The Derby d’Italia is never a match like any other. Juventus and Inter represent two different approaches to football, two histories that have been intertwined for over a century, two fan bases that view each other with pride and suspicion. It’s a rivalry that transcends the pitch, marked by controversy, historic episodes, and moments that remain etched in the collective memory. In Turin, we’ve seen indelible pages written. Prestigious victories, stinging defeats, refereeing incidents that still fuel debate today.
Below, five matches from the last thirty years that have left their mark more than others, not only for the result but for the context, the emotions, and the prize at stake. Five chapters that recount the grandeur and complexity of an eternal duel.
April 26, 1998: Juventus 1-0 Inter (Stadio Delle Alpi)
The first match that cannot be left out of this selection is the 1-0 win from 1998, scored by Alessandro Del Piero. But the result only scratched the surface of a match that, even today, is remembered as one of the most controversial in the history of Italian football.
The heart of the story is the 70th-minute incident: Ronaldo Nazario entered the penalty area and was knocked down by Iuliano. Referee Ceccarini let the game continue, much to everyone’s surprise. On the counterattack, Juventus was awarded a penalty for a foul on Del Piero: the captain himself stepped up to take the spot, but missed. Despite the error, Juve managed to maintain their lead and take home three crucial points in the Scudetto race.
The penalty denied to Ronaldo immediately became a national sensation. Inter coach Gigi Simoni stormed onto the pitch in a rage while the ball was in play and was physically carried off. The match became a symbol of the endless controversies surrounding refereeing in Italy, an episode that still in 2025 continues to divide fans and commentators. It is the perfect example of how Juve-Inter transcends football, becoming a battleground in the media, politics and sport.
November 29, 2003: Juventus 1-3 Inter (Delle Alpi Stadium)
Five years later, again at the Delle Alpi, the scene was completely different. This time, it was the Nerazzurri who were celebrating, with a 3-1 triumph that remains among Inter’s most resounding victories in Turin in the 2000s.
Inter, led by Zaccheroni, showed character and quality, overwhelming a Juventus side that rarely collapsed with such a roar at home. The scorers: Julio Cruz x2 and Obafemi Martins. Inter played with clarity, scoring in key moments and annihilating the Bianconeri, who under Marcello Lippi were accustomed to imposing their game.
That match was an important signal: it showed that, even in Turin, Inter could not only win, but do so with authority. For the Nerazzurri fans, it remains a proud evening, for the Bianconeri, a wound hard to forget. It was the Derby d’Italia that reaffirmed that, in a duel of this magnitude, no one could feel safe, not even in their own “stronghold”.
March 25, 2012: Juventus 2-0 Inter (Juventus Stadium)
The third chapter takes us to the Juventus Stadium, inaugurated a few months earlier. On March 25, 2012, Antonio Conte’s Juventus won 2-0 with goals from Martín Cáceres and Alessandro Del Piero.
It was a significant victory for two reasons. The first is that Juventus team was undefeated in the league and was laying the foundations for a period that would dominate Serie A for a decade. Inter, on the other hand, was in a transitional phase, with inconsistent results and a technical project that was not yet defined.
The second reason is purely emotional: Del Piero’s goal. At 37, coming off the bench, Alex made it 2-0 with a low right-footed shot into the corner, assisted by Vidal. It was his last goal in Turin for Juventus against Inter. All of this takes on enormous symbolic value. One of the last, almost theatrical, shouts to his fans, in a Derby d’Italia that also becomes a sort of farewell. In that moment, history and rivalry merge into a single applause that sweeps through the Stadium.
November 3, 2012: Juventus 1-3 Inter (Juventus Stadium)
Just a few months later, the story took a different turn. On November 3, 2012, Andrea Stramaccioni’s Inter inflicted Juventus’s first league defeat in over a year, winning 3-1 in Turin.
The statistics were shocking: the Bianconeri had gone 49 games unbeaten between 2011 and 2012. A streak that seemed unstoppable, on the verge of equaling Fabio Capello’s AC Milan’s all-time record (58 games unbeaten). Inter broke everything, interrupting a run that seemed destined to rewrite history.
It was one of Inter’s most significant victories in recent memory, not only for the result but for what it represented: defeating Juventus in their new fortress, in a stadium that was becoming synonymous with total domination and instilling fear in opponents. That evening, Andrea Stramaccioni became the unexpected hero. For Juve, however, it is a defeat that hurts a lot, but which reinforces the narrative of their eternal rivalry.
March 8, 2020: Juventus 2-0 Inter (Allianz Stadium)
The fifth match chosen is remembered not so much for the result itself (2-0, with goals from Ramsey and Dybala), but more for the context. It was March 8, 2020, the first Derby d’Italia played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The images of the deserted stadium remain etched in our memory: a surreal silence accompanies the match, in an atmosphere that already heralded a total lockdown. Juventus and Inter take to the field with the stars of the moment, above all Cristiano Ronaldo, but the setting is ghostly, almost unreal.
Dybala‘s goal, a technical gem, becomes the symbol of a football that sought normality in a suddenly upended world. More than a match, that evening was a manifesto of resilience, an indelible reminder of how the Derby d’Italia became intertwined with global news.
The Stage is Set
Five matches, five stories that demonstrate how Juventus-Inter in Turin is much more than a football match. It’s a rivalry, because every victory and every defeat weighs like millstones in the collective memory. It’s a controversy, because episodes like Ronaldo’s in 1998 continue to divide the country. It’s a legacy, because not just two teams take to the field, but two symbols of Italian and European football.
The past has taught us that there are no ordinary matches in this competition. Every time Juventus and Inter meet, the stadium becomes a stage, the crowd chants, and the players become protagonists in a performance that combines sport and passion. History is already written, but every kick-off is also a new beginning.
On Saturday at 6:00 PM, at the Allianz Stadium, the curtain will rise and the Derby d’Italia will once again be ready to deliver another unforgettable chapter.