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San Siro
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The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, more commonly called San Siro, is a football stadium in Milan, Italy. It is the home stadium for two of the most successful European clubs: AC Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano, and one of the most famous football stadiums in the world. Although it has been officially renamed in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the Internazionale and Milan player of the 1930s and 1940s, it is still commonly called the San Siro. With the spectators being so close to the pitch, the stands being so steep and with a large roof, it is considered to have one of the best atmospheres of any stadium in the world.
History
The stadium construction started in 1925 in the Milanese district of San Siro, which gave its original name.
Discussion
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Encyclopedia
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, more commonly called San Siro, is a football stadium in Milan, Italy. It is the home stadium for two of the most successful European clubs: AC Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano, and one of the most famous football stadiums in the world. Although it has been officially renamed in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the Internazionale and Milan player of the 1930s and 1940s, it is still commonly called the San Siro. With the spectators being so close to the pitch, the stands being so steep and with a large roof, it is considered to have one of the best atmospheres of any stadium in the world.
History
The stadium construction started in 1925 in the Milanese district of San Siro, which gave its original name. The idea to build a stadium in the same district as the horse racing track, belongs to the man who then was the president of AC Milan, Piero Pirelli. The architects designed a stadium only for football (there is no athletics track in it). The inauguration was on September 19, 1926, when 35,000 spectators saw Internazionale defeat Milan 6-3. Originally, the ground was home and property of AC Milan. In 1947 Internazionale became tenants and the two have shared the ground ever since. Although Giuseppe Meazza played for both Inter and Milan, he enjoyed more success at Inter and is more favoured by the Inter faithful; as a result, Milan fans favour the term San Siro for the ground.
As well as being used by Milan and Inter, the Italian national side also plays occasional games there and it has also been used for the 2000–01, 1969–1970 and 1964–65 Champions League/European Cup finals. The stadium was also used for UEFA Cup finals when played over home and away legs but has never featured since the competition changed to a single final structure in 1997–98.
The stadium underwent further renovations for the 1990 World Cup with $60 million being spent, bringing the stadium up to UEFA 5-star standard. As part of the renovations, the stadium became all seated, with an extra tier being added to 3 sides of the stadium. This entailed the building of 11 concrete towers around the outside of the stadium. Four of these concrete towers located at the corner to support a new roof which has distinctive protruding red girders.
Both Milan and Inter are in the process of new stadium feasibility studies
Renovations
- 1939 End stands enlarged and corners filled in. A crowd of 55,000 for Italy 2 England 2.
- 1939 65,000 for Italy vs. Germany.
- 1940 Completion of two tiers giving a claimed capacity of 150,000 but actually around 125,000.
- 1952 April 25, in front of 125,000 spectators for Italy - Brazil 3-0 (Goals: Virgili 2, De Sordi).
- After the Heysel Stadium disaster the capacity was reduced to 90,000 in the mid 1980s.
- 1987, as a preparation for the 1990 World Cup the Italian government gave the Milanese council $30 million for its modernization, but in the end, the cost was more than double that. Project 1990 by Ragazzi e Hoffner e Salvi: 11 concrete towers of 50 meters in height. Of the 11 towers, 4 at each corner, protruded above the 3rd tier as support for the new roof.
- 1990 Third tier completed on three sides giving an all seated capacity of 85,700.
- 2002 Sky Box: 20 for 200 seats. 400 all-seats for journalists.
- Future renovation may involve the completion of the 3rd tier on the east side of the stadium, although this would involve purchasing land from the present Hippodrome, behind the stadium.
Pitch
- Length: 105 metres
- Width: 68 metres
- Inauguration: September 19 1926
Average attendances
| 1980–81 | 31,282 | 42,248 | | | | 1981–82 | 45,781 | 43,970 | | | | 1982–83 | 35,111 | 45,171 | | | | 1983–84 | 53,136 | 43,388 | | | | 1984–85 | 60,941 | 52,572 | | | | 1985–86 | 56,782 | 53,622 | | | | 1986–87 | 66,210 | 53,215 | | | | 1987–88 | 73,284 | 47,812 | Serie A | | | 1988–89 | 73,209 | 58,175 | European Cup | Serie A | | 1989–90 | 59,054 | 50,142 | European Cup | | | 1990–91 | 77,488 | 54,946 | | UEFA Cup | | 1991–92 | 77,868 | 48,783 | Serie A | | | 1992–93 | 75,830 | 45,126 | Serie A | | | 1993–94 | 65,708 | 49,469 | Serie A
UEFA Champions League | UEFA Cup | | 1994–95 | 56,659 | 40,523 | | | | 1995–96 | 60,973 | 46,873 | Serie A | | | 1996–97 | 55,894 | 50,806 | | | | 1997–98 | 54,432 | 67,825 | | UEFA Cup | | 1998–99 | 57,760 | 68,459 | Serie A | | | 1999–00 | 58,522 | 66,546 | | | | 2000–01 | 52,304 | 55,582 | | | | 2001–02 | 58,616 | 62,434 | | | | 2002–03 | 61,534 | 61,943 | Coppa Italia
UEFA Champions League | | | 2003–04 | 63,245 | 58,352 | Serie A | | | 2004–05 | 63,595 | 57,295 | | Coppa Italia | | 2005–06 | 59,993 | 51,371 | | Serie A*
Coppa Italia | | 2006–07 | 47,117 | 48,284 | UEFA Champions League | Serie A | | 2007-08 | 56,579 | 52,010 | | Serie A |
* = Inter awarded Serie A title in wake of Italian Match-fixing Scandal.
Capacity
Changes in capacity | Year | Total capacity |
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| 1926 | 26,000 | | 1939 | 55,000 | | 1940 | 150,000 | | 1952 | 100,000 | | 1955 | 85,000 | | 1988 | 72,000 | | 1990 | 88,500 | | 2002 | 85,700 | | 2003 | 82,955 | | 2008 | 80,018 |
Other events
Other than football matches, the San Siro has been host to many pop music concerts. Pino Daniele, Bruce Springsteen, Vasco Rossi, Ligabue and The Rolling Stones have headlined at the stadium more than once. The San Siro was also the venue for the boxing match between Duilio Loi vs. Carlos Ortiz for the Junior Welterweight title in 1960.
San Siro photo gallery
External links
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