F.C. Internazionale Milano

Inter

Full name	Football Club Internazionale Milano S.p.A.
Nickname(s)	I Nerazzurri (The Black and Blues) La Beneamata (The Cherished One) Il Biscione (The Big Grass Snake) Baüscia (Boasters in Lombard language)
Founded	March 9, 1908 (1908-03-09)
Ground	San Siro, Milan (Capacity: 80,018)
Owner	Massimo Moratti
President	Massimo Moratti
Manager	Claudio Ranieri
League	Serie A
2010–11	Serie A, 2nd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Football Club Internazionale Milano S.p.A., commonly referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter - outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan - is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded on 9 March 1908 in the back room of the L'Orologiaio (the clock) restaurant in Milan, under the impetus of dissident members of the AC Milan, the club has spent its entire history, in the top flight First Division (known as Serie A since 1929).

Inter has won 30 domestic trophies, including the league eighteen times, the Coppa Italia seven and the Supercoppa Italiana five. From 2006 to 2010 the club won five successive league titles, equalling the all-time record. Inter have won the Champions League three times; two back-to-back in 1964 and 1965 and then another in 2010. The last completed an unprecedented Italian treble with the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto. The club has also won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.

Inter's home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium, which is shared with Milan, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 80,018. Milan are considered their biggest rivals, and matches between the two teams are called Derby della Madonnina, which is one of the most followed derbies in football. As of 2010, Inter is the second most supported team in Italy, and the eighth most supported team in Europe.

The current president and owner of Internazionale is Massimo Moratti. The club is one of the wealthiest and most valuable in Italian and world football. It was a founding member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club Association.

History

Main article: History of F.C. Internazionale Milano

Inter Milan formed as a split from AC Milan in order to encourage international players. The most successful period was 1960-1968, known as "La Grande Inter."

Colours and badge

Ambrosiana Inter Kit

One of the founders of Inter, a painter named Giorgio Muggiani, was responsible for the design of the first Inter logo in 1908. The first design incorporated the letters 'FCIM' in the center of a series of circles that formed the badge of the club. The basic elements of the design have remained constant even as finer details have been modified over the years. In 1998, the club came out with a brand-new iteration of the club crest, sticking to the original design while adding minor aesthetic updates.

Since its founding in 1908, Inter have worn black and blue stripes. It is rumored that black was chosen to represent night and blue was chosen to represent the sky. Aside from a short period during World War II, Inter continued to wear the black and blue stripes, earning them the nickname Nerazzurri. For a period of time, however, Inter was forced to abandon their black and blue uniforms. In 1928, Inter's name and philosophy made the ruling Fascist Party uneasy. As a result, during the same year the 20-year-old club was merged with Unione Sportiva Milanese. The new club was named Società Sportiva Ambrosiana after the patron saint of Milan. The flag of Milan (the red cross on white background) replaced the traditional black and blue. After World War II when the Fascists had fallen from power the club reverted to their original name and colors. In 2008, Inter celebrated their centenary with a red cross on their away shirt. Reminiscent of the flag of their city, the pattern continues to be used on their third kit to this day.

Animals are often used to represent football clubs in Italy, the grass snake, called Il biscione or Serpente representing Inter. The snake is an important symbol for the city of Milan, appearing often in Milanese heraldry as a coiled viper with a man in its jaws. The symbol is famous for its presence on the coat of arms of the House of Sforza (who ruled over Italy from Milan during the Renaissance period), the city of Milan, the historical Duchy of Milan (a 400 year state of the Holy Roman Empire), and Insubria (a historical regional area which the city of Milan falls within). For the 2010–11 season Inter's away kit featured the serpent.

Stadium

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
San Siro
Location	Via Piccolomini 5, 20151 Milan, Italy
Broke ground	1925
Opened	19 September 1926
Renovated	1939, 1955, 1989
Owner	Municipality of Milan
Operator	AC Milan and Internazionale
Construction cost	₤5,000,000 (1926), ₤5,100,000 (1939), $60,000,000 (1989)
Architect	Ulisse Stacchini (1925), Giancarlo Ragazzi (1989), Enrico Hoffer (1989)
Capacity	80,018 seated
Tenants
AC Milan (1926–present), Internazionale (1947-present)

For more details on this topic, see San Siro.

The team's stadium is the 80,018 seat San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza after the former player who represented both AC Milan and Inter. The more commonly used name, San Siro, is the name of the district where it's located. San Siro has been the home of AC Milan since 1926, when it was privately built by funding from Milan's president at the time, Piero Pirelli. Construction was performed by 120 workers, and took 13 and a half months to complete. The stadium was owned by the club until it was sold to the city council in 1935, and since 1947 it has been shared with Internazionale, when they were accepted as joint tenant.

The first game played at the stadium was on 19 September 1926, when AC Milan lost 6-3 in a friendly match against Internazionale. AC Milan played its first league game in San Siro on September 19 1926, losing 1-2 to Sampierdarenese. From an initial capacity of 35,000 spectators, the stadium has undergone several major renovations, most recently in preparation for the 1990 FIFA World Cup when its capacity was set to 85,700, all covered with a polycarbonate roof. In the summer of 2008 its capacity has been reduced to 80,018, in order to meet the new standards set by UEFA.

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 fantastic atmosphere during matches, thanks to the closeness of the stands to the pitch. The frequent use of flares by supporters contributes to the atmosphere but the practice has occasionally caused problems.

On 19 December 2005, AC Milan's vice-president and executive director Adriano Galliani announced that the club is seriously working towards a relocation. He said that Milan's new stadium will be largely based on the Veltins-Arena and will follow the standards of football stadiums in the United States, Germany and Spain. As opposed to many other stadiums in Italy, Milan's new stadium will likely be used for football only, having no athletics track. The new stadium's naming rights will be probably sold to a sponsor, similarly to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. It remains to be seen if this plan will proceed or if this is just a ploy to force the owners (Comune di Milano) to sell the stadium to AC Milan for a nominal fee so as to proceed with extensive renovations. The possibility of Internazionale vacating San Siro may affect proceedings.

Supporters and rivalries

Inter banner saying "Il cuore della Nord batte dentro di te".

Inter is one of the most supported clubs in Italy, according to an August 2007 research by Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Historically, the largest section of Inter fans from the city of Milan have been the middle-class bourgeoisie Milanese, while AC Milan fans are typically working-class and a significant portion are migrants from Southern Italy.

The traditional ultras group of Inter is Boys San; they hold a significant place in the history of the ultras scene in general due to the fact that they are one of the oldest, being founded in 1969. Politically, the ultras of Inter are usually considered right-wing and they have good relationships with the Lazio ultras. As well as the main group of Boys San, there are four more significant groups: Viking, Irriducibili, Ultras, and Brianza Alcoolica.

Inter's most vocal fans are known to gather in the Curva Nord, or north curve of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium. This longstanding tradition has led to the Curva Nord being synonymous with the club's most die-hard supporters, who unfurl banners and wave flags in support of their team.

Inter have several rivalries, two of which are highly significant in Italian football; firstly, they participate in the inter-city Derby della Madonnina with AC Milan; the rivalry has existed ever since Inter splintered off from Milan in 1908. The name of the derby refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose statue atop the Milan Cathedral is one of the city's main attractions. The match usually creates a lively atmosphere, with numerous (often humorous or offensive) banners unfolded before the match. Flares are commonly present, but they also led to the abandonment of the second leg of the 2005 Champions League quarter-final matchup between Milan and Inter on 12 April after a flare thrown from the crowd by an Inter supporter struck Milan keeper Dida on the shoulder. The latest edition of this derby was played on 15 January 2012 and resulted in a one-nil win for Inter.

The other most significant rivalry is with Juventus; the two participate in the Derby d'Italia. Up until the 2006 Serie A match-fixing scandal, which saw Juventus relegated, the two were the only Italian clubs to have never played below Serie A. In recent years, post-Calciopoli, Inter have developed a rivalry with Roma, having finished runners-up to Inter in all but one of Inter's five Scudetto winning seasons between 2005 and 2010. The two sides have also contested in 5 Coppa Italia finals and four Supercoppa Italiana finals since 2006. Other clubs, such as Atalanta and Napoli, are also considered to be amongst their rivals.

Current squad

For further information, see 2011–12 F.C. Internazionale Milano season.

Players

As of 31 January 2012

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Júlio César 2 DF Iván Córdoba (vice-captain) 4 DF Javier Zanetti (captain) 5 MF Dejan Stanković 6 DF Lúcio 7 FW Giampaolo Pazzini 8 MF Fredy Guarín (on loan from Porto) 9 FW Diego Forlán 10 MF Wesley Sneijder 11 MF Ricardo Álvarez 12 GK Luca Castellazzi 13 DF Maicon 17 MF Angelo Palombo (on loan from Sampdoria) 18 MF Andrea Poli (on loan from Sampdoria)

No. Position Player 19 MF Esteban Cambiasso 20 MF Joel Obi 21 GK Paolo Orlandoni 22 FW Diego Milito 23 DF Andrea Ranocchia 25 DF Walter Samuel 26 DF Cristian Chivu 28 FW Mauro Zárate (on loan from Lazio) 30 FW Luc Castaignos 37 DF Marco Davide Faraoni 45 DF Juan 48 MF Lorenzo Crisetig 55 DF Yuto Nagatomo 70 GK Paolo Tornaghi

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Enrico Alfonso (at Cremonese, co-owned with Chievo) FW Denis Alibec (at Mechelen) GK Francesco Bardi (Co-ownership with Livorno) GK Vid Belec (at Crotone) DF Simone Benedetti (at Gubbio, co-owned with Torino) DF Cristiano Biraghi (at Juve Stabia) FW Riccardo Bocalon (at Cremonese) DF Giulio Donati (at Padova) DF Antonio Esposito (at Piacenza) DF Dennis Esposito (at Lecco)

No. Position Player FW Kerlon (at Nacional de Nova Serrana) MF McDonald Mariga (at Real Sociedad) DF Andrea Mei (at VVV-Venlo) DF Felice Natalino (at Verona) FW Goran Pandev (at Napoli) DF Michele Rigione (at Cremonese) MF Luca Tremolada (at Pisa) DF Luca Caldirola (at Brescia) MF Philippe Coutinho (at Espanyol) MF Sulley Ali Muntari (at A.C. Milan)

Youth team squad

Main article: F.C. Internazionale Milano Primavera

Non-playing staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Claudio Ranieri
Assistant manager	Giuseppe Baresi
Technical assistant	Daniele Bernazzani
Technical assistant	Paolo Benetti
Technical assistant	Christian Damiano
Goalkeeper coach	Giorgio Pellizzaro
Chief of fitness coaches	Riccardo Capanna
Fitness coach	Stefano Rapetti
Match analyst	Michele Salzarulo
Chief of medical staff	Franco Combi
Doctor	Giorgio Panico
Rehabilitation coach	Andrea Scannavino
Rehabilitation coach	Roberto Niccolai
Rehabilitation coach	Maurizio Fanchini
Masseur Physiotherapist	Marco Dellacasa
Masseur Physiotherapist	Massimo Dellacasa
Masseur Physiotherapist	Luigi Sessolo
Rehabilitation staff	Andrea Galli
Rehabilitation staff	Alberto Galbiati
Technical Director	Marco Branca
Sporting Director	Piero Ausilio

Last updated: 22 September 2011
Source: F.C. Internazionale Milano

Retired numbers

Main article: Retired numbers in football

3 – Giacinto Facchetti, left back, 1960–1978 (posthumous honour). The number was retired on 8 September 2006. The last player to wear the shirt was Argentinian center back Nicolás Burdisso, who took on the number 16 shirt for the rest of the season.

Notable players

For a more detailed list, see List of F.C. Internazionale Milano players. For a list of all former and current Inter players with a Wikipedia article, see.

Presidential history

Inter have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club, others have been honorary presidents. Here is a complete list of them.

Massimo Moratti, Inter's Current President.

Name Years Giovanni Paramithiotti 1908–1909 Ettore Strauss 1909–1910 Carlo de Medici 1910–1912 Emilio Hirzel 1912–1914 Luigi Ansbacher 1914 Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone 1914–1919 Giorgio Hulss 1919–1920

Name Years Francesco Mauro 1920–1923 Enrico Olivetti 1923–1926 Senatore Borletti 1926–1929 Ernesto Torrusio 1929–1930 Oreste Simonotti 1930–1932 Ferdinando Pozzani 1932–1942 Carlo Masseroni 1942–1955

Name Years Angelo Moratti 1955–1968 Ivanoe Fraizzoli 1968–1984 Ernesto Pellegrini 1984–1995 Massimo Moratti 1995–2004 Giacinto Facchetti 2004–2006 Massimo Moratti 2006–present

Managerial history

Main article: List of F.C. Internazionale Milano managers

In Internazionale's history, 55 coaches have coached the club. The first manager was Virgilio Fossati. Helenio Herrera had the longest reign as Internazionale coach, with nine years (eight consecutive) in charge, and is the most successful coach in Inter history with three Scudetti, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cup wins. José Mourinho, who was appointed on 2 June 2008, and completed his first season in Italy by winning the Serie A league title and the Supercoppa Italiana, in the second season he won the first "treble" in Italian history, the Serie A league title, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League in the season 2009–2010, becoming the second most successful coach in Inter history.

José Mourinho, winner of the first "treble" in Italian history in the season 2009–2010, with Inter.

Trophies winners

Name	Period	Trophies						Total
		Domestic			International
		Se	Cp	Sc	EC/CL	UC	ICp/CWC
Virgilio Fossati	1909–1915	1						1
Nino Resegotti	1919–1922	1	0					1
Árpád Weisz	1929–1931	1						1
Armando Castellazzi	1936–1938	1	0					1
Tony Cargnelli	1938–1940	1	1					2
Alfredo Foni	1952–1955	2						2
Helenio Herrera	1960–1968, 1973	3	0		2	0	2	7
Giovanni Invernizzi	1970–1973	1	0		0	0	0	1
Eugenio Bersellini	1977–1982	1	2		0	0	0	3
Giovanni Trapattoni	1986–1991	1	0	1	0	1	0	3
Giampiero Marini	1994	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Luigi Simoni	1997–1998	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Roberto Mancini	2004–2008	3	2	2	0	0	0	7
José Mourinho	2008–2010	2	1	1	1	0	0	5
Rafael Benítez	2010	0	0	1	0	0	1	2
Leonardo	2010–2011	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Total	1909–	18	7	5	3	3	3	39

Honours

Inter has won 30 domestic trophies, including the league eighteen times, the Coppa Italia seven and the Supercoppa Italiana five. From 2006 to 2010 the club won five successive league titles, equalling the all-time record. Inter have won the Champions League three times; two back-to-back in 1964 and 1965 and then another in 2010. The last completed an unprecedented Italian treble with the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto. The club has also won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.

National titles

Main article: F.C. Internazionale Milano honours, records and statistics

Serie A:

• Winners (18): 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, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
• Runners-up (13): 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1940–41, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1992–93, 2002–03, 2010–11

Coppa Italia:

• Winners (7): 1938–39, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Runners-up (6): 1958–59, 1964–65, 1976–77, 1999–00, 2006–07, 2007–08

Supercoppa Italiana:

• Winners (5): 1989, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010
• Runners-up (4): 2000, 2007, 2009, 2011

International titles

The following titles include only those which are recognised by UEFA and FIFA.

World-wide titles

Intercontinental Cup:

• Winners (2): 1964, 1965

Intercontinental Supercup:

• Runners-up (1): 1968

FIFA Club World Cup:

• Winners (1): 2010

European titles

European Cup/Champions League:

• Winners (3): 1963–64, 1964–65, 2009–10
• Runners-up (2): 1966–67, 1971–72

UEFA Cup:

• Winners (3): 1990–91, 1993–94, 1997–98
• Runners-up (1): 1996–97

UEFA Super Cup:

• Runners-up (1): 2010

FC Internazionale Milano as a company

According to The Football Money League published by consultants Deloitte, in the 2008–09 season, Inter recorded revenues of €196.5 million, ranking 9th place behind Juventus and ahead of AC Milan in the rankings. The club beat their previous season earnings of €172.9 million by a significant margin and are one spot higher this season than last. For the first time since The Football Money League's inception, Inter have beaten city rivals AC Milan in the rankings.

Revenue percentages were divided up between matchday (14%, €28.2m), broadcasting (59%, €115.7m, +7%, +€8m) and commercial (27%, €52.6m, +43%, €15.8m). Kit sponsors Nike and Pirelli contributed €18.1m and €9.3m respectively to commercial revenues, while broadcasting revenues were boosted €1.6m (6%) by Champions League distribution.

For the 2010/2011 season, Serie A clubs will start negotiating club TV rights collectively rather than individually. This is predicted to result in lower broadcasting revenues for Inter, with smaller clubs gaining from the loss.

Inter's matchday revenues amounted to only €1.1m per home game, compared to €2.6m among the top six earners.

Deloitte expressed the idea that issues in Italian football, particularly matchday revenue issues were holding Inter back compared to other European giants, and developing their own stadia would result in Serie A clubs being more competitive on the world stage.

Inter also one of the biggest financial "black-hole" among the Italian clubs, which in 2006–07 had a net loss of €206 million (€112 million extraordinary basis, due to the change in accounting standard for amortization of transfer fee, covered by proposed capital increases of €99 million), 2007–08 not announced, 2008–09 a net loss of €154,423,469 (covered by a proposed capital increase of 70 million, later increased to €90 million) and most recently €69,045,804 (covered by a proposed capital increase of €40 million) It was contributed by the sales of Ibrahimović, the treble and the release clause of coach José Mourinho.

Kit manufacturers & Shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1979–1981	Puma
1981/1982		Inno-Hit
1982–1986	Mecsport	Misura
1986–1988	Le Coq Sportif
1988–1991	Uhlsport
1991/1992	Umbro	FitGar
1992–1995		Fiorucci
1995–1998		Pirelli
1998–2018	Nike

See also

Historical information

• Association football in Italy
• Dynasties in Italian football
• Timeline of football
• Italian cultural icons

Lists

• List of Italian football champions
• List of world club champions
• List of Italian club competition winners
• List of UEFA club competition winners
• List of confederation and inter-confederation club competition winners

Records and recognitions

• Italian football competition records
• UEFA club competition records
• FIFA Best Clubs of the 20th Century
• IFFHS Best European Clubs of the 20th Century

Economic rankings

• Deloitte's list of the highest earning football clubs in the world
• Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs in the world

External links

Official websites

• Official Website (Italian) (English) (Spanish) (Chinese) (Arabic) (Japanese) (Indonesian)
• UEFA Club Website
• Lega Calcio Club Website