The Gentleman Ultra is back with a new Series. This time its the nostalgic Serie A teams of Calcio. Richard Hall takes his pick from the Inter’s rich history.
Picking five players to personify Inter as a club is perhaps the way I looked at this, albeit with a late 1980’s early 1990’s bias. Presenting ‘The Official Inter Podcast in English’ means that I have to have my head in the archives and therefore indulge on the stories of the early days. The Grande Inter team and the recent history fascinate me. Being of a certain vintage, the earliest games I saw were in the late 1980’s and that means some more recent figures fell by the wayside. These are the players that embody what it is to be Inter as well as being the best in their positions in that generation.
Walter ZENGA
Walter Zenga ‘The Spider’ as he was known, was a phenomenal goalkeeper and one of the greatest in his generation. Walter is Inter through and through, born in Milan, it was no surprise he was Nerazzurri from birth. He idolised the club and not surprisingly, the stars aligned, he played for them for 23 years. In that time, he won Serie A, The UEFA Cup twice and on top of this he also picked up an Italian Super Cup. Perhaps he should have won more but Milan had something to say about that.
Zenga was a showman when in between the posts, his grand gestures and celebrations after a save, were all part of his passion and his act. The character and the person were the same and his lightning reflexes and incredible leap meant that, in an era when the best strikers in the world were in Serie A, he was the Azzurri and Inter’s number one. Admittedly, when picking Walter, one had to have in mind the likes of Julio Cesar and Francesco Toldo could have been in the frame from recent history. Perhaps Ivano Bordon deserves a mention and especially Giuliano Sarti (part of The Grande Inter team) could have rivalled him.
Giuseppe BERGOMI
In 2015 I had the privilege of interviewing ‘Lo Zio’ (The Uncle) and standing at the side of San Siro alone, he was as imposing as the stadium. The way he spoke was so calm and yet one hung on every word as if everything he said was the undeniable truth, he described the complex job of defending so well it seemed like it was all obvious. You could see what he was the embodiment of a captain even at such a young age when he emerged sporting that huge moustache.
Bergomi would play over 500 league games for Inter and really does represent what it is to pull on the shirt of the Nerazzurri. He certainly lifted a few trophies in decades when calcio ruled the world. Serie A and a Coppa Italia were complimented than no more than three UEFA Cups and a SuperCoppa Italiana to add. A quick, hardworking and versatile defender, he could play central defence, right back and sweeper, his football intelligence is hard to match as he was adapt with various systems and tactics over the years. His professionalism and respect he has from fellow professionals shows why he is one of Inter’s greatest ever.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2015/oct/15/internazionale-the-revival-of-a-fallen-giant-video (Richard Hall’s interview with ‘Beppe Bergomi’ in 2015
Javier ZANETTI
‘Il Capitano’. When we talk about Giuseppe Bergomi and Giacinto Facchetti as embodying what it means to be Inter, Javier Zanetti stood right next to them. The ultimate servant to the club even to this day. ‘Pupi’ has a list of honors that I simply haven’t got word space for, 16 in total and was the man who lifted every trophy in the treble season. He holds the record for the most appearances for Inter, an incredible 858 in total. This is even more impressive when you consider how much stamina he has and how much ground he could cover, this earning him the nickname of ‘El Tractor’.
There is a plethora of players, Roberto Carlos, Facchetti himself (who nearly made this team), Maicon and many more who could take this position but how can you not have Javier? Mister ‘Forever Young’ will always be in the hearts of the Nerazzurri and his leadership and ability to uphold the values of the club make him possibly one of if not the greatest player to have worn the blue and black stripes. The Peter Pan of Inter never changed his hair, ‘Feeling my hair in place gives me confidence. It’s a question of image but also of character’, even that had a meaning.
Lothar MATTHAUS
Where do I start with Lothar? If you were there to see him at that time in Milan it is almost impossible for you not to have witnessed the best in the world at that time. Not as beautiful in his game as Maradona, he was efficient and deadly and if you understand Inter, you will know that diamonds are a plenty, but granite is craved. This is a man who in the late 80’s and early 90’s displaced Diego and Napoli showcasing the northern Italina might over the flash of the south.
Due to his direct style and brutal efficiency, Lothar probably should sit under the umbrella of ‘the most underrated of the best players in history.’ FIFA World Player of the year at Inter, (beating Diego) when it was the best league in the world. He perhaps didn’t play enough in Serie A as he should (or that he wanted) however, 40 goals in 115 games saw him help Giovanni Trapattoni lift Inter back to the top. A Scudetto, a UEFA Cup and a SuperCoppa Italiana were incredible rewards for his time in San Siro. Perhaps if he has stayed longer Inter may have moved further on but his legacy is immense.
Giuseppe MEAZZA
For all that may ask why Meazza? I have an easy answer that comes in three parts. He is still regarded as one of the best Italian sports people in history, he is Inter’s top scorer of all time, and the stadium is named after him, so that is not a bad resume. For all of the professionalism and discipline exhibited in the above players, there has to be a maverick. In all of Inter’s history steel has been sprinkled on them whilst the gold has been bought in chunks. For every Alvaro Recoba there has been a bad defence but even before Massimo Moratti it was the norm for Inter to invest in beauty rather than stability. The addictive curse that has plagued the blue and black half of Milan for eternity.
Here there could have been Ronaldo (he did play for Milan so technically is vetoed), Diego Milito, Lautaro Martinez and so many more throughout history but when you ask for a forward you ask for this. You want a man who is epic in front of goal, league goals in 365 games. Three Scudetti and a Coppa Italia to his name is off field antics are legendary, often turning up late after some ‘Milanese night life’ only to score a hat-trick. This man embodies the fun side of Inter the romance and he is still the romantic candle that still burns in the hearts of all those who visit The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza’.
Words Richard Hall
@RichHall80