Inter Milan BBC Sport

The return of Helenio Herrera in 1973 as Inter coach lasted only 16 matches, for a heart attack that obliged him to leave the coaching job. Mazzola retired in 1977 and Facchetti, the last member of La Grande Inter, retired in 1978 as the most prolific defender in the history of Serie A with 59 goals scored and after having won the last trophy of his career, the Coppa Italia. The club’s success has been built on the contributions of legendary figures like Helenio Herrera, Giacinto Facchetti, and Jose Mourinho, who have all left an indelible mark on the Nerazzurri.

• The return of Helenio Herrera in 1973 as Inter coach lasted only 16 matches, for a heart attack that obliged him to leave the coaching job.
• In this period, AC Milan were relegated two times in Serie B, the first time in 1980 for implications involved in the Totonero scandal and then again after the team ended its 1981–82 campaign in third-last place.
• Inter came close to winning the Treble for the first time in European football history that year, after having also won the Serie A title, but lost the Coppa Italia final against Juventus in a game played in the last days of August 1965.
• San Siro has been the home of Milan since 1926, when it was privately built by funding from Milan’s chairman at the time, Piero Pirelli.
• Animals are often used to represent football clubs in Italy – the grass snake, called Biscione, represents Inter.138139 The snake is a symbol for the city of Milan, appearing often in Milanese heraldry as a coiled viper with a man in its jaws.

Inter Campus

Latest news on Inter Milan, providing comprehensive coverage of Italy’s Serie A champions, including transfer rumours, match reports, player updates, and insights into the club’s rich history and passionate fanbase. Giuseppe Meazza is Inter’s all-time top goalscorer, with 284 goals in 408 games.152 Behind him, in second place, is Alessandro Altobelli with 209 goals in 466 games, and Roberto Boninsegna in third place, with 173 goals over 287 games. Based on the English model for stadiums, San Siro is specifically designed for football matches, as opposed to many multi-purpose stadiums used in Serie A. It is therefore renowned in Italy for its atmosphere during matches, owing to the closeness of the stands to the pitch.

Club statistics and records

Inter came close to winning the Treble for the first time in European football history that year, after having also won the Serie A title, but lost the Coppa Italia final against Juventus in a game played in the last days of August 1965. Inter finished sixth place in the championship, ending a Serie A record of ten consecutive qualifications for the Champions League, and their first season without a trophy since 2003–2004. Moratti later became a target of the fans, especially when he sacked the much-loved coach Simoni after a few games into the 1998–99 season, five days after Inter defeated Real Madrid 3–1 at San Siro in Champions League group stage, with two goals from Roberto Baggio, and having just received the Italian manager of the year award for 1998 the day before being dismissed.That season, despite four coaching changes, Inter reached the Champions League quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by Manchester United, who would go on to win the trophy that year; Inter failed to qualify for any European competition for the first time in seven years, finishing in eighth place. After the unfortunate decision to sell Andrea Pirlo to rival AC Milan in the summer of 2001 for 35 billion Italian lira,45 in the next season with new coach Hector Cuper, the acquisition of the second most expensive goalkeeper in the world at that time Francesco Toldo, Marco Materazzi and the return after injury of Ronaldo in pair with Vieri (a dream couple that played only 11 matches for a total of 667 minutes in three years, scoring 18 goals46), not only did Inter manage to make it to the UEFA Cup semi-finals, but were also only 45 minutes away from capturing the Scudetto when they needed to maintain their one-goal advantage away to Lazio. Lazio equalised during first half injury time, and then scored two more goals by Simeone and Simone Inzaghi in the second half to secure victory that saw Juventus win the championship, Roma ended second and Inter third.47 After brilliant performances and having won 2002 World Cup with Brazil, Ronaldo demanded to be sold to Real Madrid for €45 million, and was replaced by Hernan Crespo from Lazio for €40 million. Inter won their twelfth scudetto in 1980, the last one won in the history of Serie A by a team composed entirely of Italian players, and also added two to its Coppa Italia tally, in 1977–78 (with the future captain Graziano Bini who scored the decisive goal in the final against Napoli) and in 1981–82, both under coach Eugenio Bersellini.

About our Inter Milan news

This persistent lack of success led to poor relations between the fanbase and the chairman, the managers and even some individual players. Ahead of the major finals this season, a look at the first continental crowns for the biggest clubs in European football… In 1964, Inter added other important players Angelo Domenghini, Gianfranco Bedin and another Spanish Joaquín Peiró, who played with consistency and was decisive in European Cup where three foreign players could play at the same time, while in Serie A only two were allowed to play. With comprehensive coverage from trusted sources, you’ll never miss a beat when it comes to one of Italy’s most storied clubs. From transfer news and match reports to in-depth features and Spinpanda no deposit bonus historical perspectives, our feed keeps you informed and engaged with all things Inter Milan.

• The next season, Inter finished as league runners-up, with Vieri that was top scorer of Serie A with 24 goals in 23 matches, while Crespo set a new record for UCL Group stage, with eight goals in six matches, but missed almost the rest of the season for a severe injury in January.
• Mazzola retired in 1977 and Facchetti, the last member of La Grande Inter, retired in 1978 as the most prolific defender in the history of Serie A with 59 goals scored and after having won the last trophy of his career, the Coppa Italia.
• Alessandro Altobelli, who later became the all-time leading scorer in Coppa Italia and in International competition for the club and played for Inter for 11 seasons, scored 209 goals, second only to Giuseppe Meazza.
• Inter enjoyed little success in the domestic league standings, their worst coming in 1993–94 when they finished in thirteenth position, just one point above the relegation zone.
• However, the 1990s remained the only decade in Inter’s history, alongside the 1940s, in which they did not win a single Serie A championship.
• On 2 June 2008, Inter appointed former Porto and Chelsea boss José Mourinho as the new head coach.65 In his first season, the Nerazzurri won a Suppercoppa Italiana and a fourth consecutive title, though falling in the Champions League in the first knockout round for a third-straight year, losing to eventual finalists Manchester United.66 In winning the league title, Inter became the first club since 1949 to win the title for four consecutive seasons, and joined Torino and Juventus as the only clubs to accomplish this feat, as well as being the first club based outside Turin.
• According to an August 2024 research by Ipsos.,146 Inter is the second-most supported football club in Italy, only being second to Juventus.

Squad Inter Milan

The Nerazzurri have also triumphed on the European stage, winning the UEFA Champions League three times, most recently in 2010 as part of a historic treble. With Massimo Moratti’s takeover from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995, Inter twice broke the world record transfer fee in this period (£19.5 million for Ronaldo from Barcelona in 1997 and £31 million for Christian Vieri from Lazio two years later).41 Among Moratti’s first acquisitions in 1995 there were Javier Zanetti from Banfield, who would stay at Inter until 2014 with a record of 858 game played and with a record 13 seasons as captain, Paul Ince from Manchester United and Roberto Carlos from Palmeiras, who was sold the following season to Real Madrid, with many regrets and recriminations from fans. Facchetti, captain of Italian National team for an all-time record of 11 years, Burnich and Guarneri formed also the defense of Italy that won UEFA Euro 1968 with Mazzola and Domenghini, and that with the addition of Inter players Roberto Boninsegna and Mario Bertini also reached final of 1970 World Cup against Brazil, tournament known also for the famous semifinal match, the so-called « Game of the Century » against Germany. On 21 August 2010, Inter defeated Roma 3–1 and won the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana, their fourth trophy of the year.71 In December 2010, they claimed the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time after a 3–0 win against Mazembe in the final, becoming for the third time world champion.72 However, after this win, on 23 December 2010, due to their declining performance in Serie A, the club fired Benítez.73 He was replaced by Leonardo the following day.74Inter was also ranked for the second time in 2010 as Best Club in the World by IFFHS.

Homegrown players who scored in European Cup finals

Inter’s misfortunes continued the following season, losing the 2000 Supercoppa Italiana match against Lazio 4–3, after initially taking the lead through new signing Robbie Keane. They were also eliminated in the preliminary round of the Champions League by Swedish club Helsingborg, with Álvaro Recoba missing a crucial late penalty. Lippi was sacked after only a single game of the new season, following Inter’s first-ever Serie A defeat to Reggina. Marco Tardelli, chosen to replace Lippi, failed to improve results and is remembered by Inter fans as the manager who lost 6–0 in the city derby against a weak AC Milan, who finished the season in sixth place behind Inter, who finished in fifth. After the win of the 1990 World Cup of West Germany led by three Inter players, Matthews was awarded the Ballon d’Or and ended 1990–1991, his most prolific season in career, with 23 goals, including six in 1991 UEFA Cup against Roma in May 1991, the first European trophy since the Grande Inter period; Trapattoni left the team after five seasons.

Despite the worst result in Champions League group stage in the club’s history ending fourth with only six points, after a record 11 consecutive victories since the beginning of the second half of the season109 and following Inter win in Crotone and Atalanta’s draw against Sassuolo on 2 May 2021, Internazionale were confirmed as champions for the first time in eleven years, ending Juventus’ run of nine consecutive titles, with Zhang family that became the first foreign ownership to win serie A.110 However, despite securing Serie A glory, Conte left the club by mutual consent on 26 May 2021. The final held in Rotterdam saw the victory for 2–0 of Johan Cruyff’s Ajax that won the trophy for the second consecutive season. The next season, Inter finished as league runners-up, with Vieri that was top scorer of Serie A with 24 goals in 23 matches, while Crespo set a new record for UCL Group stage, with eight goals in six matches, but missed almost the rest of the season for a severe injury in January. In October 2002, in a home game against Lyon, Inter was defeated for the first time in its history at home in European Cup/UEFA Champions League after 33 matches in 39 years.4950 Inter reached 2002–03 Champions League semi-finals against AC Milan, that were played also without the injured Vieri, losing on the away goals rule with two games played in the same stadium, the San Siro. A year later, after have defeated Liverpool in the semi-final second leg 3–0 recovering from a 3–1 defeat at Anfield, with Facchetti scoring the decisive goal, Inter repeated the feat by beating two-time winner Benfica in the final held at home, from a Jair goal, and then again beat Independiente in the Intercontinental Cup with a 3–0 win in San Siro, with two goals from Mazzola and one from Peirò, and a draw in Argentine, becoming the first European team to win two times in a row the competition.