Inter Milan beats intracity rival AC Milan 2-0, far from foggy San Siro

Far from home, Inter Milan tops rival AC Milan 2-0

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — They were 3,800 miles from foggy San Siro, and that’s not all that was different for Inter Milan and AC Milan when they met outside of Italy for just the third time in 101 years.

“Certainly the focus will be on league play,” Inter striker Diego Milito said Sunday after leading the Italian League champions to a 2-0 victory over AC Milan in an exhibition known as the World Football Challenge. “But I want to help the team do well, and to honor the shirt that wearing every time I put it on.”

The crowd of 42,531 leaned toward AC Milan, and the fans were quieted in the fourth minute when Milito chased the ball down to the left of the goal and left-footed it off goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac and inside the near post. He gave Inter a 2-0 lead in the 75th minute on a 2-on-1 break with Dejan Stankovic, who passed to Milito for a shot that bounced off and over the keeper into the net.

The clubs last played outside of Italy when they met at Yankee Stadium in 1969; before that, it was a match in Chiasso, Switzerland, in 1908.

“For me, there’s no such thing as a friendly game,” said defender Oguchi Onyewu, the first American ever to play for Milan. “I don’t go out there hoping to lose, or expecting to lose. I go out there trying to give it my all.”

Milan and Chelsea sold out the 71,000-seat home stadium of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens on Friday night. But Sunday’s match on a warm New England afternoon was played with the upper deck half-closed and the lower bowl empty at one end because the seats were obstructed by the enormous stage for Tuesday night’s AC/DC concert. (Also obstructed was the press box, forcing the media to be relocated into luxury suites.)

But Sunday’s crowd wasn’t concerned about the headbanging of AC/DC as much as the head-passing of AC Milan. And the home stadium of NFL genius Bill Belichick, who guided the New England Patriots to an 18-0 record before losing the 2008 Super Bowl, proved to be a fitting host for Inter coach Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed “Special One” who guided Inter to its fourth straight Italian Serie A title after losing in the first knockout round of the Champions League.

Mourinho did not address the media after the game, probably because he does not want to discuss the pending transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The star forward was not with the team and is expected in Barcelona on Monday for a physical that would complete the deal that would send striker Samuel Eto’o, midfielder Aleksandr Hleb and $64 million to the Italian champions.

Although the rivalry between the Milan teams has been bitter, there was little animosity for Sunday’s friendly and even a few smiles — and gasps from the crowd — when Jorge Gonzalez held up a red card for Milan’s Ronaldinho in the 34th minute. The referee quickly realized his mistake, smiled and replaced it with a yellow one.

Inter was rarely tested, though Julio Cesar made a pair of tough saves at around the 70th minute, when it was still 1-0, and another on Alessandro Nesta in stoppage time, just before the final whistle.

“This is preseason. It shouldn’t be a precursor to anything,” Onyewu said. “By no means is this a reflection of how the games are going to go during the season.”

Missing from the Milan lineup were Clarence Seedorf, who injured his leg on Friday night; Filippo Inzaghi, who is one of the club’s top forwards; and the team’s top two goalkeepers. Milan coach Leonardo also bemoaned a schedule that had his team play three times since Wednesday; Inter had not played since meeting Chelsea last Tuesday.

“I think you have a lot of problems with injuries. It’s not easy to manage,” he said. “To play each two days a match, it’s impossible.”