Inter Milan

## **Founding**

The club was founded on 9 March 1908 as *Football Club Internazionale*, following the schism with the Milan Cricket and Football Club (now AC Milan). The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players without limits 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, but they remained in the top league after winning two play-offs.

Six years later, during the Fascist era, the club was forced to merge with the *Unione Sportiva Milanese* and 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 caved in to shareholder pressure and changed the name to *Associazione Sportiva Ambrosiana-Inter*.

Their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1938–39, led by the iconic Giuseppe Meazza, after whom the San Siro stadium is officially named. A fifth championship followed in 1940, despite Meazza incurring an injury. After the end of World War II the club regained its original name, winning its sixth championship in 1953 and its seventh in 1954.

## **Stadium**

The team's stadium is the 75,923 seat San Siro, officially known as the *Stadio Giuseppe Meazza*after the former player who represented both Milan and Inter. The more commonly used name, *San Siro*, is the name of the district where it is located. San Siro has been the home of Milan since 1926, when it was privately built by funding from Milan's chairman at the time, Piero Pirelli. Construction was performed by 120 workers, and took 13 and a half months to complete. The stadium was owned by the club until it was sold to the city in 1935, and since 1947 it has been shared with Inter, when they were accepted as joint tenant.

The first game played at the stadium was on 19 September 1926, when Inter beat Milan 6–3 in a friendly match. Milan played its first league game in San Siro on 19 September 1926, losing 1–2 to Sampierdarenese. From an initial capacity of 35,000 spectators, the stadium has undergone several major renovations. A major structural renovation was made for the 2016 UEFA Champions League Finalwhile another one took place in late 2021 to host the UEFA Nations League final. The stadium is going to be refurbished again in time for Milano Cortina 2026.

Based on the English model for stadiums, San Siro is specifically designed for football matches, as opposed to many multi-purpose stadiums used in Serie A. It is therefore renowned in Italy for its fantastic atmosphere during matches owing to the closeness of the stands to the pitch.

### **New Milano Stadium**

Since 2012, various proposals and projects by Massimo Moratti have alternated regarding a possible construction of a new Inter stadium.  Between June and July 2019 Inter and A.C. Milan announced the agreement for the construction of a new shared stadium in the San Siro area. In the winter of 2021, Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan, gave the official permission for the construction of the new stadium next to San Siro that will be partially demolished and refunctionalised after the 2026 Olympic Games. In early 2022 Inter and A.C. Milan revealed a "plan B" to relocate the construction of the new Milano stadium in the Greater Milan, away from San Siro area.