Football fans are just realising why Inter Milan’s badge is black and blue – and it’s actually very simple

INTER MILAN are set for their first Champions League semi-final in 13 years on Wednesday evening.

Both legs of their tie come at the San Siro against bitter rivals AC Milan as Simone Inzaghi’s side bid to claim a fourth European crown.

Inter Milan’s iconic blue and black saw them nicknamed the “Nerazzurri”Instagram / @inter

Inter have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since 2010AP

And while the intrigue of their rivals’ badge comes from the cross on their emblem, the interesting part of Inter’s comes in the form of their chosen colours.

The blue and black combination represents the sky and the night.

This explains their nickname, the Nerazzurri, with “Ner” meaning black and “Azzurri” meaning blue.

They are also known affectionately as The Grass Snake or Serpente.

This relates to the emblem of the House of Visconte – a Milan family who controlled the city in the 13th century.

What’s more, the circle of the badge holds within it the letters “FCIM” – which stand for FC Inter Milan.

The club crest was first created in 1908 and modernised in 2014 – but has principally remained the same.

And Inter will be hoping the 2022/23 campaign is a memorable one.

They last celebrated a European triumph under Jose Mourinho, beating Bayern Munich to lift the Champions League in 2010.

The victory added to their back-to-back European titles in 1964 and 1965.

But standing in their way are bitter rivals AC Milan, before a potential final against either Real Madrid or Manchester City.