Inter Milan vs AC Milan: All-time greatest combined XI

Inter Milan vs AC Milan; the Milan derby or Derby della Madonnina as it is called in native Italian, was once Italy’s answer to Spain’s much-vaunted El Clasico. The two clubs, who share the same stadium, the San Siro, named after one of their own legendary players, once boasted an array of superstars in their ranks which only made the derby more glamourous.The two sides share one of the most illustrious tales in history in Italy and were once the most decorated sides. Sadly with time, both the Nerazzurri and the Rossoneri have endured a dramatic fall from grace and the teams who once contested fiercely for the prestigious Scudetto, have now been reduced to mid-table minnows. The stellar names are long gone and so has the gloss of this cross-town rivalry.However, those names continue to grace the folklore of the Milan derby. Those names have left a lasting legacy and here we enumerate 11 of those names who form a team full of the all-time greatest Milan players in a combined XI.

#1 Goalkeeper: Walter Zenga (Inter Milan)

Having emerged through the ranks at Primavera (Inter’s academy), an 18-year old Walter Zenga back in 1978 was on the cusp of making it to the senior team. But realizing that he was unlikely to displace veteran Ivano Bordon from then Inter manager Eugenio Bersellini's line-up, Zenga made a wise decision to leave Inter Milan and embarked on his professional career with Italy’s lower division teams.

Four years later, when Bordon departed for Sampdoria in 1982, Zenga returned to his boyhood club and then there was no looking back. Zenga would go on to spend the next 12 years of his career with La Beneamata and also establish a reputation as one of the all-time greatest Inter Milan players.

Donning the No.1 shirt throughout his time at the San Siro outfit, his acrobatic saves, astonishing flexibility and excellent reflexes earned him the moniker “Spiderman”. He was pivotal to Inter’s surge to the summit of Europe’s footballing pyramid in the early 1990s and was also key to Italy’s strong performance at the 1990 World Cup, where he set the record for not conceding a single goal in 518 minutes – a record that still stands.