We can't simply talk about Italian football without mentioning Inter Milan. This club is one of the Serie A giants that has won many achievements and trophies. Not only at the national level, Inter Milan even several times dominated European football tournaments. No wonder then if the club has millions of fans worldwide.
In this article, I present you the history of the Inter Milan, in the form of a list of Inter's 15 best players of all time. Indeed, these players have great contributions in bringing La Beneamata become a highly respected club in the world.
15. Aldo Serena
Aldo Serena is a former Italian striker who played for Inter Milan for seven years. His best period occurred in 1988-1989 season, in which he led La Beneamata become the champions of Serie A and earned a title as the top scorer of the competition. Unfortunately, his decision to move to AC Milan (the biggest rival of Inter Milan) had negative impact for his career. In addition to his inability to perform at his best form, Serena was also hated by Inter Milan's fans and he was even considered a traitor.
14. Giuseppe Baresi
Giuseppe Baresi is the older brother of Franco Baresi, one of the best players of AC Milan. Although he is not as popular as Franco, Giuseppe was also able to demonstrate a solid performance as a defender. He played for Inter Milan for 16 years and presented two Scudetti. Not only that, he was also was trusted to be the captain of La Beneamata for several years. Currently, Baresi works as a technical assistant of Inter Milan.
13. Julio Ricardo Cruz
Cruz is an Argentine striker who played for Inter Milan in the period 2003-2009. Although his existence was not too prominent, Cruz maintained a consistent performances. He often scored important role and had a significant role in bringing Inter Milan win four scudetti and two Coppa Italia trophies. For Argentine national team, Cruz played 22 times and scored 3 goals.
12. Iván Córdoba
Ivan Cordoba is one of the best foreign defenders who played in Serie A. This Colombia central defender had a successful career with Inter Milan in the 1999-2012 period. During 13 years playing for Inter Milan, Cordoba won five Serie A titles, one Champions League trophy, and four Coppa Italia trophies. His career with the national team is also quite brilliant, where he successfully led Colombia win the Copa America in 2001.
11. Dejan Stanković
Hardworking and versatile. Dejan Stankovic is a Serbian midfielder who is very loyal to Inter Milan. He played for nine years for La Beneamata from 2004 to 2013. His main position is an attacking midfielder, but he can also play as a defensive midfielder or a winger. In addition to helping Inter Milan won five Serie A titles, Stankovic also managed to become an Italian League champion wih Lazio in the 1999-2000 season.
10. Esteban Cambiasso
Esteban Cambiasso is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. The Argentine is also known as one of the strongest foreign midfielder of Inter Milan of all time. His collaboration with Dejan Stankovic and Wesley Sneijder was instrumental in bringing Inter Milan become the world's best team in 2010. So far, Cambiasso has played in 300 matches with Inter Milan and scored 41 goals.
9. Diego Milito
Inter Milan is known to have a lot of quality players from Argentina. Besides Cambiasso, Cruz, Zanetti and Walter Samuel; there is also Diego Milito. Milito is and Argentine striker that was signed from Genoa in 2009. His first first year performance with Inter Milan was very great, where he led the club win five trophies in one season. Not only that, Milito was even named as the Man of the Match in the 2010 Champions League final. Although he is not as popular as other Argentine strikers in his era such as Messi, Tevez, or Aguero; Milito successfully proved that he is a very reliable goalscorer.
8. Roberto Boninsegna
Boninsegna played for Inter for seven years, from 1969 to 1976. The best performance of this Italian striker was in the 1970-1971 season, where he won the Scudetto Inter and became the top scorer of Serie A. During his career with La Beneamata, Boninsegna scored 171 goals from 281 appearances. He is known as a very efficient striker who is able to convert even the smallest chance into a goal.
7. Walter Zenga
Many fans named Walter Zenga as the best Inter Milan goalkeeper of all time. This player joined La Beneamata for 12 years, from 1982 to 1994. During his career with Inter Milan, Zenga three times awarded the annual title as World's Best Goalkeeper by IFFHS. Throughout his career with Inter, Zenga played in 474 matches. His best moment occurred in 1989, where he led Inter Milan win the double winners by winning Serie A and Coppa Italia.
6. Alessandro Altobelli
Alessandro Altobelli is a retired Italian striker who holds the record as Inter's top scorer in European competition and in Coppa Italia. He played for Inter Milan from 1977 to 1988, scoring a total of 128 goals from 317 appearances. Besides having great career with Inter, Altobelli was also instrumental in bringing the Italian national team won the 1982 World Cup. He even scored a goal in the final match which helped Italy defeat West Germany by 3-1.
5. Giuseppe Bergomi
Loyal, strong, and tough. Giuseppe Bergomi is a former Italian center-back who spent his entire career playing for Inter Milan. He joined La Beneamata for 20 years, from 1979 to 1999. He also led Inter Milan to win a lot titles, among them are one Serie A titles and three UEFA Cup trophies. Bergomi was part of the Italian squad that won the 1982 World Cup, along with Alessandro Altobelli, Paolo Rossi, and Dino Zoff.
4. Giacinto Facchetti
Similar to Bergomi, Facchetti also spent his entire professional career as a player of Inter Milan. He played for La Beneamata in the period 1960-1978 and led the club win four Scudetti, two Champions League trophies, and one Copa Italia trophy. Besides being known as a tough defender, Facchetti was also a player with high leadership skills. He was trusted to be the captain of Inter Milan and Italian national team for several years.
3. Javier Zanetti
Until now, Javier Zanetti is the player who holds the record for the most number of appearances for Inter Milan. This Argentine winger has joined La Beneamata since 1995. He is known to be a winger who is equally good in offense and defense. Undoubtedly, Zanetti also had a major contribution in helping Inter win five Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia trophies and one Champions League trophy.
2. Sandro Mazzola
Sandro Mazzola is a retired footballer who spent his entire career playing for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1977. Not only known as a prolific goal-scorer, Mazzola could also play as a playmaker. Mazzola was one of the first players in the world are trusted to be a mindmaster of football strategy called "catenaccio," a super-defensive tactics created by coach Helenio Hererra in the 1960s. By using this catenaccio tactics Mazzola led Inter to dominate European football.
1. Giuseppe Meazza
Meazza is a legend of Inter Milan. Inter Milan's stadium is even named after Meazza's name to show the great gratitude of the fans. Meazza played for La Beneamata in the period 1927-1940. He is not only the top scorer of all time of Inter Milan with 247 goals, but also became the top scorer of Italian League for three seasons. Meazza was also a central figure who led Inter win three Serie A titles. He also won two World Cup tournaments in a row in 1934 and 1938 with Italian national team.
