FC Internazionale Milano

FC Internazionale Milano

Formed: 1908
Nicknames: Nerazzurri (Black and Blues), La Beneamata (The Beloved)
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • European Champion Clubs' Cup: 1964, 1965; (1967), (1972)
• UEFA Cup: 1991, 1994, 1998; (1997)
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) • League title: 17 (2009)
• Italian Cup: 5 (2006)


History
• Inter were founded when members of Milan CFC – the forerunner for AC Milan – set up their own club. The name is a reference to their stated ambition of being open to players of all nationalities, and in 1909/10 Inter claimed their first Scudetto.
• Their name changed – briefly to AS Ambrosiana, then AS Ambrosiania-Inter – as did the club colours – to white from 1928 to 1946 – but the success continued with more or less a title a decade. An Inter side built around Giuseppe Meazza claimed their first Coppa Italia in 1938/39, and the club won back-to back titles in 1952/53 and 1953/54.
• The arrival of Angelo Moratti as president in 1955 ushered in the club's golden era: 'La Grande Inter'. Under Moratti, coach Helenio Herrera embraced Catenaccio and his disciplined unit won the Scudetto in 1963, 1965 and 1966 and the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1964 and 1965, also losing the 1967 final. Between 1961/62 and the title-winning 1970/71 season an Inter side including Giacinto Facchetti did not finish outside the top two in Serie A.
• Catenaccio was a dying art by Inter's next title in 1980, and they began looking to Germany for inspiration. Following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann arrived and under Giovanni Trapattoni the Nerazzurri clinched its 13th Scudetto in 1989. They broke two records on the way: winning 58 out of 68 available points and 26 of 34 games, earning the moniker 'Inter dei Record'.

• In 1991 Inter beat AS Roma 2-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup final, etching their name in the trophy again in 1994 and 1998, but Serie A success eluded them – on the last day in 2001/02 and 2002/03. A match-fixing scandal transformed Italian football in summer 2006 and Inter's fortunes with it. The Nerazzurri were awarded the 2006 Scudetto despite finishing third and went on to win the title the next three years.

Club recordsMost appearances: Giuseppe Bergomi (758)
Most goals: Giuseppe Meazza (288)
Record victory: 16-0 v Vicenza Calcio (First Division, 10 January 1915)
Record defeat: 9-1 v Juventus (Serie A, 10 June 1961)
* Last updated on 1 January 2010