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Bergkamp attracted the attention of several European clubs as a result of his performances for Ajax. Johan Cruyff advised him not to join Real Madrid, one of the teams said to have been interested in him. But Bergkamp was insistent on playing in Italy. He considered Serie A “the biggest league at the time” and preferred a move to either Juventus or Inter Milan. On 16 February 1993, Bergkamp agreed a £7.1 million move to the latter club in a deal which included his Ajax teammate Wim Jonk. Upon signing, Bergkamp said Inter “met all my demands. The most important thing for me was the stadium, the people at the club and their style of play.” Bergkamp made his debut against Reggiana on 29 August 1993 at the San Siro in a 2–1 victory. He scored his first goal for the club against Cremonese in September 1993 but had a difficult time against the highly organised and resolute Italian defences, scoring a further seven goals in the league. This was partly due to manager Osvaldo Bagnoli’s inability to find a stable forward partnership, preferring Bergkamp in a three with Rubén Sosa and Salvatore Schillaci. Inter’s poor league form culminated in the sacking of Bagnoli in February 1994 and his replacement by Gianpiero Marini, a member of Italy’s 1982 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. The club finished 13th in Serie A, one point away from relegation, but enjoyed success in the UEFA Cup, beating Austria Salzburg in the final over two legs. Bergkamp was the competition’s joint top goalscorer with eight goals and scored a hat-trick against Rapid București in the first round. In Bergkamp’s second season at Inter, the club changed managers again, appointing Ottavio Bianchi. Bergkamp endured a disappointing campaign, troubled with stress injuries and fatigue from the 1994 World Cup. He managed to score 5 goals in 26 appearances. Off the field, Bergkamp’s relationship with the Italian press and fans became uncomfortable. His shy persona and his propensity to go home after matches was interpreted as apathy. Because of his poor performance on the pitch, one Italian publication renamed their award given to the worst performance of the week, L’asino della settimana (Donkey of the Week) to Bergkamp della settimana. Inter ended the league season in sixth position and failed to retain the UEFA Cup, with the club eliminated in the second round. In February 1995, the club was purchased by Italian businessman and fan Massimo Moratti, who promised to invest heavily in the squad. Bergkamp’s future in the first team was uncertain following the signing of Maurizio Ganz a month after the takeover.
Things to Know:
This shirt was worn by Dennis Bergkamp during the Italy Cup’s game between Lucchese and Internazionale which took place in Lucca, “Porta Elisa” Stadium, on November 10th 1993. Lucchese defeated Internazionale 2-1 but Internazionale passed to the following round. The shirt was swapped after the game with a Lucchese’s defender who we got it from.
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This shirt was worn by Walter Zenga during the Serie A game between Reggiana and Internazionale which took place in Reggio Emilia, “Stadio Mirabello”, on january 9th 1994. Internazionale defeated Reggiana 1-0 and at the end of the game Zenga swapped his shirt with a Reggiana’s player whom we got it from. Zenga joined Inter Milan in 1982, after starting his professional career in 1978 in the lower divisions of Italian football (his first team was Salernitana in Serie C1, and he also played for Savona and Sambenedettese). Initially (in the 1982–83 season) he was the substitute of Ivano Bordon, who was one of the top Italian goalkeepers of his era, as he had been Dino Zoff’s reserve in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. However, Zenga played Inter’s matches in the Coppa Italia, impressing enough that the club decided not to buy another goalkeeper after Bordon’s decision to move to Sampdoria during the summer of 1983. Zenga became Inter’s starting goalkeeper in the 1983–84 season, where he conceded only 23 goals, better than any other goalkeeper in that season. Zenga experienced the peak of his career in the late 80’s and beginning of the 90’s. For three consecutive years (1989–1991) he was nominated by IFFHS the best goalkeeper in the world, ahead of goalkeepers like Michel Preud’homme, Rinat Dasaev and Andoni Zubizarreta. Zenga was at his best between the posts, as his great explosiveness and sharp reflexes enabled him to make great and spectacular saves. Not known for being a great penalty saver (frequently dropping down to the ground in the middle of the goal), in his career he did however save penalty kicks from Roberto Baggio, Michel Platini and Paul Merson. Zenga continued to play for Inter until 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and 1994, his last season with the club.
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During the game vs Guingamp of the Uefa Cup 1996/1997 the team played with regular Serie A shirts. The main difference between Serie A and Uefa Cup games is that on Uefa Cup games the sponsor logo is forbidden on retro number. So before the game vs Guingamp the Internazionale F.C. kitman cover the Umbro logo on the number with a black marker.
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In 1994, Pagliuca moved from Sampdoria to Internazionale from a then world record fee for a goalkeeper of £7 million. With the nerazzurri he reached two consecutive UEFA Cup finals, losing the first one against Schalke 04 in 1997 and winning the second one in 1998, when he captained the side to a 3–0 win over Lazio. Pagliuca left Inter in 1999, moving to his home town club, Bologna, after the former Juventus boss Marcello Lippi took charge of Inter and signed Angelo Peruzzi from his former club.
Things to Know:
This shirt was worn by Gianluca Pagliuca during the game against Guingamp for the Uefa Cup 1996/1997. It was given to the old Guingamp stadium’s custodian who sold it in a charity auction.
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This shirt was used by Ronaldo during the Serie A game between Bologna and Internazionale which took place in Bologna, “Renato Dall’Ara” Stadium on September 13th 1997. Internazionale defeated Bologna 4-2 and Ronaldo scored his first goal in Serie A exactly with this shirt. After the game Ronaldo swapped his shirt with Michele Paramatti, Bologna former player. The shirt was then auctioned by Michele Paramatti in 2012 for the charity event “Una Maglia per l’Emilia” organized by the player to raise money for people of Emilia Romagna (Italy) who got involved in the tremendous earthquake of 2012.
Anecdote:
Miami, 2015. A whole family came into a restaurant and they started having their meals. The young son Jeremia after he looked around at the restaurant’s guests shaked his father’s arm saying “Hey Dad look at there. Pepe from Real Madrid is seating there”.
“Jeremia – the father said – be good and don’t bother other table’s guests”. But jeremia was so excited and kidnapped Pepe’s attention who suddenly stood up and went to Jeremia’s table saying “Sorry for bothering you but I’m one of your biggest fans” and he wanted to take pictures with the kid and his father.
Jeremia got surprised especially when he reminded that the same thing happened with Luis Suarez who wanted to take pictures with his father.
He knew his father was a soccer player and he knew some stories about him but he never really believed in them. Until Suarez and Pepe made Jeremia changing his mind.
Jeremia father’s name is Alvaro “El Chino” Recoba.
INTERNAZIONALE F.C.
1999-2000
Match Worn Shirt
Di Biagio Luigi
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At the beginning of the 1999–2000 Serie A season, Di Biagio transferred to Internazionale, and became a regular first team member due to his continued high standard of performance. During the 2001–02 season, he narrowly missed out on winning the Serie A title to Juventus on the final match-day; he received criticism, however, for his despondent performance in a 4–2 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, on his final league appearance of the season, despite initially scoring a goal during the match. Di Biagio remained at Inter until 2003, and during his four years at the club, he amassed 163 appearances, scoring a total of 18 goals in all competitions. Although he was unable to win a title during his time with the club, he did manage to reach the semi-finals of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup with Inter, losing out to eventual Champions Feyenoord. He also reached the semi-finals of the 2002–03 Champions League with Inter, under manager Hector Cuper, losing out to cross-city rivals and eventual Champions Milan on away goals. He also managed to win runners up medals in Serie A during the 2002–03 season under Cuper, as well as in the Coppa Italia during the 1999–2000 season, and the Italian Supercup in 2000, under Marcello Lippi.
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This shirt was worn by Roberto Baggio during the second half of the Serie A game between Cagliari and Internazionale which took place in Cagliari, “Stadio Sant’Elia”, on May 14th 2000. Internazionale defeated Cagliari 2-0 and Roberto Baggio scored the first goal. After the game Baggio swapped his shirt with a Cagliari’s player whom we got it from. In the 1999–2000 season, Baggio’s former Juventus manager, Lippi, was appointed as Inter’s new coach. Lippi did not favour Baggio, and left him out of the squad for most of the season, stating that Baggio was out of shape. In his autobiography, Baggio stated that Lippi had dumped him after Baggio refused to point out which of Inter’s players had expressed negative opinions about the coach, also highlighting an incident during a training session, where he called out Christian Vieri and Christian Panucci for applauding Baggio for a notable assist. Baggio was used scarcely, and often as a substitute, scoring only 4 goals in 18 appearances during the regular Serie A season. He made 5 appearances in the Coppa Italia, with his only goal coming against local rivals Milan in the second leg of the quarter-finals, as he helped Inter reach the final, only to be defeated by Lazio. Despite his limited playing time, Baggio still managed several important goals to help Inter to a fourth-place finish, alongside Parma, such as his match winning goal against Verona, which he scored after coming off the bench, after being excluded from the team since 18 December 1999. Baggio had also previously helped to set up Inter’s equaliser during the match. This was the first time Baggio had scored for Inter since his goal on 27 May of the previous season, and in the post-match the interview, he denied accusations made by Lippi in regard to his personal form. Baggio’s last important contribution to Inter was scoring two memorable goals against Parma in the play-off match for the last remaining UEFA Champions League place, which Inter won 3–1; Lippi had been forced to field Baggio due to several injuries. Baggio was given a perfect 10 rating from the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, who described his performance as “absolutely perfect all game”. This game is considered an example of professionalism shown by Baggio, as Inter’s president Massimo Moratti had stated that Lippi would only stay on if the team qualified for the Champions League.
Watch above the two memorable goals of Roberto Baggio against Parma in the play-off match for the last remaining UEFA Champions League place
Did you Know?
After leaving Juventus in 1999 for 28 billion lire (€14.461 million) transfer fee and a reported 8 billion lire pre-tax wage, Peruzzi spent one unsuccessful season with Internazionale – despite his excellent performances –, under his former Juventus manager Marcello Lippi, finishing the league season in fourth place, and reaching the Coppa Italia final.
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This shirt was issued for Ronaldo for a Serie A game of the season 2000-2001. The shirt was issued for the player but never worn because he was forced to miss almost the whole season due the bad injury happened the season before. The shirt is hand signed by the player with a black marker on front alongside with the Milene Domingues (“Ronaldinha” – Ronaldo’s wife at that time who was also a professional soccer player) signature. The shirt was a personal gift made by Ronaldo and Ronaldinha to the Ronaldo’s agent (whom we got it from) for a special event and it was signed by both of them alongside with the dedication stating “07/07/01 um bejo”. Inter had high hopes going into the 1999–2000 season with their attack including Ronaldo and Italian stars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri. However, on 21 November, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the field. A medical examination confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery. During his first comeback on 12 April 2000, he played only six minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before suffering a complete rupture of the knee-cap tendons. Ronaldo’s physiotherapist Nilton Petrone stated, “his knee-cap actually exploded”, and called it “the worst football injury” he’s ever seen. Ronaldo was forced to miss the entire 2000–01 season and much of the two seasons either side of it.[53] Since his Inter teammate Javier Zanetti had replaced him as the team captain during his absence, he eventually inherited the captain’s armband in late 2001. After two operations and rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title
Things to Know:
Vieri was a complete, quick, prolific and opportunistic striker, with a keen eye for goal. Due to his notable goal-scoring prowess, Vieri is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest Italian strikers of all time and one of the top strikers of his generation. In his prime, his unique and direct offensive style of play, which blended power with pace and a solid technique, led him to be compared to Luigi Riva and Roberto Boninsegna, as well as earning him the nickname of “Il Toro” (“The Bull”). Despite his goalscoring ability, he was also injury prone throughout his career, however, which greatly affected his pace, fitness and mobility in later years. Vieri was predominantly left-footed, although he was capable of scoring with both feet, as well as with his head, and from volleys. He has often been described as a large, old fashioned centre forward, due to his powerful physical presence and outstanding aerial ability; he is the all-time top scorer of headed goals in Italian league history. Despite being primarily a goal-scoring striker, he was also capable of providing assists to teammates, which was aided by his ability to use his strength to hold up the ball and play with his back to goal in order to participate in the build-up of attacking plays. Although he was primarily a goal-area threat, Vieri had an accurate and powerful shot from distance as well as inside the area; he was also an accurate penalty taker.
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After three seasons with the Biancocelesti, Ballotta enjoyed a brief stint with Inter Milan, who acquired the player as part of Angelo Peruzzi’s multi-billion lire move to Inter. Inter claimed the transfer fee for Ballotta and Peruzzi were 7 billion and 40 billion respectively (thus 33 billion plus Ballotta), while La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed the transfer fee of Peruzzi was 35 billion plus Ballotta. During this timeframe he was also loaned to Modena, helping them gain promotion to the top flight in 2002 and subsequently signing permanently for free.
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At Inter, Vieri formed a potentially dangerous partnership with Ronaldo up front, but because of injuries to both players, they were not able to play together often. He was impressive in his first couple of seasons, but constant managerial changes meant that Inter could not challenge for the Scudetto. It was under disciplined Argentinian coach Héctor Cúper, that Vieri and Inter really began to flourish and challenge for honours. Vieri was made the focal point of the attack and scored 22 goals in 25 games in the 2001–02 season as Inter narrowly missed out on the title after their last-day defeat to Lazio.
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In June 2001, Zanetti re-joined Internazionale under manager Hector Cuper; Inter paid 10 billion Italian lire to buy back Zanetti. He was a regular starter under Cuper, and with the club he managed to the reach of the semi-finals of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup and the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, also narrowly missing out on the Serie A title both of those seasons. The 2003–04 season was more disappointing, however, and upon the arrival of new manager Roberto Mancini, he was deployed with less frequency due to injuries, as well as the arrivals of Edgar Davids and Esteban Cambiasso in midfield, although he was finally able to capture some silverware during his final two seasons at the club. During his second stint with Inter, he won two Coppa Italia trophies in 2005 and 2006, a Supercoppa Italiana in 2005, and he was also awarded a Serie A title after the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.
Review Lazio-Internazionale – May 5th 2002
Did you Know?
Toward the beginning of the 2001–02 season, Héctor Cúper was appointed new coach. Inter started well in Serie A, winning four times in five games. However, they did not manage to lead in January: A goalless draw against Lazio, in matchday 17, resulted in second place. During the return half, Inter collected 27 points in 11 matches before losing to Atalanta in early April. The side did not lose top position, but Juventus and Roma filled part of gap. Inter also suffered a disappointment in UEFA Cup, being knocked out by Feyenoord. The last matchday resulted deadly for title hopes: Inter faced off with Lazio, who still had some chances for a European spot. In the first half of the match, Karel Poborský equalized Christian Vieri and Luigi Di Biagio’s goals. During the second half, Diego Simeone and Simone Inzaghi scored to give Lazio a 4–2 win. As both Juventus and Roma won their games, Inter fell to third place, just reaching a Champions League’s play-off.
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This shirt was worn by Francesco Toldo during the Serie A’s game between Lecce and Internazionale F.C. which took place in Lecce, “Ettore Giardiniero – Via del Mare” Stadium, on March 17th 2002. Internazionale defeated Lecce 2-1 and Francesco Toldo swapped his shirt with a Lecce’s player who we got it from. Toldo joined Internazionale in the summer 2001. One year before Fiorentina faced bankruptcy, Toldo and Rui Costa were sold to Parma for a combined 140 billion lire in June 2001 (55 billion lire for Toldo; about €28.4 million in fixed exchange rate). It made the club a net profit in 2000–01 financial year, instead of a net loss. However, both players refused to join. Toldo himself would be the replacement of departing goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, whom Toldo refused to live under the expectation of. Eventually, Toldo joined Internazionale instead of Parma for the same fee; Parma signed Sébastien Frey from Inter instead of Toldo; Buffon joined Juventus from Parma; and Edwin van der Sar went to Fulham from Juventus. During his first season with the Inter under manager Héctor Cúper, Toldo performed at a high level, reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, and narrowly missing out on the Serie A title on the final match-day as Inter threw away their lead by losing to Lazio, eventually finishing the 2001–02 Serie A season in third place behind Juventus and Roma. Due to his consistency with Inter, Toldo soon became a fan favourite and was noted for his passionate and high-quality performances. The following season, he was praised particularly for his saves against Valencia in the Champions League quarter-final, leading football pundits to nickname the Estadio El Madrigal “La Plaza de Toldo”. During the match, Toldo was seen getting choked by teammate Luigi Di Biagio after an argument on the pitch. With his performances, Toldo helped Inter reach the semi-finals of the Champions League that season, losing out to the eventual champions and inter-city rivals Milan on away goals. Another great memory for Inter fans was his contribution to the equalising goal, scored by Christian Vieri, in the last minute of an eventual 1–1 draw against title rivals Juventus in the 2002–03 season; at first it appeared that Toldo might have been the scorer instead of Vieri, and even today the goal is still often referred to as “Toldo’s goal”.
Things to Know:
In the 2002-2003 season Vieri was Serie A Capocannoniere after scoring 24 goals in 23 appearances. In addition, he scored three goals in Inter’s Champions League campaign and formed a potent partnership with Hernán Crespo. He scored both of Inter’s goals in the quarter-final victory over Valencia. Vieri was injured during the second leg of this game and therefore played no part in the semi-final defeat to city rivals Milan.
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The start of the season was marked by the departure of Ronaldo and the arrival of Hernán Crespo after club had already acquired Fabio Cannavaro, Matias Almeyda and Domenico Morfeo. Crespo, along with Vieri, built an attacking duo. Crespo was essential in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League while Vieri usually scored in the domestic matches. Their partnership worked until Crespo sustained an injury, which sidelined him for several weeks. Without him, despite replaced by Batistuta, Inter lost some key matches. One of these was against Juventus who, could finally aim for the title. Inter managed to get to the Champions League quarter-finals, after passing in second in the group phase. Inter’s opponent was Valencia, winning 1–0 at home. A 2–1 defeat in Spain had no effect on qualification, due to the away goals rule. As Crespo came back from injury, Vieri got injured, but he managed to retain the title of the league’s top scorer, with 24 goals. In the semifinals, Inter lost to Milan due to Shevchenko’s away goal in the second leg, equalized by Martins, for a 1–1 aggregate that sent Milan to the final on away goals. Focused on the European competition, Inter collected two draws in the league that stuck them behind Juventus who won title, the second in row.
INTERNAZIONALE F.C.
2002-2003
Internazionale vs Juventus
Match Pennant
INTERNAZIONALE F.C.
2003-2004
Lecce vs Internazionale
Match Worn Shirt
Martins Obafemi
Did you Know?
This shirt was worn by Obafemi Martins during the Serie A game between Lecce and Internazionale which took place in Lecce, “Ettore Giardiniero – Via del Mare” Stadium, on May 2nd 2004. Lecce defeated Internazionale 2-1 and at the end of the game Martins swapped his shirt with a Lecce’s player whom we got it from. Martins was signed by Inter Milan in 2001 for a €750,000 transfer fee,[5] and in his first season he scored 23 goals for the youth team, helping them to win the Campionato Nazionale Primavera in 2001–02 season.[6] His form for the youth side led to his first-team league debut the following season, starting in a match against Parma on 22 December 2002 which was won by Inter 2–1. Martins didn’t become a regular member of the first team squad until the 2002–03 season. During this season he was given his first UEFA Champions League appearance by manager Héctor Cúper, entering as a substitute against his future employers, Newcastle United, at St James’ Park. He scored his first Champions League goal in a match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen to secure Inter’s place in the quarter-finals; footage of his celebratory somersaults were subsequently used by UEFA to advertise the following season’s competition. He scored again in the semi-final match against Inter’s arch-rivals Milan, but couldn’t prevent the club losing out on away goals to the competition’s eventual winners. In the championship, he scored once in four appearances. Martins signed a long-term contract with Inter Milan in 2005 which ran until 2010 and was worth around €2.5 million annually. By scoring in the 3–1 win at Anderlecht in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League group stage, Martins become the first ever teenager to score in three consecutive Champions League seasons. He was also protagonist in team’s successful run in Coppa Italia, scoring six goals, including a hat-trick against Bologna,[11] as the tournament ended in conquest. Martins amassed 22 goals in 45 matches across all competitions, setting a new personal best; his good form for Inter earned him a spot in Nigeria’s 2006 Africa Cup of Nations squad. Although he had some success with Inter, scoring 28 goals for the club in 88 league games as well as 11 goals in European competitions, he was sold in August 2006. This was due to Inter bringing in two new strikers; first Argentinian Hernán Crespo was brought in on loan from Chelsea and then the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović was bought by Inter from Juventus.
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This shirt was worn by Julio Cruz during the 2003-2004 Serie A game between Ancona and Internazionale which took place in Ancona, “Stadio Del Conero”, on March 21st 2004. Internazionale defeated Ancona 2-0 and the shirt was swapped by Cruz with an Ancona Calcio’s player who we got the shirt from. The shirt is very recognizable by game’s footage due the raw hand cutted sleeves. Julio Cruz left Bologna to sign for Internazionale in 2003. He was allocated squad number 9 and made his Inter debut on 14 September 2003 in the 1–0 away win against Siena, playing the full 90 minutes. Three days later, he scored his first Inter goal in the 3–0 victory over Arsenal at Highbury Stadium on 17 September 2003 in the UEFA Champions League. He continued with his good form, notably scoring a crucial double against Juventus in a 3–1 away win. With the “nerazzurri”, Cruz rarely played regularly in the first team, finding some playing time usually just when the leading strikers were unavailable, and often being used as a substitute.
INTERNAZIONALE F.C.
2003-2004
Ancona vs Internazionale
Match Worn Shirt
Cruz Julio
Did you Know?
As a part of the squad for 19 seasons and with 858 appearances across all competitions, he is currently the team’s longest-tenured player, and the first overall – surpassing Giuseppe Bergomi (758) – in the all-time list of Inter players by most games played. Throughout his stay with the club, he won 16 trophies, 15 of which came under his captaincy : the UEFA Cup in 1998, the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Coppa Italia, the 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Supercoppa Italiana, the 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 Scudetti and the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. Zanetti went 12 years without being sent off in a match. The first time he was sent off in his career was on 17 February 1999 in a Coppa Italia match against Parma, but he broke his streak when he was sent off in a Serie A match against Udinese on 3 December 2011. These were the only two times he was sent off during his entire career at Inter. At Inter, Zanetti played under 19 different coaches, making him the only player to have played under this many coaches. He has pledged his future to the Nerazzurri, hoping to have a future behind the desk at the club in his retirement from playing. “Inter means a lot to me”, Zanetti said.
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This shirt was worn by Sinisa Mihajlovic during the Tim Cup semi final game between Cagliari and Internazionale which took place in Cagliari, “Stadio Sant’Elia”, on May 12th 2005. Internazionale draw 1-1 and at the end of the game Mihajlovic gave his shirt to an Internazionale’s doctor whom we got it from. In the summer 2004, 35-year-old Mihajlović was released from Lazio and joined his friend and former teammate Roberto Mancini at Internazionale on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal. On 16 June 2005 Mihajlović signed a one-year extension. On 9 April 2006, in a league away game versus Ascoli, Mihajlović scored his 27th career free-kick goal in the Serie A championship. Mihajlović ended his playing career after the 2005–06 season, aged 37, having one Serie A championship, two Coppa Italia trophies and a Supercoppa Italia title as an Inter player.
