10 Most Fearsome Rivalries In World Football

9. AC Milan - Internazionale / "Derby Della Madonnina"

In one of Italy€™s many fierce rivalries, the Milan derby pits AC Milan against heinous rivals Inter within the bombastic confines of the San Siro stadia.

With a hatred stretching back to the split of the original Milanese football club into two separate organisations over a heated dispute about the employment of foreign players in the early 1900€™s, the antagonism between the two clubs has become synonymous within Italy and across the football world.

Violence has constantly marred the fixture throughout its raucous history due to the emphatic strength of the partisan devotion shown by the ultras from the two Milan clubs.

Incidents in recent seasons of crowd disruption have been rife, with one memorable show of supporter-hatred coming when the Inter ultras struck AC Milan €˜keeper Dida with a flare in the 2005 Champions League knock-out stage.

The standard in quality of players these two sides have at their disposal has dropped significantly in the last decade or so, thus quelling the intense rivalry to a certain degree, but whenever these two sides meet - the San Siro and its surrounding streets can become a warzone.