History of F.C. Internazionale Milano

= 1908-1922 Foundation and early years =

The club was founded on March 9, 1908 as Internazionale FBC Milano, following a "schism" from the Milan Cricket and Football Club (43 members). A group of Italians and Swiss (Giorgio Muggiani, a painter who also designed the club's logo, Bossard, Lana, Bertoloni, De Olma, Enrico Hintermann, Arturo Hintermann, Carlo Hintermann, Pietro Dell'Oro, Hugo and Hans Rietmann, Voelkel, Maner, Wipf, and Carlo Ardussi) were unhappy about the domination of Italians in the AC Milan team, and broke away from them, leading to the creation of Internazionale. The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians.The club won its very first "Scudetto" (championship) in 1910 and its second in 1920. The captain and coach of the first "Scudetto" was Virgilio Fossati, who was killed in World War I.

1922-1960 "(After early years & pre-Helenio Herrera era)"

In 1922 Inter were in Group B of the Serie A and came in dead last after picking up only 11 points in the season. Thanks to the reunion of the C.C.I. ("Confederazione Calcistica Italiana") and "Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio" (FIGC), Inter remained in the top league after winning the salvation play-off.

In 1928, during the Fascist era, the club was forced to merge with the Milanese Unione Sportiva and was renamed Ambrosiana SS Milano. [cite web|url=http://www.inter.it/en/societa/storia.html|publisher=FC Internazionale Milano|title=Storia|accessdate=2007-09-06] They wore white shirts around this time with a red cross emblazoned on it. This shirt design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan, which in turn is derived from the flag of the patron saint of Milan, St. Ambrose and dates back to the 4th century AD. The new upcoming President Oreste Simonotti decided to change name to A.S. Ambrosiana in 1929. However, supporters continued to call the team "Inter," and in 1931 new president Pozzani caved to shareholder pressure and changed the name to AS Ambrosiania-Inter.

Their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1938-39, led by the great legend Giuseppe Meazza, for whom the San Siro stadium is officially named, and a fifth league championship followed in 1940, despite an injury to Meazza. After the end of World War II the club re-emerged under a name close to their original one; Internazionale FC Milano, which they have kept ever since. Following the war, Inter won its sixth championship in 1953 and the seventh in 1954.

1960-1968 La Grande Inter "(Helenio Herrera era)"

Following the sixth championship in 1953 and the seventh in 1954 titles, Inter was to enter the best years of its history, affectionately known as the era of "La Grande Inter" (The Great Inter). During this period with Helenio Herrera as head coach, the club won 3 league championships in 1963, 1965 and 1966. The most famous moments during this decade also include Inter's 2 back-to-back European Cup wins. In 1964, Inter won the first of those tournaments, playing against the famous Spanish club Real Madrid. The next season, playing in their home stadium, the San Siro, they defeated two-time former champion, Benfica.

1968-1989 "(After Helenio Herrera era & pre-the dark times)"

Following the golden era of the 1960s, Inter managed to win their eleventh league title in 1971 and their twelfth in 1980. Inter were defeated for the second time in five years in the final of the European Cup, going down 0-2 to Johan Cruijff's Ajax Amsterdam in 1972. During the 1970s and the 1980s, Inter also added two to its Coppa Italia tally, in 1977-78 and 1981-82.

Led by the German duo of Andreas Brehme and Lothar Matthäus, and Argentine Ramon Diaz, Inter captured the 1989 Serie A championship. Fellow German Jürgen Klinsmann and the Italian Supercup were added the following season but to little avail as Inter were unable to defend their title.

1990-2004 Dark times

The 1990s was a period of disappointment. Whilst their great rivals AC Milan and Juventus were achieving success both domestically and in Europe, Inter were left behind, with some mediocre positions in the standings, their worst coming in 1993-94 when they finished just 1 point from relegation. Nevertheless, they achieved some European success with 3 UEFA Cup victories in 1991, 1994 and 1998.

With Massimo Moratti's takeover from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995 Inter were promised more success with many high profile signings like Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Hernán Crespo. However, the situation of the team didn't improve.

2004-Present Resurrection & back to titles

On June 15 2005, Inter won the Coppa Italia, defeating AS Roma in the two-legged final 3-0 on aggregate (1-0 win in Milan and 2-0 win in Rome) and followed that up on 20 August 2005, by winning the Supercoppa Italiana after an extra-time 1-0 victory against original 04-05 Serie A champions Juventus (before being stripped of this title).

After Inter were crowned Serie A champions in 2006-07 the club confirmed head coach Roberto Mancini had signed a 4-year extension to his current contract, with an option to extend it for a further 12 months, which, if extended, would expire at the end of the 2011-12 campaign. [cite news|url=http://www.skysports.com/football/competition/0,,11860,00.html|publisher=SkySports.com|title=Internazionale|date=8 June 2007] Inter president Massimo Moratti claimed that this contractual agreement was made "some time ago". [cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/apr22p.html|publisher=Channel4.com|title=Mancini's contract secret|date=8 June 2007] Recently, however, rumors have ensued after the Champions League defeat to Liverpool, that Roberto Mancini may be leaving the club at the end of the season. After the defeat, Mancini proclaimed he would resign at the end of the season, only to refute his statement soon after meeting with President Moratti the next day. Inter have continuously been linked with a move for ex-Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho, but Inter continue to deny the rumors. Following this win, the club however decided to sack Mancini on May 29.cite news |url=http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=29393&L=en |language=English |publisher=FC Internazionale Milano |accessdate=2008-05-29 |date=2008-05-29 |title=F.C. Internazionale statement] On June 2 Inter announced on their official website that they had appointed former Chelsea boss José Mourinho as new head coach, with Giuseppe Baresi as his assistant. This makes Mourinho the only foreign coach in Italy for the forthcoming season. [cite news |url=http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=41433&L=it |publisher=FC Internazionale Milano |language=Italian |title=Nuovo allenatore: Josè Mourinho all'Inter |accessdate=2008-06-02 |date=2008-06-02]

Other historical information

Inter has never been relegated from the Italian top flight in their entire history, which dates back all the way to 1908; a fact Nerazzurri fans hold in high regard. By comparison, AC Milan has been relegated twice despite winning one more "scudetto". As of 2007, following Juventus' relegation to Serie B for the 2006-07 season following the "Calciopoli" scandal Inter remain the only Italian club that holds this honour, and its century in the top flight (counting the upcoming season) is one of the longest unbroken runs of any club in the world.

The current president and owner of Inter is Massimo Moratti. His father, Angelo Moratti, was the president of Inter during the club's golden era of the 1960s. Massimo, trying to emulate his father's great success, has spent an enormous amount of money in his time at the club to sign some of the world's best players in past and present generations, in an effort to win the "Scudetto" for the first time since 1989. Due to Inter's failure to win major silverware during most of his premiership, there was frequent criticism of Moratti by Interisti. Massimo initially threatened to put the club up for sale at the end of the 2005-06 season, but cancelled such plans after Inter was awarded the Serie A championship due to calciopoli.

Ironically, it is since he has tightened the strings on the transfer budget and Calciopoli that Inter have started to dominate domestics league. Free signings of Maxwell, Esteban Cambiasso, Olivier Dacourt, etc, have all proven to be excellent buys and created a formidable team.

References