Nickname: I Nerazzurri (The Black and Blues), La Beneamata (The Cherished One), Il Biscione (The Big Grass Snake), Il Serpente (The Serpent), Baüscia (Boasters in Lombard language)
Founded: 1908
Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 9 - 20122 Italy
Phone: +39 02-77151
Fax: +39 02-781514
Email: interchannel@inter.it
Official URL: http://www.inter.it
Chairman: Massimo Moratti
Club Director: Marco Branca
Stadium: Giuseppe meazza-Milan (Capacity: 80,074)
Inter Milan History
Inter Milan : 1908
At the beginning of the century, Milan derbies did not exist. At that time there was only "Milan Cricket and Football Club" (now AC Milan). But on 9 March 1908, a group of rebels form "Football Club Internazionale Milano". The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians, hence the name Internazionale. Indeed, the first captain of the side is a Swiss player - Hernst Manktl. The club colours are gold, black and blue, a tradition which has been kept right up to the present day.Inter Milan : 1910
Inter win the Italian league for the first time. The captain of the championship-winning team is Virgilio Fossati, who several years later dies in World War I. But even without Fossati, Inter win their second title in 1920.Inter Milan : 1930
During the Fascist era, the club is forced to merge with the Milanese Unione Sportiva and the team wins its third Scudetto under the name of Ambrosiana Inter.Inter Milan : 1934
Nerazzurri Allemandi, Castellazzi, Demaria and the legendary Giuseppe Meazza win the World Cup with the Italian national team in Rome in 1934. Two years later, Frossi and Locatelli win the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics.Inter Milan : 1938
Inter players Ferraris II, Ferrari, Locatelli and Meazza are involved in the Azzurri set-up that wins the 1938 World Cup in Paris. The same year, Inter win their fourth Scudetto, while the clubs first Coppa Italia success comes in 1939. Another league title arrives in 1940, while the name Ambrosiana is abandoned in October 1945, after which the club returns to its previous name Inter.Inter Milan : 1947
Giuseppe Meazza plays the last of his 408 official matches in an Inter shirt. The Inter striker, who attains legend status with his 287 goals for the club, dies in 1979, and a year later the San Siro stadium is named in his honour.Inter Milan : 1953
The Nerazzurri win their sixth Scudetto in 1953 and repeat the success a year later thanks to four great protagonists Italian Benito "Veleno" Lorenzi, Swede Skoglund Dutchman Wilkes and the stateless Nyers.Inter Milan : 1963
The "Great Inter" era begins. The club president is Angelo Moratti, the coach is Helenio Herrera and the line-up is unforgettable: Sarti, Burgnich, Facchetti, Bedin, Guarneri, Picchi, Jair, Mazzola, Milani (Domenghini), Suarez, and Corso. The Great Inter side win three Serie A titles (in 1964, 1965 and 1966 the latter is the tenth Scudetto which allows the club to wear one gold star on their shirts), two European Cups (in 1964 against Real Madrid and 1965 against Benfica) and two Intercontinental Cups (in 1964 and 1965, both against Argentine outfit Independiente). In 1964, Suarez wins the European championship with the Spanish national team.Inter Milan : 1968
Burgnich, Domenghini, Facchetti, Guarneri and Mazzola contribute to the Italian national team's success at the 1968 European championship in Rome. Three years later, the Nerazzurri win their eleventh Scudetto under the guidance of coach Gianni Invernizzi.Inter Milan : 1982
After the twelfth Serie A title won in 1980, Altobelli, Bergomi, Bordon, Marini and Oriali win the World Cup with Italy in Madrid in 1982Inter Milan : 1989
Inter win their thirteenth Scudetto in 1989, garnering a record 58 points from 34 matches (two points awarded for a win). A year later at Italia '90, Inter's German trio of Brehme, Klinsmann and Matthaeus win the World Cup in Rome. The same year, Lothar Matthaeus becomes the first Inter player to be awarded the prestigious European Player of the Year award.Inter Milan : 1991
On 22 May 1991, exactly 26 years since their last international success, Inter defeat Roma 2-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup final. Matthaeus and Berti score for the Nerazzurri in the first leg at the Meazza. Inter defeat Salzburg in the final three years later to win their second UEFA Cup. Matthaeus becomes the first winner of the FIFA World Player awardInter Milan : 1998
Ronaldo becomes the second Inter player to win the FIFA World Player award and the second to win the coveted Ballon d'Or. Inter lose out on the Scudetto after a long duel with rivals Juventus, but beat Lazio 3-0 in Paris to lift their third UEFA Cup. Frenchman Djorkaeff beats Brazilian Ronaldo in another prestigious match played in Paris - the 1998 World Cup final.Inter Milan : 2000
On 12 April, the world is struck by Ronaldo's injury during the Coppa Italia final against Lazio. The "Phenomenon" makes a return to the pitch and scores again in the 2001/02 season. In the meantime, Nerazzurri defender Laurent Blanc is part of the French side that beats Italy in the final of Euro 2000.Inter Milan : 2001
The season concludes with Inter overtaking AC Milan to finish 5th in the Serie A championship. During the summer, a "Ronaldo Day" is held to celebrate the Phenomenon's return to competitive football. In November, one of Inter's most legendary players, the unforgettable full-back Giacinto Facchetti, becomes vice president of the club. Unfortunately, in December, Inter fan par excellence and vice president of the Beneamata Avv. Giuseppe Prisco passes away two days after his eightieth birthday.Inter Milan : 2002
Inter go very close to winning their fourteenth Scudetto. Leaders going into the last match of the season and with a one-point advantage over Juventus, they lose 4-2 away to Lazio at Rome's Olimpico stadium. The Scudetto goes to Juventus, while Roma beat Inter into second place. Just as in 1967, the last match of the championship is fatal to the Nerazzurri.Inter Milan : 2004
Hector Cuper guides Inter to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League and a historic two-legged 'Euroderby' with AC Milan. The Nerazzurri lose out on the away goals rule.Inter Milan : 2005
Roberto Mancini's debut season as Inter coach ends with the club's first trophy in seven years - a 3-0 Coppa Italia final victory over Roma thanks to a brace from Adriano at the Olimpico and a Sinisa Mihajlovic free kick at the Giuseppe Meazza. The Nerazzurri, who finish third in the Serie A and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, lose just three matches in 2004/05. In August Inter lift the Italian Super Cup for the second time in their history with a 1-0 victory over Juventus at Turin's Delle Alpi Stadium. Juan Sebastian Veron scores the winning goal.Inter Milan : 2006
In a repeat of the 2005 Coppa Italia final Inter beat Roma over two legs (1-1 at the Olimpico, 3-1 at the Giuseppe Meazza) to retain the trophy. Julio Cruz scores in both matches, with Cambiasso and Martins the other two Nerazzurri players on target. Two months later Inter are officially awarded their 14th Serie A title by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after a sports tribunal strips Juventus of the Scudetto in the wake of the match-fixing scandal. In the 2006/07 season curtain raiser in August, Inter come back from three goals down to beat Roma 4-3 in extra time at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and retain the Italian Super Cup.Inter Milan : 2007
Marco Materazzi scores twice at Siena's Stadio Franchi on 22 April 2007 as the Nerazzurri wrap up their second consecutive league title with a 2-1 away victory over Siena. Inter secure their 15th Serie A title with five games to spare, with 26 wins, 6 draws and just 1 defeat from 33 games. Robero Mancini becomes the third coach in Inter history to win back-to-back league titles after Alfredo Foni (1952/53 and 1953/54) and Helenio Herrera (1964/65 and 1965/66).Inter Milan : 2008
Zlatan Ibrahimovic comes off the bench to score twice as Inter win 2-0 at Parma on the final day of the Serie A campaign and seal a third consecutive Scudetto in the club's centenary season. Just two months after the spectacular 100th anniversary celebrations and hours after the win in Parma, Inter fans pack the Giuseppe Meazza again as the Nerazzurri are awarded their 16th league title.Inter Milan : 2009
Inter win a fourth consecutive Serie A title without kicking a ball after AC Milan lose 2-1 against Udinese in a Saturday fixture. Mourinho's men celebrate the title the following day in front of the home fans with a 3-0 victory over Siena. The Nerazzurri's bid to win a fifth Italian Super Cup ends in defeat at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing as Inter are beaten 2-1 by Lazio.Inter Milan : 2010
Inter's 2009/10 campaign is the most successful in the club's history as José Mourinho's side make a clean sweep of domestic and European honours. Diego Milito scores against Roma to win us the Coppa Italia, nets again against Siena to wrap up the Serie A title, and bags a brace against Bayern Munich in Madrid to add the Champions League and complete an unprecedented treble - no Italian team had ever won the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and European Champions Cup in the same season. In June, Spanish tactician Rafael Benitez is named the new coach of Inter.The Early Years
Inter Milan was founded in March of 1908 under the name of Internazionale Football Club Milano, by a group of visionaries who wished to give foreigners a chance to play football alongside Italians. Its founding fathers split from the Milan Cricket and Football Club (A.C. Milan), thus creating a fierce rivalry that is still present a century later.From the club’s onset, it was open to accepting foreigners, hence the name of Internazionale. The Club won its first Scudetto in 1910 under the direction of their captain Virgilio Fossati, who would subsequently perish in World War One.
Their second title would come ten years later in 1920 but then the club was thrown into turmoil by the fascist regime led by Benito Mussolini. The regime’s hard-line tactics forced the club to merge with Milanese Unione Sportiva and the club won its third Scudetto under the name of Ambrosiana Inter in 1930.
A fourth league title followed eight years later due to the brilliance of striker Giuseppe Meazza. Meazza played for the Nerazzurri for 13 years and is still the club's record goalscorer with 245 goals in 350 appearances. He was later immortalized when the stadium at San Siro was renamed after him one year after his death.
Inter’s fifth Scudetto was won in 1940 and a few months after the Second World War ended, the club re-emerged under the name of Internazionale. They won back-to-back championships in 1953 and 1954, before entering the golden age of their history, remembered as the era of La Grande Inter.
La Grande Inter
President Angelo Moratti ushered in a new glorious era in the 1960s in which one of the greatest teams in European club football history was created. Led by Coach Helenio Herrera, Inter won three league titles in 1963, 1965 & 1966 while also capturing two straight European, and Intercontinental Cups in 1964 & 1965.
Herrera was a strict disciplinarian who ruled with an iron fist. Nicknamed 'Il Mago', The Magician, he was years ahead of his time and was a pioneer in revolutionizing the Catenaccio tactical system. In Herrera's model of the defensive formation, a sweeper was added to the back-line. The Argentine also stressed the importance of fitness and diets in the ever evolving game of football.
This glorious Inter team included some of the all-time greats of European football - Giacinto Facchetti, Sandro Mazzola, Luis Suarez and Mario Corso to name just a few.
The squad could have even secured more success but for a couple of near-misses. They lost in a Scudetto play-off to Bologna in 1964 and were runners-up to Celtic in the final of the 1967 European Cup. Setting record after record, they also went more than three years without losing a home game between 1964 and 1967.
Trapattoni Years
Following this golden era, Inter went on to win another Scudetto in 1971 and 1980 before another great team was assembled under another legendary Coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Inter stormed to their 13th Serie A title in 1989, winning an incredible 26 of their 34 games.
During Trapattoni's tenure, the Nerazzurri possessed the German triumvirate of Brehme, Klinsmann and Mattheus, as well as defensive great Giuseppe Bergomi. Nicknamed 'The Uncle', Bergomi played for Inter for almost two decades from 1980 to 1999 and is the club's record appearance holder with 519. A Supercup victory to start the ensuing season reflected that good times were ahead for the club in the 1990s but this was the start of a Scudetto drought that would last for seventeen years.
The Domestic Drought
Inter won three UEFA Cup titles in 1991, 1994 and 1998 but the decade will be remembered for domestic failure and constant underachievement. The 1990s were the only decade in Inter’s history that they did not win at least one Scudetto while their rivals, AC Milan and Juventus flourished in both domestic and European competitions.
Inter hold the honorable distinction of being the only club to have never been relegated from Serie A but that feat was almost relinquished when they finished just one point from the relegation zone in 1994.
Massimo Moratti, the oil tycoon and son of the great Angelo Moratti, took over the club in 1995 and immediately invested hundreds of millions of his own money in a bid to bring back the glory years. This led to the high-profile purchases of the likes of Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Hernan Crespo.
Moratti almost brought a Scudetto to the Nerazzurri faithful in 1998 but could not overtake Juventus after a season-long duel. A title-decider at the Delle Alpi when Juventus won 1-0 in controversial circumstances proved to be crucial.
May 5, 2002 is a day that will forever live in infamy for Inter supporters. Hector Cuper's men just needed to win their last game of the season away at Lazio to finally re-capture the Scudetto but despite twice leading, the team collapsed in the second-half, losing 4-2 and handing the title to Juventus.
The Scudetto At Last
Inter were awarded the Scudetto in 2006 as a result of the Calciopoli scandal that rocked Italian football. Juventus were relegated to the Serie B and stripped of their title, while AC Milan received a points deduction penalty that ultimately gave Inter their first title in 17 years.
It was a bittersweet moment for the club and its supporters as they wished that the Scudetto could have been won on the field instead of in the courtroom. The following year, Coach Roberto Mancini led his team to a record of 17 consecutive Serie A victories on the way to their 15th Scudetto.
The club set a plethora of records on the way and won the title with five games to spare, yet critics and pundits point out that, due to Juventus' relegation and Milan's points penalty, it was a weakened Serie A. This season the club is celebrating its centenary year and are donning a new white jersey with a red cross to honour its rich 100 years of history.
Inter Milan : Trophy Cabinet
Domestic Honours
Serie A: 1909–10; 1919–20; 1929–30; 1937–38; 1939–40; 1952–53; 1953–54; 1962–63; 1964–65; 1965–66; 1970–71; 1979–80; 1988–89; 2005–06; 2006–07Coppa Italia: 1938–39; 1977–78; 1981–82; 2004–05; 2005–06
Supercoppa Italiana: 1988–89; 2005–06; 2006–07
European and International Honours
UEFA Champions League: 1963–64; 1964–65UEFA Cup: 1990–91; 1993–94; 1997–98
World Club Championship: 1964; 1965
Inter Milan records
Most appearances: Giuseppe Bergomi (758)Most goals: Giuseppe Meazza (288)
Record victory: Inter 16-0 Vicenza Calcio (First Division, 10 January 1915)
Record defeat: Juventus 9-1 Inter (Serie A, 10 June 1961)
