Inter Milan

Foundation and early years (1908–1960)

The club was founded on 9 March 1908 as Football Club Internazionale, when a group of players left the Milan Cricket and Football Club (now AC Milan) to form a new club because they wanted to accept more foreign players.^[17] The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians.^[18] The club won its first championship in 1910 and its second in 1920.^[19] The captain and coach of the first championship winning team was Virgilio Fossati,^[20] who was later killed in battle while serving in the Italian army during World War I.^[21]

In 1922, Inter was at risk of relegation to the second division, but they remained in the top league after winning two play-offs.

Six years later, during the Fascist era, the club merged with the Unione Sportiva Milanese and, for political reasons, was renamed Società Sportiva Ambrosiana.^[22] During the 1928–29 season, the team wore white jerseys with a red cross emblazoned on it; the jersey's design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan.^[23] In 1929, the new club chairman Oreste Simonotti changed the club's name to Associazione Sportiva Ambrosiana and restored the previous black-and-blue jerseys; however, supporters continued to call the team Inter, and in 1931 new chairman Pozzani succumbed to shareholder pressure and changed the name to Associazione Sportiva Ambrosiana-Inter.

Inter won its third and fourth Serie A title in 1930 and 1938, and also their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1939, led by Giuseppe Meazza one of the greatest Italian player of all time and the greatest scorer in Inter history with 284 goals, and after whom the San Siro stadium is officially named. A fifth championship followed in 1940, that ended a decade dominated by three teams: Inter, Bologna and the historic rival Juventus.

In the 30's Inter also played for seven times in one of the first major European football cups, the Central European Cup, with Meazza that was a record three times topscorer of the competition; coached by Hungarian Árpád Weisz Inter reached the final of the competition in 1933, when after had won the first leg in Milan 2–1, lost 3–1 in 9 men against Austria Vienna. 4 out of 11 players of that team: Meazza, Luigi Allemandi, Attilio Demaría and Armando Castellazzi would go on to win the 1934 World Cup with Italian national team, while other four Inter players will contribute to the win of 1938 World Cup with Italy: Meazza, Ugo Locatelli, Giovanni Ferrari and Pietro Ferraris.

After the end of World War II, the club's name changed back to its original one, Internazionale,^[2] and it come close to win Serie A title in two occasions, one in the last season of Grande Torino in 1949 and in 1951 with the contribution of great players acquired by president Carlo Masseroni in these years, like the first Dutch player in club history Faas Wilkes; Inter will win its sixth championship in 1953 and its seventh in 1954, for the first time in two consecutive years, coached by Alfredo Foni and led by two of the most prolific strikers in club history: István Nyers and Benito Lorenzi with Lennart Skoglund that completed the offensive trio.

In May 1955 Angelo Moratti became the new owner of Inter and despite a disappointment start in the first years with different coaches and players, he put foundations to one of the greatest team in football history.

Grande Inter (1960–1967)

In 1960, manager Helenio Herrera joined Inter from Barcelona, bringing with him Spanish midfielder Luis Suárez in 1961, who won the European Footballer of the Year in the same year for his role in Barcelona's La Liga/Fairs Cup double.^[24] He would transform Inter into one of the leading teams in Europe that would win three Serie A titles in four years, two European Cup and two Intercontinental Cup in a row.^[25] He modified a 5–3–2 tactic known as the "Verrou" ("door bolt"), which created greater flexibility for counterattacks.^[26] The catenaccio system was invented by an Austrian coach, Karl Rappan.^[27] Rappan's original system was implemented with four fixed defenders, playing a strict man-to-man marking system, plus a playmaker in the middle of the field, who plays the ball together with two midfield wings. Herrera would modify it by adding a fifth defender, the sweeper or libero, behind the two centre backs. The sweeper or libero, who acted as the free man, would deal with any attackers who went through the two centre backs.^[28] Inter finished third in the Serie A in his first season, second the next year and first in his third season. Then followed a back-to-back European Cup victory in 1964 and 1965, earning him the title "il Mago" ("the Wizard").^[28] The core of Herrera's team were the attacking full-backs Tarcisio Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti, Armando Picchi the sweeper, Suárez the playmaker, Jair the winger, Mario Corso the left midfielder and Sandro Mazzola, who played on the inside-right.^{[29][30][31][32][33]}

After the Serie A title won in previous season, in 1964 Inter reached the European Cup Final by beating Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final and Partizan in the quarter-final.^[34] In the final in Praterstadion, Vienna they met Real Madrid, a team that had reached seven out of the nine finals to date.^[34] Mazzola scored two goals and one from Milani in a 3–1 victory, becoming also the first ever team to win the tournament without losing a single game. The team also won the Intercontinental Cup after have lost the first match in Argentine against Independiente 1–0, Inter won second leg 2–0 in San Siro with goals from Mazzola and Corso, in the third decisive match played in Santiago Bernabeu Inter won in extra-time with a goal from Mario Corso, the first Italian club to win the trophy.

In 1964 Inter added other important players Angelo Domenghini, Gianfranco Bedin and another Spanish Joaquín Peiró that played with constance and was decisive in European Cup where three foreign players could play in the same time while in Serie A only two were allowed to play.

A year later, after have defeated Liverpool F.C. in the semi-final second leg 3-0 recovering from a 3–1 defeat at Anfield with Facchetti scoring the decisive goal, Inter repeated the feat by beating two-time winner Benfica in the final held at home, from a Jair goal, and then again beat Independiente in the Intercontinental Cup with a 3–0 win in San Siro, with two goals from Mazzola and one from Peirò, and a draw in Argentine, becoming the first European team to win two times in a row the competition. Inter came close to winning the Treble for the first time in European football history that year, after having also won the Serie A title, but lost the Coppa Italia final against Juventus in a game played in the last days of August 1965.

Inter again reached semifinals of the European cup in 1966, but this time lost against a Real Madrid team that would go on to win the tournament, while in national championship Herrera's squad won the tenth scudetto in club history, the first Star.

At the end of the season Moratti signed two of the greatest players of all time: Franz Beckenbauer^[35] and Eusebio,^[36] but after 1966 World Cup when Italian National Team was eliminated by North Korea, Italian Federation decided to block new signings of foreign players who will last until 1980, avoided the contract with the two players.

In 1967, after Inter eliminated Real Madrid in quarterfinals, with Suárez injured, Inter lost the European Cup Final in Lisbon 2–1 to Celtic; a week later, despite the first position, with a lost against Mantova in the last match of the championship Inter lost also the Serie A title and a week later the Coppa Italia semifinal against Padova, putting an end de facto to the Grande Inter cicle with the first season without trophy since 1961–1962.^[37] During that year, the club changed its name to Football Club Internazionale Milano, and in 1968 after 13 years Angelo Moratti sold the team to Ivanoe Fraizzoli, and also Helenio Herrera left the team.

Subsequent achievements (1967–1991)

Following the golden era of the 1960s, Inter managed to win their eleventh league title in 1971 with Roberto Boninsegna that leaded the league with 24 goals, and their twelfth in 1980.^[38] Inter were defeated for the second time in five years in the final of the European Cup, losing 0–2 to Johan Cruyff's Ajax in 1972. During the 1970s and the 1980s, Inter also added two to its Coppa Italia tally, in 1977–78 and 1981–82 under coach Eugenio Bersellini.

Italian federation reopened the possibility to sign foreign players in 1980, Inter signed among others Hansi Müller (1975–1982 VfB Stuttgart, 1982–1984 Inter), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1974–1984 Bayern Munich, 1984–1987 Inter) and Argentinian Daniel Passarella (1986–1988 Inter); other important players in that time were Italians Graziano Bini, Walter Zenga, Giuseppe Bergomi, Alessandro Altobelli, Gabriele Oriali, Riccardo Ferri, Gianpiero Marini and Giuseppe Baresi: Bergomi, Oriali, Marini and Altobelli were part of Italy squad that won 1982 FIFA World Cup.

In 1981 Inter reached for the sixth time in six participations European Cup Semifinals this time against Real Madrid, a classic match that will repeat in 3 different European competitions in the 80's: in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals in 1983 and in Uefa Cup semi-finals in 1985 and 1986.

Led by the German duo of Andreas Brehme and Lothar Matthäus, with Aldo Serena top scorer in Serie A with 22 goals, Argentine Ramón Díaz and Nicola Berti, Inter coached by Giovanni Trapattoni captured the 1989 Serie A championship ended with an all-time record for most points in Serie A history with 18 teams, with 58 points out of 68. Inter were unable to defend their title in the following season in a very competitive Serie A, despite adding fellow German Jürgen Klinsmann to the squad and winning their first Supercoppa Italiana at the start of the season.

Mixed fortunes (1991–2004)

The 1990s was a lackluster period. While their great rivals Milan and Juventus were achieving success both domestically and in Europe, Inter enjoyed little success in the domestic league standings, their worst coming in 1993–94 when they finished just one point out of the relegation zone. Nevertheless, they achieved some European success, with three UEFA Cup victories, in 1991, 1994 and 1998.

After the win of the 1990 World Cup of West Germany led by three Inter players, Matthews was awarded of Ballon d'Or and ended 1990–1991, his most prolific season in career, with 23 goals including 6 in 1991 UEFA Cup won against Roma in May 1991, the first European trophy since the Grande Inter period.

In 1992, after a disappointing season, in sostitution^{[clarification needed]} of the German trio that left in the summer and with the new coach Osvaldo Bagnoli, Inter signed important players like the future Ballon d'Or Matthias Sammer, Rubén Sosa, the first Russian player in club history Igor Shalimov and others that will delude like Darko Pancev and Salvatore Schillaci; Inter ended the season second behind AC Milan coached by Fabio Capello.

In the following season Inter acquired from Ajax Wim Jonk and Dennis Bergkamp that, with 8 goals in the competition, led Inter to their second victory in UEFA Cup despite the worst result in club history in Serie A.

With Massimo Moratti's takeover from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995, Inter twice broke the world record transfer fee in this period (£19.5 million for Ronaldo from Barcelona in 1997 and £31 million for Christian Vieri from Lazio two years later).^[39] Among Moratti first acquisitions in 1995 there were Javier Zanetti from Banfield, that will stay at Inter until 2014 with a record of 858 game played and with a record 13 season as a captain, Paul Ince from Manchester United and Roberto Carlos from Palmeiras that will be sold the next season to Real Madrid with many regrets and recriminations from fans.

However, the 1990s remained the only decade in Inter's history, alongside the 1940s, in which they did not win a single Serie A championship. This persistent lack of success led to poor relations between the fanbase and the chairman, the managers, and even some individual players.

Moratti later became a target of the fans, especially when he sacked the much-loved coach Luigi Simoni after a few games into the 1998–99 season, five days after Inter have defeated Real Madrid 3–1 at San Siro in Champions League group stage with two goals from Roberto Baggio, and having just received the Italian manager of the year award for 1998 the day before being dismissed. That season despite 4 coaches changes Inter reached Champions League quarter Finals when it will be eliminated from Manchester United that would go on to win the trophy that year; Inter failed to qualify for any European competition for the first time in seven years, finishing in eighth place.

In the previous seasons in 1996-1997 Inter reached for third time Uefa Cup final losing this time at penalty in Giuseppe Meazza against Schalke 04 with Roy Hodgson that resigned shortly afterwards, instead in 1997-1998 under Simoni Inter had won his third UEFA Cup defending in Paris final Lazio 3–0 with goals from Ivan Zamorano, Zanetti and Ronaldo, and nearly won Serie A title, with many controversial referee decisions culminated in the decisive match against Juventus in Turin with Inter behind only 1 point with 4 games left, when referee didn't concede a penalty on Ronaldo and after few seconds conceded a penalty for Juventus, that generated a turmoil on the pitch and a big scandal, with president Moratti that left the building shortly afterwards.

The following season, 1999–2000, Moratti appointed former Juventus manager Marcello Lippi, and signed players such as Angelo Peruzzi, Laurent Blanc and Clarence Seedorf from Real Madrid, together with other former Juventus players Vieri and Vladimir Jugović and sold important players like Diego Simeone, Youri Djorkaeff and Gianluca Pagliuca. The team came close to their first domestic success since 1989 when they reached the Coppa Italia final, only to be defeated by Lazio, in a match remembered for the second severe injury to the right knee of Ronaldo, who was returning after five months of inactivity, and which would keep him out for more than a year and a half.

Inter's misfortunes continued the following season, losing the 2000 Supercoppa Italiana match against Lazio 4–3, after initially taking the lead through new signing Robbie Keane. They were also eliminated in the preliminary round of the Champions League by Swedish club Helsingborgs, with Álvaro Recoba missing a crucial late penalty. Lippi was sacked after only a single game of the new season following Inter's first ever Serie A defeat to Reggina. Marco Tardelli, chosen to replace Lippi, failed to improve results, and is remembered by Inter fans as the manager who lost 6–0 in the city derby against Milan.

In 2002 with new coach Hector Cuper, the acquisition of the second most expensive goalkeeper in the world at that time Francesco Toldo and the return after injury of Ronaldo in pair with Vieri, not only did Inter manage to make it to the UEFA Cup semi-finals, but were also only 45 minutes away from capturing the Scudetto when they needed to maintain their one-goal advantage away to Lazio. Inter were 2–1 up after only 24 minutes. Lazio equalised during first half injury time, and then scored two more goals by Simeone and Simone Inzaghi in the second half to secure victory that saw Juventus win the championship, Roma ended second and Inter third. After brilliant performances and have won 2002 World Cup with Brazil, Ronaldo demanded and ottened to be sold to Real Madrid for €45 million, and was replaced by Hernan Crespo from Lazio for €40 million, Seedorf was sold to AC Milan and Fabio Cannavaro was acquired from Parma.

The next season Inter finished as league runners-up with Vieri that was top scorer of Serie A with 24 goals in 23 matches, while Crespo set a new record for UCL Group stage with 8 goals in 6 matches but missed almost the rest of the season for a severe injury in January. In October 2002 in a home game against Lyon Inter was defeated for the first time in its history at home in European Cup/UEFA Champions League after 33 matches in 39 years.^[40] Inter reached 2002–03 Champions League semi-finals against AC Milan, that were played also without Vieri out for injury, losing on the away goals rule with two draw in the same stadium in San Siro.

2003–2004 season started well with an historic win for Inter and for Italian football in Champions League in Highbury against Arsenal of Invincibles with a 3–0 and a win against Dinamo Kyiv, but after a draw against Brescia in Serie A in October coach Cuper was sacked and was replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni that will end up eliminated from Champions League in group stage, and despite acquisition in January of strong players like Dejan Stankovic and Adriano, Inter will finish only 4th. Other members of the Inter "family" during this period who suffered were the likes of Vieri and Cannavaro, both of whom had their restaurants in Milan vandalised after the second defeats of the season to the Rossoneri 3–2 in February 2004 in Serie A, but most important was the resignation from presidency by Massimo Moratti in favour of Giacinto Facchetti in January 2004, that lasted until the premature death of Inter legend in September 2006.

Comeback and unprecedented treble (2004–2011)

On 8 July 2004, Inter appointed former Lazio manager Roberto Mancini as its new head coach, with players who will make the history of Inter like Esteban Cambiasso, Julio Cesar, and in 2005 Walter Samuel and Luis Figo.^[41] In his first season, the team collected 72 points from 18 wins, 18 draws and only two losses, as well as winning the Coppa Italia against Roma with two goal from Adriano and later the Supercoppa Italiana in Turin against Juventus with a goal from Juan Sebastián Verón.^[42][43] On 11 May 2006, Inter won the Coppa Italia title for the second season in a row after defeating Roma with a 4–1 aggregate victory (a 1–1 scoreline in Rome and a 3–1 win at the San Siro).^[44]

Inter were awarded the 2005–06 Serie A championship retrospectively, after title-winning Juventus was relegated and points were stripped from Milan due to the Calciopoli scandal.^[45] During the following season, Inter with new players like Maicon, Maxwell, Patrick Vieira, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the return of Crespo from Chelsea, went on a record-breaking run of 17 consecutive victories in Serie A, starting on 25 September 2006, with a 4–1 home victory over Livorno, and ending on 28 February 2007, after a 1–1 draw at home to Udinese.^[46] On 22 April 2007, Inter won their second consecutive Scudetto—and first on the field since 1989—when they defeated Siena 2–1 at Stadio Artemio Franchi, ended the season with an all time Serie A record of 97 points and an all-time record margin of 22 points over second place Roma.^[47] Italian World Cup-winning defender Marco Materazzi scored both goals.^[48]

In this period Inter also reached two times UCL quarter-finals in 2005 and 2006, and UCL round of 16 in 2007: in the last two occasions Inter was eliminated from away goals rules by Villareal and Valencia.

Inter started the 2007–08 season with the goal of winning both Serie A and Champions League in the year of centenary from the foundation of the club. The team started well in the league, topping the table from the first round of matches, and also managed to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage. However, a late collapse, leading to a 2–0 defeat with ten men away to Liverpool on 19 February in the Champions League,^[49] brought manager Roberto Mancini's future at Inter,^[50] into question while domestic form took a sharp turn of fortune, with the team failing to win in the three following Serie A games. After being eliminated by Liverpool in the Champions League, Mancini announced his intention to leave his job immediately only to change his mind the following day.^[51] On the final day of the 2007–08 Serie A season, Inter played Parma away, that had to win to not be relegated in Serie B after 18 years; Roma scored in Catania and was in the first place until Zlatan Ibrahimović, 10 minutes after have been entered on the pitch in the second half, scored two goals sealed their third consecutive championship.^[52][53] Mancini, however, was sacked soon after, due to his previous announcement to leave the club.^[54]

On 2 June 2008, Inter appointed former Porto and Chelsea boss José Mourinho as new head coach.^[55] In his first season, the Nerazzurri won a Suppercoppa Italiana and a fourth consecutive title, though falling in the Champions League in the first knockout round for a third-straight year, losing to eventual finalist Manchester United.^[56] In winning the league title, Inter became the first club in since 1949 to win the title for four consecutive seasons, and joined Torino and Juventus as the only clubs to accomplish this feat, as well as being the first club based outside Turin.

In the summer of 2009 Inter put foundation to maybe the greatest single season of its history: after have signed Diego Milito and Thiago Motta from Genoa, Lúcio from Bayern Munich, the club agreed to sell Ibrahimovic to Barcelona in change for Samuel Eto'o plus 49 millions euros. The transfer session ended with the sign of Wesley Sneijder from Real Madrid in the last days of August. Inter won the 2009–10 Champions League, defeating in round of 16 Ancelotti's Chelsea, Cska Moscow and reigning champions Barcelona in the semi-final, before beating Bayern Munich 2–0 in the final in Madrid, with two goals from Diego Milito.^[57] Inter also won the 2009–10 Serie A title by two points over Roma, the fifth consecutive, and the 2010 Coppa Italia by defeating the same side 1–0 in the final.^[58] This made Inter the first and only Italian team to win the treble.^[59] At the end of the season, Mourinho left the club to manage Real Madrid;^[60] he was replaced by Rafael Benítez.

On 21 August 2010, Inter defeated Roma 3–1 and won the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana, their fourth trophy of the year.^[61] In December 2010, they claimed the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time after a 3–0 win against Mazembe in the final.^[62] However, after this win, on 23 December 2010, due to their declining performance in Serie A, the club fired Benítez.^[63] He was replaced by Leonardo the following day.^[64]

Leonardo started with 30 points from 12 games, with an average of 2.5 points per game, better than his predecessors Benítez and Mourinho.^[65] On 6 March 2011, Leonardo set a new Italian Serie A record by collecting 33 points in 13 games; the previous record was 32 points in 13 games, made by Fabio Capello in the 2004–05 season.^[66] Leonardo led the club to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, after have defeated again Bayern Munich in Round of 16, before losing to Schalke 04;^[67] Inter ended second in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia title.^[68] At the end of the season, however, he resigned,^[69] and was followed by new managers Gian Piero Gasperini, Claudio Ranieri and Andrea Stramaccioni, all hired during the following season.

Changes in ownership (2011–2019)

On 1 August 2012, the club announced that Moratti was to sell a minority stake of the club to a Chinese consortium led by Kenneth Huang.^[70] On the same day, Inter announced an agreement was formed with China Railway Construction Corporation Limited for a new stadium project, however, the deal with the Chinese eventually collapsed.^[71] The 2012–13 season was the worst in recent club history, with Inter finishing ninth in Serie A and failing to qualify for any European competitions. Walter Mazzarri was appointed to replace Stramaccioni as the manager for 2013–14 season on 24 May 2013, having ended his tenure at Napoli.^[72] He guided the club to fifth in Serie A and to 2014–15 UEFA Europa League qualification.

On 15 October 2013, an Indonesian consortium (International Sports Capital HK Ltd.) led by Erick Thohir, Handy Soetedjo and Rosan Roeslani, signed an agreement to acquire 70% of Inter shares from Internazionale Holding S.r.l.^[73][74][75] Immediately after the deal, Moratti's Internazionale Holding S.r.l. still retained 29.5% of the shares of FC Internazionale Milano S.p.A.^[76] After the deal, the shares of Inter was owned by a chain of holding companies, namely International Sports Capital S.p.A. of Italy (for 70% stake), International Sports Capital HK Limited and Asian Sports Ventures HK Limited of Hong Kong. Asian Sports Ventures HK Limited, itself another intermediate holding company, was owned by Nusantara Sports Ventures HK Limited (60% stake, a company owned by Thohir), Alke Sports Investment HK Limited (20% stake) and Aksis Sports Capital HK Limited (20% stake).

Thohir, who also co-owned Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United and Indonesia Super League (ISL) club Persib Bandung, announced on 2 December 2013 that Inter and D.C. United had formed a strategic partnership.^[77] During the Thohir era the club began to modify its financial structure from one reliant on continual owner investment to a more self-sustainable business model, although the club still breached UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in 2015. The club was fined and received a squad reduction in UEFA competitions, with additional penalties suspended during the probation period. During this time, Roberto Mancini returned as the club manager on 14 November 2014, with Inter finishing eighth. Inter finished 2015–2016 season fourth, failing to return to Champions League.

On 6 June 2016, Suning Holdings Group (via a Luxembourg-based subsidiary Great Horizon S.á r.l.) a company owned by Zhang Jindong, co-founder and chairman of Suning Commerce Group, acquired a majority stake of Inter from Thohir's consortium International Sports Capital S.p.A. and from Moratti family's remaining shares in Internazionale Holding S.r.l.^[78] According to various filings, the total investment from Suning was €270 million.^[79] The deal was approved by an extraordinary general meeting on 28 June 2016, from which Suning Holdings Group had acquired a 68.55% stake in the club.^[80]

The first season of new ownership, however, started with poor performance in pre-season friendlies. On 8 August 2016, Inter parted company with head coach Roberto Mancini by mutual consent over disagreements regarding the club's direction,^[81] especially with new signings Joao Mario for 44,75 million € (the second most expensive player in club history at that time) and Gabigol for 29,5 million €. He was replaced by Frank de Boer, who was sacked on 1 November 2016 after leading Inter to a 4W–2D–5L record in 11 Serie A games as head coach.^[82] The successor, Stefano Pioli, could not prevent the team from getting the worst group result in UEFA competitions in the club's history.^[83] Despite an eight-game winning streak, he and the club parted away before season's end, when it became clear they would finish outside the league's top three for the sixth consecutive season.^[84] On 9 June 2017, former Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was appointed as Inter manager, signing a two-year contract,^[85] and eleven months later Inter secured a UEFA Champions League group stage spot after going six years without Champions League participation, thanks to a 3–2 victory against Lazio in the final game of 2017–18 Serie A.^[86][87] Due to this success, in August the club extended the contract with Spalletti to 2021.^[88]

On 26 October 2018, Steven Zhang was appointed as new president of the club,^[89] and on 13 December 2018 Giuseppe Marotta officially joined Inter Milan as CEO for sport. On 25 January 2019, the club officially announced that LionRock Capital from Hong Kong had reached an agreement with International Sports Capital HK Limited, in order to acquire its 31.05% shares in Inter and to become the club's new minority shareholder.^[90] After the 2018–19 Serie A season, despite Inter finishing fourth, Spalletti was sacked.^[91]

Renewed successes (2019–present)

On 31 May 2019, Inter appointed former Juventus and Italian manager Antonio Conte as their new coach, signing a three-year deal;^[92] In the summer of 2019 Inter acquired from Manchester United for 74 million € Romelu Lukaku, the new most expensive player in the history of the club, Nicolò Barella for 44,5 million € from Cagliari and sold Mauro Icardi, one of the best striker in Italy in the past years, to PSG for 50 million €.

In September 2019, Steven Zhang was elected to the board of the European Club Association.^[93] In the 2019–20 Serie A, Inter Milan finished as runner-up, as they won 2–0 against Atalanta on the last matchday.^[94] They also reached the 2020 UEFA Europa League final, ultimately losing 3–2 to Sevilla.^[95] Inter improved team with signigns of new players, among others in January 2020 Christian Eriksen from Tottenham for 27 million € and in July Achraf Hakimi from Borussia Dortmund for 43 million €.

Despite the worst group result in Champions League in the club's history, following Atalanta's draw against Sassuolo on 2 May 2021, Internazionale were confirmed as champions for the first time in eleven years, ending Juventus's run of nine consecutive titles.^[96] However, despite securing Serie A glory, Conte left the club by mutual consent on 26 May 2021. The departure was reportedly due to disagreements between Conte and the board over player transfers.^[97][98] In June 2021, Simone Inzaghi was appointed as Conte's replacement.^[99] On 6 July 2021 Achraf Hakimi was sold to Paris Saint Germain for €60 million and on 8 August 2021, Romelu Lukaku was sold to Chelsea for €115 million, representing the most expensive association football transfer by an Italian football club ever.^[100][101]

Inter qualified in the UCL Round of 16 for the first time in ten years, but despite the club's first ever win at Anfield Road thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martinez, they were eliminated by Liverpool. On 12 January 2022, Inter won the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating Juventus 2–1 at San Siro. After conceding a goal to the opponent, Inter equalised with a penalty scored by Lautaro Martínez, and the match finished 1–1 in regulation time. In the last second of the extra-time, Alexis Sánchez scored the winning goal following a defensive error, giving Inter the first trophy of the season, also Simone Inzaghi's first trophy as Inter manager.^[102] On 11 May 2022, Inter won the Coppa Italia, defeating Juventus 4–2 at Stadio Olimpico. After normal time had ended 2–2, with Nicolò Barella and Hakan Çalhanoğlu scoring Inter's goals, Ivan Perišić's brace in the extra-time gave Inter the win and a second title of the season.^[103] The 2021–22 Serie A campaign saw Inter finish in second place, being the most prolific attacking side with 84 goals.^[104] On 18 January 2023, Inter won the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating Milan 3−0 at King Fahd International Stadium, thanks to goals from Federico Dimarco, Edin Džeko, and Lautaro Martinez.^[105]

Inter passed again UCL group stage after have eliminated Barcelona, and then after have defeated Porto and Benfica, qualified for semifinals of the competition. On 16 May 2023, Inter defeated archrivals Milan in the semi-finals of 2022–23 UEFA Champions League with goals from Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the first leg and a goal from Martinez in the second leg, advanced to the Champions League final for the first time since 2010. However, they were defeated at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium 1−0 by Manchester City after a second half goal from midfielder Rodri.^[106]

In January 2024 Inter won its eight Supercoppa Italiana and its third consecutive, in a new format with 4 teams, tying the record set by AC Milan in 90's for consecutive win, after have defeated in Riad Lazio 3-0 and then in the final match Napoli 1–0, with a late goal by Lautaro Martinez.

In July 2023 Inter sold for 50 million € goalkeeper Andre Onana to Manchester United, acquired the prior season for free, like Hakan Calhanoglu in 2021, Henrikh Mkhitaryan in 2022 and Marcus Thuram in 2023.

On 22 April 2024, Inter secured their 20th Serie A title and the second Star by defeating Milan 2–1 at the San Siro in a record sixth consecutive Derby della Madonnina win^[107] in a dominant season ended with 94 points, 19 over Milan second, the best attack with 89 goals made and the best defense with only 22 goals conceded with +67 difference, the best in Serie A since 1950–1951 season.^[108]

On 22 May 2024, Oaktree Capital Management assumed ownership of Inter Milan following the default of Suning Holdings Group on a substantial loan given in May 2021 to the club in order to cover losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[109] The firm took control of the club after Suning Holdings Group failed to repay a debt of €395 million ($428 million). This development was confirmed by Oaktree in an emailed statement.^[110] As a consequence, the new ownership chose to appoint CEO Giuseppe Marotta as the club's new chairman.

New Milano Stadium

Since 2012, various proposals and projects by Massimo Moratti have alternated regarding a possible construction of a new Inter stadium. ^[122] Between June and July 2019, Inter and Milan announced the agreement for the construction of a new shared stadium in the San Siro area.^[123] In the winter of 2021, Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan, gave official permission for the construction of the new stadium next to San Siro, which is expected to be partially demolished and refunctionalised after the 2026 Olympic Games.^[124] In early 2022, Inter and Milan revealed a "plan B" to relocate the construction of the new Milano stadium in the Greater Milan, away from the San Siro area.^[125]

First-team squad

As of 11 September 2024^[133]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SUI Yann Sommer 2 DF  NED Denzel Dumfries 6 DF  NED Stefan de Vrij 7 MF  POL Piotr Zieliński 8 FW  AUT Marko Arnautović 9 FW  FRA Marcus Thuram 10 FW  ARG Lautaro Martínez (captain) 11 FW  ARG Joaquín Correa 12 GK  ITA Raffaele Di Gennaro 13 GK  ESP Josep Martínez 15 DF  ITA Francesco Acerbi 16 MF  ITA Davide Frattesi 17 MF  CAN Tajon Buchanan

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  TUR Hakan Çalhanoğlu 21 MF  ALB Kristjan Asllani 22 MF  ARM Henrikh Mkhitaryan 23 MF  ITA Nicolò Barella (vice-captain) 28 DF  FRA Benjamin Pavard 30 DF  BRA Carlos Augusto 31 DF  GER Yann Bisseck 32 DF  ITA Federico Dimarco 36 DF  ITA Matteo Darmian 42 DF  ARG Tomás Palacios 95 DF  ITA Alessandro Bastoni 99 FW  IRN Mehdi Taremi

Close

Other players under contract

As of 30 August 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ROU Ionuț Radu

Close

Out on loan

As of 11 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SRB Filip Stanković (at Venezia until 30 June 2025) — DF  ARG Franco Carboni (at Venezia until 30 June 2025) — DF  ITA Alessandro Fontanarosa (at Reggiana until 30 June 2025) — DF  ITA Giacomo Stabile (at Alcione until 30 June 2025) — DF  ITA Francesco Stante (at Pergolettese until 30 June 2025) — DF  BEL Zinho Vanheusden (at KV Mechelen until 30 June 2025) — MF  NGA Ebenezer Akinsanmiro (at Sampdoria until 30 June 2025) — MF  ARG Valentín Carboni (at Marseille until 30 June 2025) — MF  ITA Luca Di Maggio (at Perugia until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SRB Aleksandar Stanković (at Luzern until 30 June 2025) — FW  FRA Issiaka Kamate (at AVS until 30 June 2025) — FW  ITA Francesco Pio Esposito (at Spezia until 30 June 2025) — FW  ITA Sebastiano Esposito (at Empoli until 30 June 2025) — FW  ITA Enoch Owusu (at Novara until 30 June 2025) — FW  ITA Eddie Salcedo (at OFI until 30 June 2025) — FW  SEN Amadou Sarr (at Foggia until 30 June 2025) — FW  URU Martín Satriano (at Lens until 30 June 2025) — FW  POL Jan Żuberek (at Lecco until 30 June 2025)

Close

Youth sector

Inter Primavera players who received a first-team squad call-up.^[134] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 40 GK  ITA Alessandro Calligaris 50 DF  ITA Mike Aidoo

No. Pos. Nation Player 52 MF  ITA Thomas Berenbruch 55 DF  ITA Matteo Motta

Close

Women team

Notable players

Retired numbers

3 – Giacinto Facchetti, left back, played for Inter 1960–1978 (posthumous honour). The number was retired on 8 September 2006, four days after Facchetti had died from cancer aged 64. The last player to wear the number 3 shirt was Argentinian center back Nicolás Burdisso, who took on the number 16 shirt for the rest of the season.^[135]

4 – Javier Zanetti, defensive midfielder, played 858 games for Inter between 1995 and his retirement in the summer of 2014. In June 2014, club chairman Erick Thohir confirmed that Zanetti's number 4 was to be retired out of respect.^[136][137]

Chairmen history

Below is a list of Inter chairmen from 1908 until the present day.^[139]

More information Name, Years ...

Name Years Giovanni Paramithiotti 1908–1909 Ettore Strauss 1909–1910 Carlo De Medici 1910–1912 Emilio Hirzel 1912–1913 Luigi Ansbacher 1913–1914 Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone 1914–1919 Giorgio Hulss 1919–1920 Francesco Mauro 1920–1923 Enrico Olivetti 1923–1926 Senatore Borletti 1926–1929 Ernesto Torrusio 1929–1930 Oreste Simonotti 1930–1932

Name Years Ferdinando Pozzani 1932–1942 Carlo Masseroni 1942–1955 Angelo Moratti 1955–1968 Ivanoe Fraizzoli 1968–1984 Ernesto Pellegrini 1984–1995 Massimo Moratti 1995–2004 Giacinto Facchetti 2004–2006 Massimo Moratti 2006–2013 Erick Thohir 2013–2018 Steven Zhang 2018–2024 Giuseppe Marotta 2024–present

Close

Managerial history

Below is a list of Inter coaches from 1909 until the present day.^[140]

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name Nationality Years Virgilio Fossati 1909–1915 Nino Resegotti Francesco Mauro 1919–1920 Bob Spottiswood 1922–1924 Paolo Schiedler 1924–1926 Árpád Weisz 1926–1928 József Viola 1928–1929 Árpád Weisz 1929–1931 István Tóth 1931–1932 Árpád Weisz 1932–1934 Gyula Feldmann 1934–1936 Albino Carraro 1936 Armando Castellazzi 1936–1938 Tony Cargnelli 1938–1940 Giuseppe Peruchetti Italo Zamberletti 1940–1941 Ivo Fiorentini 1941–1942 Giovanni Ferrari 1942–1943 Carlo Carcano 1945–1946 Nino Nutrizio 1946 Giuseppe Meazza 1947–1948 Carlo Carcano 1948 Dai Astley 1948 Giulio Cappelli 1949–1950 Aldo Olivieri 1950–1952 Alfredo Foni 1952–1955 Aldo Campatelli 1955 Giuseppe Meazza 1955–1956 Annibale Frossi 1956 Luigi Ferrero 1957 Giuseppe Meazza 1957 Jesse Carver 1957–1958 Giuseppe Bigogno 1958 Aldo Campatelli 1959–1960 Camillo Achilli 1960 Giulio Cappelli 1960 Helenio Herrera 1960–1968 Alfredo Foni 1968–1969 Heriberto Herrera 1969–1971 Giovanni Invernizzi 1971–1973 Enea Masiero 1973 Helenio Herrera 1973 Enea Masiero 1974

Name Nationality Years Luis Suárez 1974–1975 Giuseppe Chiappella 1976–1977 Eugenio Bersellini 1977–1982 Rino Marchesi 1982–1983 Luigi Radice 1983–1984 Ilario Castagner 1984–1986 Mario Corso 1986 Giovanni Trapattoni 1986–1991 Corrado Orrico 1991 Luis Suárez 1992 Osvaldo Bagnoli 1992–1994 Giampiero Marini 1994 Ottavio Bianchi 1994–1995 Luis Suárez 1995 Roy Hodgson 1995–1997 Luciano Castellini 1997 Luigi Simoni 1997–1998 Mircea Lucescu 1998–1999 Luciano Castellini 1999 Roy Hodgson 1999 Marcello Lippi 1999–2000 Marco Tardelli 2000–2001 Héctor Cúper 2001–2003 Corrado Verdelli 2003 Alberto Zaccheroni 2003–2004 Roberto Mancini 2004–2008 José Mourinho 2008–2010 Rafael Benítez 2010 Leonardo 2010–2011 Gian Piero Gasperini 2011 Claudio Ranieri 2011–2012 Andrea Stramaccioni 2012–2013 Walter Mazzarri 2013–2014 Roberto Mancini 2014–2016 Frank de Boer 2016 Stefano Vecchi 2016 Stefano Pioli 2016–2017 Stefano Vecchi 2017 Luciano Spalletti 2017–2019 Antonio Conte 2019–2021 Simone Inzaghi 2021–present

Close