Beppe Marotta feels the Champions League semi-final Derby della Madonnina is ‘a reason for Italian football, the city of Milan and the clubs to feel proud’ and explains Inter’s Serie A struggles.
It kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
These sides have already met three times this season, with a win apiece in Serie A and Inter taking the Supercoppa Italiana 3-0 in January, which was played on neutral turf in Saudi Arabia.
“It is certainly a reason for Italian football, the city of Milan and the two clubs to feel proud. It is a very, very exciting appointment,” Marotta told Amazon Prime Italia.
Even the most ambitious Inter fan probably would not have predicted they would reach the semi-final, especially when they were drawn in the group stage with the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
“It was a difficult run, but we deserved to be here and show that we worked so hard in an anomalous season where the World Cup was played in November and December. That had a knock-on effect for the clubs and we had ups and downs in Serie A that we did not show in the Champions League.”
Reports continue to circulate around Simone Inzaghi’s future, which may well depend on securing a top four finish, but Marotta insists the coach has some excuses for their Serie A setbacks.
“We will make an evaluation at the end of the season, but as of today we have participated in every competition with great honour and quality. The only black mark is Serie A, where we and other clubs gave up too early, also due to Napoli having an extraordinary campaign. So that is the only issue.”
Inter have already won the Supercoppa Italiana and will play against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia Final on May 24.
The club is also pocketing at least €82m just by playing in the Champions League semi-finals and would get close to €100m in revenue for reaching the Final.
“This extra budget will alleviate the losses, but we must still move towards sustainability,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.