby Della Madonnina, commonly known as the Derby di Milano (Milan Derby), is a football match between Internazionale and A.C. Milan, two major Milanese clubs. Derby Della Madonnina is named after one of Milan's most famous attractions, the Madonnina, a statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the Duomo ("Little Madonna" in Italian).

Internazionale (abbreviated to Inter) was once considered the club of the Milan bourgeoisie (nicknamed bauscia, a Milanese term meaning "braggart"), whereas Milan (nicknamed casciavid, a Lombard term meaning "screwdriver" in reference to the blue-collar worker) was primarily supported by the working class.

Inter supporters had the "luxury" of riding their motorcycles to the San Siro stadium because of their wealthier ancestors (motoretta, another nickname given to the Nerazzurri). The Rossoneri, on the other hand, was also known as tramvee. This disparity has essentially disappeared today.

This cross-town rivalry has expanded to include the Coppa Italia, Champions League, and Supercoppa Italiana, as well as lesser events and friendlies, and occurs at least twice a year through league fixtures.

San Siro other uses

The opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be placed in the San Siro Stadium, according to Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala on October 29th.

Sala is going on with plans to build a new stadium in the City with the help of Serie A giants AC Milan and Inter Milan, according to 'ESPN' (Milan).

"Regardless of the date of when the new stadium will be built, the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be conducted in the current stadium, with a respect to its wonderful heritage," he stated following a meeting with representatives from both teams.

The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXV Olympic Winter Games and sometimes known as Milano Cortina 2026, are an anticipated international multisport event set to take place in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from February 6th to February 22nd, 2026.

San Siro transportation

What is the best route to take to get to the stadium? In this last section of top facts about San Siro, we have prepared a full guide on all the possible routes that will take you to San Siro.

San Siro is located in the western part of Milan, around 5 kilometers from the city center and more than 7 kilometers from the central train station.

If coming by automobile from Turin (A4), Genova (A7), or Bologna (Autostrada del Sole), take the Tangenziale Ovest to exit 3 for the Via Novara. From the highway, signs will take you to the stadium.

If approaching from the direction of Venezia, use the Viale Certosa exit. Following the exit signs, you will be directed to the stadium.

San Siro is easily accessible by metro, thanks to the newly opened magenta M5 line. San Siro Ippodromo and San Siro Stadio are the closest stations, both of which are a short walk from the stadium.

The M5 line runs north of Milan's city center, past Garibaldi station, and most central locations will require a change at either Lotto (red M1 line) or Garibaldi station (green M2 line). The journey from Piazza Duomo to the stadium takes a little about 20 minutes.

Alternatively, tram 16 may take you to the stadium. Take the tram from the city center (west of Piazza Duomo) to San Siro Stadio, the line's final stop. It takes roughly half an hour to get there.

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top facts about San Siro

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