Internazionale began on this day in 1908 as a result of the policies of their now-great rivals, AC Milan.
A breakaway schism of players belonging to Milan Cricket and Football Club wanted to create a team where foreign players were deemed to be equal to thier Italian-born counterparts. From the beginning, the club was open to foreign players and thus lived up to its founding name.
A mere two years after formation, Internazionale won their first Scudetto (championship) in 1910, and their second in 1920.
During the Fascist era in Italy in 1928, the Nazi regime was reportedly left uneasy by Inter's "international" ethics, so the club was forced to merge with the Milanese Unione Sportiva and was renamed Ambrosiana SS Milano.
They wore told to dump their famous black and blue strip in favour of white shirts with a red cross emblazoned on it. This shirt design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan, and despite its ethically ambiguous origins, remains the third kit of the club today.
Inter’s first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1938–39 by a team led by the legendary Giuseppe Meazza, after whom the San Siro stadium is officially named. When World War II reached its bloody conclusions, the club re-emerged as Internazionale FC Milano, a name which they have retained ever since.
The Great Inter
After the Second World War, Internazionale enjoyed the greatest success in their hundred-year history. They won their sixth and seventh Scudettos in 1953 and 1954 and ten years later won three more in the space of four seasons in 1963, 1965 and 1966.
In 1964 and 1965, also under the coaching of Argentine boss Helenio Herrera, they enjoyed back-to-back European Cup successes against Real Madrid and Benfica respectively.
The 1970s and 80s brought more sporadic success and despite twice breaking the world record transfer fee in the 90s (€19.5 million for Ronaldo from Barcelona in 1997 and €31 million for Christian Vieri from Lazio in 1999) this remains the only decade in Inter's history in which they failed to win a single Serie A championship.
Currently under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho, who when he took over the Nerazzuri was the only foreign coach working in the division, Inter have now won four championships on the trot. They have joined Torino and Juventus as the only teams to do this and the first to accomplish this feat in over 50 years.
They remain the only Italian club never to have been relegated from the top-flight. The term Inter Milan is sometimes used in foreign countries to differentiate Internazionale from Milan as well as other clubs bearing similar names, but is not used within Italy.
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