Inter Milan

History of Inter Milan: La Grande Inter, the 2010 Treble and the Double of 2026

Founded on an idea of openness to the world, and the only Italian club never to have left the top flight, Inter have won three European Cups and the only treble in the history of Italian football. In 2026 they completed a league and cup double and claimed a twenty-first scudetto.

1. An International Birth (1908–1929)

On 9 March 1908, forty-four dissidents from the Milan Cricket and Football Club gathered in a restaurant on Via Orefici in Milan. Their disagreement concerned one specific point: the original club refused to field foreign players. They therefore founded Football Club Internazionale, whose very name proclaimed its purpose. That split gave birth to the Derby della Madonnina, one of the great fixtures in world football. Inter won their first scudetto as early as 1910.

2. Meazza, Ambrosiana and the Post-War Years (1929–1959)

Under the Fascist regime, the club was forced to abandon a name judged too cosmopolitan and became Ambrosiana-Inter. It won several titles driven by Giuseppe Meazza, one of the greatest Italian players of all time, whose name would be given to the San Siro stadium in 1980. The name Internazionale was restored after the war.

3. Helenio Herrera's Grande Inter (1960–1967)

The 1960s were the years of legend. The Argentine coach Helenio Herrera built La Grande Inter, a machine too often reduced to catenaccio alone: behind an impeccable defensive structure, full-back Giacinto Facchetti invented the modern attacking role for his position, while Luis Suárez, Sandro Mazzola and Mariolino Corso orchestrated the play. The record was exceptional: three scudetti, two consecutive European Cups (1964 and 1965) and two Intercontinental Cups.

4. The German Years and the UEFA Cups (1968–2005)

After a long lull, Inter reclaimed the title in 1989 under Giovanni Trapattoni, with a points record for the era and a decisive German trio — Lothar Matthäus, Andreas Brehme and Jürgen Klinsmann. The club then specialised in the UEFA Cup, won three times in eight years (1991, 1994, 1998), the last with Ronaldo at the height of his powers. But the league eluded them for seventeen years.

5. Mourinho's Treble: The Summit (2006–2015)

Inter returned to the front rank from 2006. The peak came in 2010 under José Mourinho: the club won Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich 2–0 in the Madrid final. It remains the only treble in Italian football history, driven by Javier Zanetti, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito and Samuel Eto'o.

6. Revival, Lost Finals and the 2026 Double (2016–2026)

After years of rebuilding, Inter returned to the summit: a scudetto in 2021 under Antonio Conte, then a twentieth title in 2024, allowing them to stitch a second star onto the shirt. The club contested two Champions League finals, lost in 2023 to Manchester City (0–1) and in 2025 to Paris Saint-Germain (0–5).

The 2025–26 season brought domestic fulfilment. Inter were crowned champions of Italy as early as 3 May 2026, with three matches to spare, after a 2–0 home win over Parma: the twenty-first scudetto in their history, taken from defending champions Napoli. The club completed the double by winning the Coppa Italia, beating Lazio 2–0 in the final: their tenth national cup.

The European campaign, by contrast, ended early. In the Champions League play-off round, Inter were eliminated by Norway's Bodø/Glimt, 5–2 winners on aggregate — one of the biggest shocks of the European season.

7. Looking to 2026–27: A New San Siro and a Third European Star

Since the restart, Inter have pursued three objectives: retaining the domestic title, erasing two lost European finals, and supporting the modernisation project for the stadium shared with AC Milan. The only Italian club never to have played outside the top division, Inter remain faithful, since 1908, to what brought them into being: openness to the world.

Honours, Stadium and Legends

Main honours: twenty-one Italian championships, ten Coppa Italia titles, eight Italian Super Cups, three European Cups and Champions Leagues (1964, 1965, 2010), three UEFA Cups (1991, 1994, 1998), two Intercontinental Cups (1964, 1965) and one Club World Cup (2010). The club plays at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium — San Siro — shared with AC Milan, and trains at Appiano Gentile.

The legends: Giuseppe Meazza remains the club's all-time leading scorer, and Argentina's Javier Zanetti holds the appearance record; his number 4 has been retired, as has Giacinto Facchetti's number 3. Sandro Mazzola, Luis Suárez, Lothar Matthäus — the 1990 Ballon d'Or winner in a Nerazzurri shirt — Ronaldo — the 1997 Ballon d'Or winner — Samuel Eto'o, Diego Milito, hero of the 2010 final, and captain Lautaro Martínez complete the pantheon.

Identity: nicknamed "la Beneamata", Inter wear blue and black, and their Curva Nord is one of the most active stands in Europe. The Derby d'Italia against Juventus and the Milan derby shape every season. The club's founding manifesto, written in 1908 at the Orologio restaurant, declared that it would be "the brothers of the world", and that spirit endures: Inter's squads have been among the most international in Italian football, from the German trio of 1989 to the Argentine core around Zanetti, Milito and Lautaro Martínez.