Inter’s team sheet against Venezia carries a family split and a competitive one. Aleksandar Stankovic has been picked for his first start by Cristian Chivu, while his older brother Filip starts in goal for Venezia, setting up the first meeting between the two in an official match.
Football Italia, citing TuttoMercatoWeb, reported that the brothers had previously shared a pitch only as Serbia teammates, not as opponents. Their father Dejan Stankovic, part of Inter’s 2010 treble side, is at the Penzo to watch it.
The sentiment is obvious enough. The pressure is not decorative. Inter need three points to pull level again with Lazio at the top, which turns Aleksandar’s first start from a family milestone into a serious assignment. He is not being eased in for a harmless occasion; he has been placed in a midfield three in a game with table consequences.
That matters because Inter made a deliberate choice to bring him back. Aleksandar came through the club’s youth system, left for Club Brugge in 2025, and returned after Inter activated a reported €23 million buyback clause. Football Italia said he then signed through 2031. A buyback is the easy part. The harder part is deciding when the player stops being a project and starts being responsible for points. Chivu has made that call here.
Filip’s side of the story is less sentimental than it looks as well. He also emerged from Inter’s system, but Venezia signed him permanently in 2024, with Inter retaining a 50% sell-on clause, according to Football Italia. He has since extended his Venezia contract to 2030. For a goalkeeper, the family angle lasts until kick-off; after that, every save is a professional inconvenience to the club that raised him.
There is evidence he can be one. Football Italia noted that Filip already kept a clean sheet in Venezia’s 1-0 win over Napoli in Davide Nicola’s first game in charge. If Inter expected a soft night for Aleksandar’s first start, the fixture offers no such charity.
What changes in games like this is not bloodline but decision-making under noise. Aleksandar has his first start because Inter believe he can help control a match they need to win. Filip has his place because Venezia believe he can spoil it. Dejan Stankovic gets the rarest view in the ground: one son trying to drag Inter level with the leaders, the other trying to stop him.
Harvey Jr. 
Marcus Azzopardi 
Gabriel Fenech