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F.C. Internazionale Milano,1 commonly referred to as Internazionale
(pronounced internatt͡sjoˈnaːle) or simply Inter, and colloquially known as
Inter Milan outside of Italy,2 is a professional Italian football club based in
Milan, Lombardy. They are the only club to have spent their entire history in
the top flight of Italian football, known as Serie A, which started in
1929每1930.
Internazionale have won 30 domestic trophies, including the league
18 times, the Coppa Italia seven times and the Supercoppa Italiana five times.
From 2006 to 2010, the club won five successive league titles, equalling the
all-time record.3 They have won the Champions League three times: two
back-to-back in 1964 and 1965 and then another in 2010, the last completed an
unprecedented (for an Italian team) continental treble with the Coppa Italia and
the Scudetto.4 The club has also won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups
and one FIFA Club World Cup.
Inter's home games are played at San Siro, also
known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium, which is shared with rivals
Milan, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 80,018.5
Milan are considered one of their biggest rivals, and matches between the two
teams are called Derby della Madonnina, which is one of the most followed
derbies in football.6 As of 2010, Inter is the second-most supported team in
Italy,7 and the eighth most supported team in Europe.nb 1 The club is one of the
most valuable in Italian and world football.10 It was a founding member of the
now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs.
On 2 June, 2008,
Inter announced on their official website that they had appointed former Porto
and Chelsea boss Jos谷 Mourinho as new head coach, with Giuseppe Baresi as his
assistant. This made Mourinho the only foreign coach in Italy in the 2008每09
season kick-off.13 Mourinho made only three additions to the squad during the
summer transfer window of 2008 in the form of Mancini,14 Sulley Muntari,15 and
Ricardo Quaresma.16 Under Mourinho's first season as Inter head coach, the
Nerazzurri won an Italian Super Cup and a fourth consecutive title, being,
however, also eliminated from the Champions League in the first knockout round
for a third consecutive time, losing to Manchester United. In winning the league
title for the fourth consecutive time, Inter joined Torino and Juventus as the
only teams to do this and the first to accomplish this feat in the last 60
years.
Inter enjoyed more luck in the 2009每10 Champions League, managing to
progress to the quarter-finals by eliminating Mourinho's former team, Chelsea,
in a 3每1 aggregate win; this was the first time in three years that the
Nerazzurri had passed the first knockout round. Inter then progressed to the
semi-finals of the tournament by beating CSKA Moscow 2每0 on aggregate, winning
both legs. Inter managed to achieve a 3每1 win over incumbent champions Barcelona
in the first leg of the semi-final. In the second leg, a resolute Inter lost 1每0
but progressed 3每2 on aggregate to their fifth European Cup/Champions League
Final, with Bayern Munich as opponents. They won the match 2每0 thanks to two
goals from Diego Milito, and were crowned champions of Europe.17
Inter also
won the 2009每10 Serie A title by two points over Roma, and the 2010 Coppa Italia
by defeating the same side 1每0 in the final.
Since its founding in 1908,
Inter have worn black and blue stripes. It is rumored that black was chosen to
represent night and blue was chosen to represent the sky.25 Aside from a short
period during World War II, Inter continued to wear the black and blue stripes,
earning them the nickname Nerazzurri.26 For a period of time, however, Inter was
forced to abandon their black and blue uniforms. In 1928, Inter's name and
philosophy made the ruling Fascist Party uneasy. As a result, during the same
year the 20-year-old club was merged with Unione Sportiva Milanese. The new club
was named Societ角 Sportiva Ambrosiana after the patron saint of Milan.27 The
flag of Milan (the red cross on white background) replaced the traditional black
and blue.28 After World War II when the Fascists had fallen from power the club
reverted to their original name and colors. In 2008, Inter celebrated their
centenary with a red cross on their away shirt. The cross is reminiscent of the
flag of their city, and they continue to use the pattern on their third kit.
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