Inter were founded in 1908 as FBC Internazionale Milano by a group of predominantly Italian and Swiss players who, resentful of the British influence at Milan, decided to form their own club. Their reputation as one of Italy's biggest clubs is built largely on two separate eras, when six of their thirteen scudetto titles were won and they have long lived in the shadow of their local rivals AC Milan.
Inter won the Italian League championship at the first attempt in the 1909-1910 season, when for the only time until the formation of the Serie A in 1929-1930, the championship was decided in a single national league. They finished equal first with Pro Vercelli on points, although Vercelli considered themselves champions on goal difference. The Italian FA demanded a play-off but Vercelli's first team were already competing in a military competition. A farcical state of affairs ensued. No alternative date for the play-off could be agreed and Vercelli were forced to field their fourth team which included several eleven year old boys. Reports differ as to the final scoreline in the play-off final, and it is given variously as ten-three or eleven-three in favour of Inter. Their league encounters had ended with one victory apiece so the result was certainly unsatisfactory, but nonetheless, it stood. Inter qualified for the regional finals in 1914 and the national finals in 1915, when the championship was abandoned at the outbreak of World War One. Inter had to wait until the league was resumed in the 1919-1920 season for their next championship. They lost only once on the way to the northern Italy finals, where a one-nil victory over Juventus in Genoa was enough to qualify for the national final. In Turin, Inter beat Livorno three-two to clinch their second championship.
Inter qualified from the regional league again in 1922, 1927 and 1928 but success on the national stage proved elusive and in 1928 they merged with US Milanese. Milanese were Milan's smallest club and the closest they had come to winning any honours was Italian League runners up in 1908 and 1909, losing out on each occasion to Pro Vercelli. The new team was named Ambrosiana SS Milano after Ambrosio, patron saint of Milan, and it was under this name that Inter won the inaugural Serie A championship to begin one the great eras in the club's history. Spearheaded by striker Guiseppe Meazza, Ambrosiana scored eighty-five goals in thirty-four games and won the title by a two point margin. At the end of the season, the club changed it's name to AS Ambrosiana and finished fifth in 1931 and seventh in 1932. In both seasons, they failed to score enough goals to compensate for their over-generous defence. Ambrosiana changed their name again in 1932 to AS Ambrosiana "Inter" Milano and in the 1933 season the goals flowed once again as they scored eighty goals from thirty-four matches. Only champions Juventus scored more with eighty-three goals, but in comparison, they conceded only twenty-three to Ambrosiana's fifty-three. This set the pattern for the next two seasons, as Ambrosiana-Inter continued to find the net but defended poorly and finished runners-up in the league championship to Juventus. It was during this period that Ambrosiana-Inter recorded their highest win, beating Casale nine-nil. This was not a time without its rewards however, as Ambrosiana-Inter won the Mitropa Cup in 1933. In 1936 and 1937 Ambrosiana-Inter's away form cost them league success as they won only five games outside of Milan. In 1938 they managed to convert the away defeats into draws, and finished two points ahead of Juventus for their second Serie A title. This was followed in 1939 with the club's first Italian Cup win and in 1940 by another scudetto and this time, they conceded less goals than any other Serie A side.
World War Two interrupted the championship, and on it's reinstatement, the club made the final change to it's name, settling on FC Internazionale Milano and two years later moved to their present home, the San Siro. Inter soon got back into their old groove again, scoring freely, but failing to defend well enough to capitalise and finishing alternately second and third in Serie A between 1949 and 1952. During this period Inter averaged over ninety-four goals a season, but it was a more conservative approach that would bring them their first post-war Serie A title. Inter were one of the divisions lowest scoring teams when they won the scudetto in 1953 yet they conceded just twenty-four compared to second placed Juventus who let in forty. Milan had the next best defensive record, conceding thirty-four and finishing in third place. Inter repeated this success the following year, again by virtue of a strong defence, although this time they were also the divisions top scorers with sixty-seven goals.
The appointment, in 1955, of millionaire businessmen Angelo Moratti as club president was soon to be followed by the arrival of coach Helenio Herrera from Barcelona who would become known as il Mago, or the sorcerer, on account of his extraordinary abilities. Herrera's new signings included the Brazilian, Jair and Luis Suarez of Barcelona for a then world record fee. Initially Inter started to slide, only managing to finish sporadically in the top three and finishing eleventh in 1958. There was cup disappointment in 1959 as Juventus blasted Inter out of the Italian Cup final with a four-one victory. 1962, however, saw an improvement as Inter solved some of their defensive problems to concede the fewest goals of any team in Serie A and finish second behind local rivals Milan. The improvement continued in 1963 as Inter conceded just 20 goals and won the new coach his first piece of silverware. Inter were unlucky not to retain the championship the following year, finishing level on points with Bologna, but losing the play-off two-nil in Rome. In the European Cup, Inter had difficult opposition at every stage, facing Everton, AS Monaco, Partisan Belgrade and Borussia Dortmund en route to the final, held in Vienna. In the final, Inter beat Real Madrid three-one, with the tournament's joint top scorer, Sandro Mazzola scoring twice for the Milanese club. There were more good times to come. Inter won the Serie A title in both 1965 and 1966, and despite losing out to Juventus in the 1965 Italian Cup final, they did manage to retain the European Cup in that year, Jair netting the only goal of the final against Benfica.
The club finished runners-up in Serie A in 1967, were losers in the European Cup final and failed to win a trophy until 1971 saw another Serie A championship, this time over local rivals Milan. Inter reached their fourth European Cup in 1972 where Johann Cruyff scored twice in the second half to give Ajax a two-nil victory. As Inter remained out of the title frame for the rest of the decade, their chance for glory came in the Italian Cup. They lost out in an all-Milanese final in 1977, but the following season beat Napoli two-one for their first Italian Cup win in nearly forty years.
The 1980s were ushered in with victory in Serie A, the side featuring striker Allessandro Altobelli and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Inter's fans had even more to smile about as local rivals Milan were relegated that same year for their part in a match rigging scandal. The next trophy came in the form of the Italian Cup in 1982, and eerily, Inter's success once again coincided with Milan's failure, as this time they played their way out of the top flight. Inter were in the top teams for the rest of the decade but until they won the scudetto in 1989, never managed to place higher than third.
In the 1990s, Inter have not managed to win the Serie A title, and have seen Milan dominate the domestic scene, finishing in second place behind them in 1993 as their local rivals won the second of three successive championships. Consistently high league placings, however have made Inter eligible for the UEFA cup and in 1991 beat Roma two-nil in an all-Italian final, the goals coming in the second half from Matthaus and Berti. They won the trophy again in 1994, this time Austria Salzburg the unlucky victims. All was not well on the domestic front however, as boardroom struggles and poor league almost resulted in Inter's relegation. The appointment of Roy Hodgson as coach turned things around for the club and after a disastrous first round UEFA cup exit at the hands of Aston Villa, only a ninetieth minute goal in the last game of the season kept Inter in Europe the following year. |
发表于 2002-8-10 03:44:55
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