This story was originally published on Sep. 5, 2022. It was included in a year-end list of SI’s best stories of 2022.
On the eve of the Milan derby in the northwest corner of the city, a queue crawls around a tattoo parlor covered in chicken-scratch graffiti. Teeming with slow-moving Friday traffic, the street features as many kebab restaurants as pizzerias. If Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world, Armani and Versace must have missed this part of town.
The people waiting outside the tattoo parlor take numbers like they are at a deli counter. Taped to the walls are six red-and-black mock-ups of tattoos with words like “Milan Forever” and “AC Milan 1899.” Tattoos that would normally cost €150 are free, sponsored by the club. Many of the fans waiting in line say they already have the logo inked, so they opt for more symbolic renditions like the year of the club’s founding.
