Did you Know?
On 20 May 2009, La Gazzetta dello Sport confirmed that Diego Milito was transferred to Inter alongside teammate Thiago Motta. The transfer fees were €28 million and €10 million respectively but Genoa also received Robert Acquafresca, Leonardo Bonucci, Riccardo Meggiorini, Francesco Bolzoni, Ivan Fatić and cash in exchange. The striker adapted to his new surroundings quickly and had an excellent start to his Inter career, scoring two goals in a 2–0 World Football Challenge win over city rivals Milan. Subsequently, on 29 August, in his first ever Derby della Madonnina against Milan in Serie A, Milito assisted two goals and scored a penalty, his first league goal of the season, as Inter won 4–0. Later, on 13 September, he scored his second league goal in a 2–0 home win against Parma. In the next league match against Cagliari, he scored both goals for Inter in a 2–1 away win. These two goals placed him at the top of the all-time Serie A scoring charts for best strike rate, with 28 goals in 35 games, giving him an average of 0.8 goals per game. Milito continued his fine run of form with another goal in the next league match against Napoli, scoring the second goal after Samuel Eto’o scored in the first minute, a game that they won 3–1. The striker adapted to his new surroundings quickly and had an excellent start to his Inter career, scoring two goals in a 2–0 World Football Challenge win over city rivals Milan. Subsequently, on 29 August, in his first ever Derby della Madonnina against Milan in Serie A, Milito assisted two goals and scored a penalty, his first league goal of the season, as Inter won 4–0. Later, on 13 September, he scored his second league goal in a 2–0 home win against Parma. In the next league match against Cagliari, he scored both goals for Inter in a 2–1 away win. These two goals placed him at the top of the all-time Serie A scoring charts for best strike rate, with 28 goals in 35 games, giving him an average of 0.8 goals per game. Milito continued his fine run of form with another goal in the next league match against Napoli, scoring the second goal after Samuel Eto’o scored in the first minute, a game that they won 3–1. Milito finished the season with 30 goals in all competitions, 22 of which came in the league, and 6 in the Champions League. After the treble success, many pundits took note of the fact that Milito had always been an effective and efficient striker, yet remained one of the most underrated players in world football because of his low-key manner and the fact that he had plied his trade for smaller, less competitive teams prior to joining Inter. Scoring goals on the biggest stages for a marquee team finally earned the striker the recognition merited by his skill and goalscoring record. On 9 August 2010, Milito signed a new four-year contract with the Nerazzurri. On 26 August, Milito was named 2010 UEFA Forward and Player of the Year.
