Sunday 9 March, 2008
Inter 100: Birthday Boys
Internazionale celebrate 100 years of existence today. Giancarlo Rinaldi wraps up a century of the Nerazzurri
Thank goodness the city of Milan has proved big enough for the both of them. In truth, the founders of the Football Club Internazionale di Milano could hardly have known what an amazing rivalry they were creating. Certainly, the 100 years which followed have seen them put their hometown so firmly on the footballing map that surely no other place on earth can boast a double act of more successful sides.
As with so many teams in Italy, there was a large slice of overseas influence in the creation of Inter. The exact details of the historic night of March 9, 1908, in a Milanese restaurant remain sketchy. However, it is clear that a large number of those present at the birth were from abroad - many of them Swiss nationals living in the city. A total of 43 names appear on the document which brought this new sporting organisation into the light of day.
It is hard to contemplate such romance now, but one of the prime movers of the time was an artist. Giorgio Muggiani was a famous caricaturist and would go on to be one of the pioneers of advertising. He drew up campaigns for world-renowned Italian brands like Cinzano, Pirelli and Martini. His greatest success, however, could arguably be said to be the matching of the colours black and blue in the Inter emblem.» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
From the outset, the Nerazzurri were the Rossoneri's upstart little brother. Set up by a group of dissidents from the older team they immediately enjoyed success. Within two years of their foundation they had pocketed their first League title - exactly mirroring their fraternal foes. It was the beginning of a soccer sibling rivalry which drove each team to bigger and better things.
That first Scudetto side was dominated by Swiss players. More than half of the squad came from across the border and the team became famous for its more northern European approach to the game. Fast forward about a century or so and it is not so hard to understand why the club has no qualms about forming a side entirely from overseas stars nowadays.
And, like some of Inter's more recent triumphs and disasters, that 1910 League crown did not come without some controversy. The Milanese club found itself tied on points with Pro Vercelli after 16 games and a play-off ensued. However, failure to agree on a date for the game to be played saw the provincial club send its youth team to the match. The records show that Inter won their first honour courtesy of a rather ridiculous 10-3 victory over their closest rivals.
However unusual the circumstances, that initial success announced the arrival of the Interisti as a major force in the Italian game. It was a role they would never forsake and they have remained in the nation's top Division for the rest of their history. Along the way they gathered enough silverware to make them one of the most famous names on the footballing planet.
By strange coincidence, the Gods of the game dictated that the initial successes of this giant in the making would always come at the start of a decade. After that win in 1910, Scudetti were to follow in 1920, 1930 and 1940, with only their 1938 victory breaking that rule. It was to take until 1950 before the Nerazzurri relinquished this curious 10-year cycle of domination.
It was in this period between the two World Wars that the club released Italian football's first genuine superstar on the game. History books recount that Giuseppe Meazza was given a trial with Milan, but they discarded him as being too lightweight to make the grade. A few good meals later, however, and they had gifted their bitter rivals the finest player of his generation.
He struck 240 League goals for Inter, won a couple of Scudetti, a Coppa Italia and a pair of World Cups. He also finished as Serie A's top scorer on three separate occasions. As football was starting to become a national phenomenon in Italy for the first time, he was its major celebrity. Little wonder the stadium where the Nerazzurri play still carries his name.
In that Fascist era, of course, his achievements were hijacked by the regime. However, it went one step further with the club itself. The name Internazionale was seen to have socialist overtones and so a conversion was deemed to be in order. Scour through the scrapbooks of Serie A and you will see that, from 1928 onwards, the club was given the more 'Italian' name Ambrosiana after the patron saint of Milan, St Ambrogio. It was not until 1945 that the previous title returned.
Although Inter missed out on their traditional appointment with the League title in 1950, it did not take long for them to get back to winning ways. Under Coach Alfredo Foni they are widely recognised as the first team to use a Catenaccio system to take the Scudetto. Conceding a measly 24 goals in the 1952-53 campaign, they edged out Juventus to win the crown. Then, for the first time in their history, they retained the Scudetto the following year.
Not everyone approved of the tactics, but they made Inter an appetising prospect for big businessmen. In 1955, petrol magnate Angelo Moratti took over the club. Success did not come his way immediately, but at least he did not have to wait quite as long as his son would a few decades later. The groundwork was being carried out for the greatest Inter side in history.
In a true Golden Age between 1962 and 1966, the Nerazzurri gathered three Scudetti, two European Cups and two Club World Cups. Their fans also enjoyed the skills of Sandro Mazzola, Giacinto Facchetti, Luis Suarez and the likes. It is hardly surprising that supporters still get more than a little misty-eyed at the very mention of the side which Moratti funded and Helenio Herrera coached to victory. By the end of that spell there was a gold star added to the blue and black shirts to indicate 10 League titles overall.
That team's glory days were probably brought to an end by Celtic in the European Cup Final of 1967. Although some survivors did go on to win another Scudetto in 1971, most of the magic had gone. Having been the toast of European and world football, it was hard to get used to battling for mere domestic honours once again.
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For much of the modern era, Inter have been seen as very much the third force of Italian football's triumvirate of top teams. Juventus were often dominant on the domestic scene while Milan were busy gathering silverware across Europe. And yet, by any other standards, the Nerazzurri were still a hugely successful side.
They resumed their love affair with the start of a new decade in 1980 when another Scudetto came along. Then in 1989, under Giovanni Trapattoni's guidance and with the German influence of Andy Brehme and Lothar Matthaus, they won the League and dropped just 10 points along the way. It should have been the start of another era of dominance but, while there were three UEFA Cup wins in the 1990s, the much sought after Scudetto or Champions League honour proved highly elusive.
It was that barely-disguised anguish and disappointment which characterised the club for most of the years to come. Try as they might, and spend as they did, they were unable to recapture the glory of times gone by. It almost became a standing joke how desperate Inter were becoming to end a Scudetto drought which lasted some 17 years. It was the longest time in the club's history without that ultimate prize.
Yet throughout recent memory they have always been at the heart of the action in Serie A. Rarely out of the top four or five sides, they gave the League some fine players to enjoy - the likes of Walter Zenga, Ronaldo, Giuseppe Bergomi and Javier Zanetti spring to mind. And they always fought with a legendary 'grinta' - determination - both on the domestic and international front.
When a Scudetto eventually came, of course, it was in the strangest circumstances. The Calciopoli scandal saw Juve stripped of two League titles, one of which - 2005-06 - was awarded to Inter. The celebrations took place in style, but with a strange time-delay. Plenty of people were prepared to pour scorn on that 14th Scudetto but, in truth, if Juventus were benefiting from a League set up to systematically favour them, then Inter were the only credible winners. Indeed, many Nerazzurro fans understandably felt that one crown was not enough compensation for the damage they had suffered.
The 15th League honour came just a year later and in more traditional fashion. With a range of penalties imposed on some of Italy's top sides, Inter swept all before them to cruise to the top in style. While some might debate how they found themselves in such a position of dominance, few could deny they were the best side in the country by some considerable distance.
Suddenly, the days of Inter as glorious failures seem long gone. Once again, just as they were in that legendary spell in the 1960s, the black and blue colours are flying high both at home and abroad. An unprecedented third League title in a row looks highly probably to celebrate 100 years in style. And then, perhaps, a Champions League trophy - the first in more than 40 years - might just be in order should they mount a Liverpool comeback. It would ensure the team they call the 'Beneamata' - the well-loved - remains close to the hearts of its fans for years to come.
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/inter100.html 
Mar 2 2008, 08:30 AM
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