Photo : Bildbyran / Icon Sport
It’s been almost a decade since Inter Milan won the Champions League in Madrid as part of their unprecedented treble-winning season under then-manager Jose Mourinho.
The club has been taken over twice in the period since 2010 and there have been an unprecedented thirteen managers since Mourinho’s tenure in what has been a tumultuous time for Inter.
It’s been a sad period of time for a club who dominated Serie A throughout the latter stages of the last decade with five consecutive league titles, while Juventus were recovering from the Calciopoli scandal.
There have been some great players in the club’s history, with Inter renowned for signing some of the world’s best players in the 1990s, including breaking two world records to sign Ronaldo and Christian Vieri. However, this history masks some of their failings when it comes to selling their players, particularly before reaching their prime.
We’ve picked out seven players who were allowed to leave Inter before going on to become truly superb elsewhere.
Matthias Sammer
Sammer was an instant success after joining Inter from Stuttgart in 1992, with four goals in his first 11 appearances, including one against Juventus in the Derby d’Italia. However, Sammer failed to adapt to the Italian lifestyle and signed for Borussia Dortmund in January 1993.
After winning two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League with Dortmund, Sammer was a key player in Germany’s Euro 96 win and he also won the Ballon d’Or.
Dennis Bergkamp
Bergkamp arrived at the San Siro in 1993 following a second-place finish in the Ballon d’Or believing that Serie A was the biggest league at the time. However, after two years his relationship with the fans suffered and his performances were poor. New owner Massimo Moratti had promised to invest in the squad and he preferred new signing Maurizio Ganz.
Bergkamp went on to join Arsenal and went on to become part of the Invincibles team of 2003/04. He’s widely regarded as one of the greatest foreign imports in the Premier League and now has a statue outside the Emirates to prove it.
Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos spent just one season at the San Siro playing under the management of Roy Hodgson. Carlos cited tension between him and Hodgson as a reason for his departure, claiming that the Englishman wanted him to play left wing, while he wanted to play left back. Carlos spoke to Moratti and it soon became clear that he would have to leave.
Real Madrid pounced, and the Brazilian went on to become one of the greatest left-backs of all time, winning four La Ligas, three Champions Leagues and a World Cup.
Andrea Pirlo
Inter allowed one of their best young prospects to join rivals AC Milan aged just 22 in 2001. Pirlo had joined Inter in 1998, but had failed to break into the first team, spending time out on loan with his spell at Brescia being particularly impressive.
After leaving Inter, Pirlo went on to become one of the most decorated players of all time, winning five Serie A titles, two Champions Leagues and a World Cup in 2006.
Clarence Seedorf
As if losing one midfielder to your rivals is bad enough, a year later Inter gave AC Milan another in Clarence Seedorf. The Dutchman had already had an impressive career before moving to Italy, having won two Champions Leagues, but he didn’t win anything while at Inter.
However, while at AC Milan, he won two Serie A titles before winning another two Champions Leagues. He’s remembered as one of the most decorated players of all time.
Leonardo Bonucci
Bonucci left Inter while the club was managed by Jose Mourinho with the defender leaving for Genoa. In 2010, he signed for Juventus and his career instantly took off as he went on to make 319 appearances for the Old Lady and going on to win 6 Serie A titles, whilst making two Champions League finals.
He’s also made 91 appearances for Italy and rejoined Juventus last season, after a difficult year at AC Milan.
Philippe Coutinho
Signed as an 18-year old, Coutinho was hailed as the future of Inter Milan, but initially struggled to break into the first team and was eventually sent out on loan to Espanyol. He impressed in La Liga and alerted the interest of Liverpool, who eventually paid a mere £8.5 million for him in January 2013.
Five years later, the Brazilian midfielder established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League, before leaving for Barcelona. A difficult spell there has seen him leave for Bayern Munich on a loan deal.
Words by @dominictrant
