# 1970–71 Inter Milan season

During 1970-71 season Inter competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and Fairs' Cup.

## Summary

Following the golden era of the 1960s, Inter managed to win their eleventh league title in 1971. The second season of Heriberto Herrera is opened with the transfer out of Luis Suárez to Sampdoria, after nine years in Milan. The fans of Inter Milan were shocked with initial results, with Inter out in Coppa Italia and eliminated by Newcastle United in Fairs Cup.
President Ivanoe Fraizzoli, who at the time also made it clear that he was willing to sell the club if the right offer was tabled, fired Herrera after a 0-3 loss with city rivals Milan and handed control of the side to youth team boss Giovanni Invernizzi. A former Inter player, Invernizzi was initially appointed on a temporary basis yet ended the campaign by making Italian football history.
Invernizzi rejuvenated a tactically exhausted and an under-performing squad. He turned Tarcisio Burgnich into a sweeper, played the young Mauro Bellugi at right-back, reintegrated Jair into the team, replaced summer signing Mario Frustalupi with Mario Bertini and asked the club's senators – Giacinto Facchetti, Sandro Mazzola, Mario Corso and Boninsegna – to perform to their status.
The turning point in their season came after a defeat to Napoli in week 7. On the flight home, Invernizzi and some of the side's more experienced elements sat down with a fixture list to hand. Together they plotted their path to what many perceived as unlikely title glory and the tabella, as it was known, became part of Inter folklore.
Following defeat at the San Paolo, they went on an unbeaten run which saw them take 21 points from a possible 24. The Nerazzurri won the return derby, wiped out a significant point gap that winter champions Milan had over them and netted the championship with two games to spare.
Invernizzi not only became a hero of consequence, he also made sure his name would be inscribed in the footballing annals of time. Never before and not since has a Serie A team changed Coach mid-season and gone on to be crowned champions of Italy.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ITA | Ivano Bordon |
| — | GK | ITA | Lido Vieri |
| — | DF | ITA | Mauro Bellugi |
| — | DF | ITA | Tarcisio Burgnich |
| — | DF | ITA | Giancarlo Cella |
| — | DF | ITA | Bernardino Fabbian |
| — | DF | ITA | Giacinto Facchetti |
| — | DF | ITA | Mario Giubertoni |
| — | DF | ITA | Spartaco Landini |
| — | DF | ITA | Oscar Righetti |
| — | MF | ITA | Marco Achilli |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ITA | Gianfranco Bedin |
| — | MF | ITA | Mario Bertini |
| — | MF | ITA | Mario Corso |
| — | MF | ITA | Mario Frustalupi |
| — | MF | ITA | Sandro Mazzola |
| — | MF | ITA | Gabriele Oriali |
| — | FW | ITA | Roberto Boninsegna |
| — | FW | BRA | Jair da Costa |
| — | FW | ITA | Sergio Pellizzaro |
| — | FW | ITA | Alberto Reif |

## Transfers

Source:
In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| GK | Massimo Cacciatori | Cagliari | loan ended |
| GK | Luigi Reali | Voghera | loan ended |
| GK | Walter Zenga | Macallesi 1927 | |
| DF | Bernardino Fabbian | Primavera | - |
| DF | Mario Giubertoni | Palermo | |
| DF | Mario Nadin | Primavera | - |
| DF | Oscar Righetti | SPAL | |
| MF | Marco Achilli | Monza | loan ended |
| MF | Mario Frustalupi | Sampdoria | loan ended |
| MF | Tiziano Manfrin | U.S. Azzurra | |
| MF | Gabriele Oriali | Primavera | - |
| MF | Luigi Plutino | Primavera | - |
| MF | Sergio Brunetta | Brescia | loan ended |
| FW | Sergio Pellizzaro | Palermo | |
| FW | Raffaele Pinton | primavera | - |
| FW | Massimo Silva | Monza | loan ended |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| GK | Sergio Girardi | Palermo | |
| GK | Luigi Reali | Savoia | loan |
| DF | Aristide Guarneri | Cremonese | |
| DF | Enzo Vecchiè | SPAL | |
| DF | Mario Nadin | VJS Velletri | loan |
| MF | Luigi Plutino | Anconitana | loan |
| MF | Luis Suarez | Sampdoria | |
| MF | Sandro Vanello | Palermo | |
| MF | Sergio Brunetta | Udinese | |
| FW | Raffaele Pinton | Potenza | |
| FW | Massimo Silva | Rovereto | loan |

## Competitions
### Serie A
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Internazionale (C) | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 46 | Qualification to European Cup |
| 2 | Milan | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 54 | 26 | +28 | 42 | Qualification to UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Napoli | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 33 | 19 | +14 | 39 | Qualification to UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Juventus | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 35 | Qualification to UEFA Cup |
| 5 | Bologna | 30 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 34 | Qualification to UEFA Cup |

#### Matches
### Coppa Italia
#### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Monza | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| 2 | Atalanta | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Internazionale | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 3 |
| 4 | Como | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 |

### Fairs Cup
#### First round
## Statistics

| Competition | Points | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | DR |
| Competition | Points | G | W | D | L | Gs | Ga | G | W | D | L | Gs | Ga | G | W | D | L | Gs | Ga | DR |
| Serie A | 46 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 14 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 50 | 26 | 24 |
| Coppa Italia | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Fairs Cup | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 |
| Total | - | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 15 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 25 | 15 | 35 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 57 | 32 | 25 |