16 October 2015
History
Founded in 1908 as a breakaway from city rivals Milan due to a dispute over an alleged lack of foreign players, Inter claimed their first league title just two years later.
The club grew into the habit of winning further Scudetti at the turn of the next three decades (1920, 1930, 1940, as well as in 1938), while also claiming their first Coppa Italia in 1939 in a successful period featuring talented inside forward Giuseppe Meazza, after whom their stadium is named.
Following consecutive top-flight championships in 1953 and 1954, the Nerazzurri had to wait almost a decade without a trophy before the glory years of ‘La Grande Inter’ side that dominated at home and abroad with three Serie A crowns and two European Cups in the space of just four seasons between 1962 and 1966.
Scudetti in 1971, 1980 and 1989 would follow before Roberto Mancini and José Mourinho both won a further two titles each, the latter guiding the club to an unprecedented treble of league, Coppa Italia and Champions League in 2010.
The Manager
Roberto Mancini is currently in his second spell at Inter, having replaced Walter Mazzarri at the helm last November before guiding the club to eighth position in the table.
Prior to his managerial career, Mancini had already made a name for himself as an immensely talented forward, winning both domestic and European honours with Sampdoria and Lazio.
After hanging up his boots in 2001, the 50-year-old got his first coaching job at Fiorentina, with whom he won a Coppa Italia, before achieving the same feat while in charge of his former club Lazio.
A successful period with the Nerazzurri would follow before switching to the English Premier League with emerging giants Manchester City.
After winning the FA Cup in his first full season, in 2012 Mancini guided the club to a first top-flight title in 44 years.
He would spend the 2013/14 campaign in the dugout of Galatasaray, steering the Turkish outfit to a domestic cup, before rejoining Inter in the autumn of last year.
The Stadium
The San Siro officially opened in September 1926 with a friendly match played between city rivals Milan and Inter, the latter winning 6-3.
The Nerazzurri, however, would continue to play at the Arena Civica until 1945 when they moved into the city-owned stadium with their fierce rivals.
In 1980 the ground was named in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the two-time World Cup winner and former striker of both Inter and Milan.
In preparations for the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy, a third tier was added to the San Siro, making it the fifth-largest football ground in Europe.
How are Mancini’s men faring this year?
Having recorded 16 points in their opening seven Serie A fixtures, Inter’s early-season form is their best since 2009-10 when the side, managed then by José Mourinho, went on to win an historic treble.
The Nerazzurri assembled a very new team in preparation for the current campaign, making numerous changes across the park. Up front, first-choice centre-forward Mauro Icardi now enjoys the support of summer signings Stevan Jovetic (from Manchester City) and Ivan Perisic (Wolfsburg) playing just behind the talented Argentine. The Montenegrin and Croatian internationals have been tasked with replacing the creative forces of Xherdan Shaqiri, Mateo Kovacic and Hernanes, sold to Stoke City, Real Madrid and Juventus respectively.
So far the new recruits are settling in well with Jovetic currently leading the Nerazzurri’s goalscoring charts on three goals, while Perisic netted the equaliser in a recent draw at Sampdoria.
The Nerazzurri have bolstered the midfield with strong, physical players such as former Bianconero Felipe Melo (from Galatasaray) and Geoffrey Kondogbia (Monaco). Meanwhile, in defence, the club has added to its ranks Jeison Murillo (from Granada), Miranda (Atletico Madrid) and Davide Santon (Newcastle).
Inter’s rearguard had kept four clean sheets in their opening five wins of the season until a 4-1 defeat to Fiorentina ended that sequence and also their streak of six successive victories in Serie A, stretching back to the final fixture of 2014/15.
After picking up a point in their most recent match away at Sampdoria, Roberto Mancini’s men will be keen to return to winning ways on Sunday and claim maximum points at home against the Bianconeri for the first time since April 2010.
