Inter introduced a new kit – Pirelli is no longer a sponsor of Inter
Russian President Boris Yeltsin is experiencing serious health problems, but refuses to undergo surgery until the elections. For the first time since the Vietnam War, US President Bill Clinton establishes diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and an American embassy opens in Hanoi. Forrest Gump bypasses Pulp Fiction to win an Oscar. The hit rapper Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise tops the Billboard chart. Tire manufacturer Pirelli becomes a sponsor of Inter Milan.
Of course, the last event is inferior in importance to all the previous ones. But Inter and Pirelli were 26 years old instead. Uniquely long. They were together before social media and even before Google. This rarely happens, but the sponsor has survived even a change of ownership, and more than one.
First there was Massimo Moratti. Under him, the club bought many players, who later revealed themselves to other teams.
Roberto Carlos
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Such as Roberto Carlos. He was one of Moratti’s first transfers, but did not play and was sold to Real Madrid.
Another top transfer that did not justify itself is Paul Ince. He moved from Manchester United for £ 7.5m, spent two seasons in Italy and left for Liverpool for £ 4.4m.
Paul Ince
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In the late 90s, such stars as world champion Yuri Djorkaeff played in the team.
Yuri Djorkaeff
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Chilean national team legend Ivan Zamorano, who is remembered as number 1 + 8.
Ivan Zamorano
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And the man who took the number 9 away from him. The future world champion, but for now – just the owner of the Ballon d’Or (so far only one) is a superstar and a phenomenon. Ronaldo.
The star squad could not win the scudetto in any way. But he was strong in Europe: in 1997 he reached the UEFA Cup final, and in 1998 he won it.
Inter players with UEFA Cup
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Roberto Baggio joined the company. The great Italian did not find a common language with coach Marcello Lippi and quickly left the team, but managed to score several masterpieces and fall in love with the fans.
Roberto Baggio
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President Moratti could not live without a huge number of forwards. Therefore, instead of Ronaldo, he bought Christian Vieri for a lot of money. And then Adriano.
Christian Vieri and Adriano
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But Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo were not useful to the team.
Andrea Pirlo
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Clarence Seedorf
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Under the leadership of Roberto Mancini, Inter finally won the Scudetto. The star team included veterans Luis Figo, Alvaro Recoba and Patrick Vieira. And the first roles were Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dejan Stankovic and Hernan Crespo.
Inter celebrates winning the championship in 2007
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The end of the 2000s is the era of Inter’s dominance in the championship. And in 2010, the club won the treble under the leadership of Jose Mourinho. Wesley Sneijder claimed the Ballon d’Or, while Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o tore the defense.
Inter celebrate their 2010 Champions League win.
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After Mourinho left, times fell on hard. Moratti was running out of money, and football went ahead, now the top clubs earned several times more than before. Inter lagged behind.
The club sold out the last stars, and instead took dubious players for the future. Thus, Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Gabi Mudingayi appeared in the midfield, and Jonathan on the defensive flank.
Jonathan
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It was hard to expect him to replace the great Javier Zanetti, who retired in 2014.
Inter marks the end of Javier Zanetti’s career.
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The new president, Eric Tohir, seemed to be making expensive purchases, but they did not bring much benefit. In 2016, Inter spent 70 million euros on João Mario and Gabriela Barbosa and then for several years could not get rid of both.
João Mauri, Gabriel Barbosa
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Only after the club was bought by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Jindong did things go well. After a long break, the new coach Luciano Spalletti brought Inter to the Champions League twice in a row. And a star appeared in the team again – Mauro Icardi.
Mauro Icardi
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In 2020, he was sold, and Romela Lukaku was taken in exchange. It got even better: for the first time in a long time, the club seriously claimed the Scudetto.
Romelu Lukaku
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And in 2021, under the leadership of Antonio Conte, Inter finally won the Scudetto, for the first time in 11 years.
Inter celebrate winning the Italian Championship in 2021
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But Inter simply cannot be calm and stable. The creator of the championship, Antonio Conte has already left, but not only the coach has changed. The victory in 2021 is the last one won with the Pirelli wordmark on football. In the new season, the club will have a new general sponsor.