FC Internazionale Milano

The only team with an unbroken presence in Serie A since 1909.

Football Club Internazionale Milano, widely referred to as Internazionale (pronounced [internattsjoˈnaːle]) or simply Inter (Italian pronunciation: [ˈinter]), and commonly known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is the only team to have an unbroken presence in the top division of Italian football, currently Serie A, since its debut in 1909, having never been relegated to Serie B. Since 1947, Inter has shared the San Siro stadium, the largest stadium in Italy, with AC Milan, with whom it contests the long-standing Derby della Madonnina, one of the most widely followed rivalries in world football.

Quick Facts

Founded: 1908
Stadium: San Siro (Giuseppe Meazza)
League: Serie A
Major honours: Multiple Serie A titles, UEFA Champions League/European Cup victories
Famous rivals: AC Milan (Derby della Madonnina), Juventus

Lore & Background

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. The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians. The club won its first championship in 1910 and its second in 1920. The captain and coach of the first championship winning team was Virgilio Fossati, who was later killed in battle while serving in the Italian army during World War I. In 1922, Inter was at risk of relegation to the Second Division of Northern League, 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. 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. 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 championship titles in 1930 with the Hungarian coach Arpad Weisz in the first ever edition of Serie A, and the fourth in 1938 with former player Armando Castellazzi as a 33 years old coach, that set the record for the youngest coach ever to win the national title that lasts to this day. Inter also got their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) in 1939 with the decisive goal in the final scored by Olympic gold medal and top scorer in 1936 Olympics Annibale Frossi. Inter's main star and the captain of the team in this period was Giuseppe Meazza, one of the greatest Italian players of all time with two World Cups won with the National team and the greatest scorer in Inter history with 284 goals, and after whom the San Siro stadium is officially named after his death in 1979. 38 goals scored by Meazza in 39 matches in 1929-1930 is a seasonal record in Inter history still unbeaten today.

Reader's Guide

The club was founded on 9 March 1908. It has won 39 domestic trophies, including 21 league titles, 10 Coppa Italia, and 8 Supercoppa Italiana. From 2006 to 2010, the club won five successive league titles. It has won the European Cup/Champions League three times, with its latest win in 2010 completing an unprecedented Italian seasonal treble. The club has also won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, and one FIFA Club World Cup. Inter has the highest home game attendance in Italy and the fourth-highest attendance in Europe. Since May 2024, the club has been owned by American asset management company Oaktree Capital Management.