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| | Wednesday 19 December, 2007 | | Blog: Everybody hates Inter | | It is inevitable the club with the power will be the magnet for dislike, but Susy Campanale argues Inter are bringing this universal scorn upon themselves |  |  | | I recently met with some London-based Italian football fans and it turned into something of a target practice session as everyone ploughed into the lone Inter supporter. He took it with good grace and I apologised to him afterwards, for it really is not the fault of the tifosi.
The Nerazzurri will inevitably draw criticism and dislike because – like Juventus pre-Calciopoli – they are victorious, powerful and therefore dull. Yet the club is doing everything possible to make that dislike turn into vitriolic Schadenfreude-style hatred by being the world’s worst winners.
It all began with Calciopoli, when Serie A’s lovable buffoons were handed the 2006 title by default. Rather than conceding it was a meaningless token gesture, they had the gall to celebrate it and state this was the “Scudetto of honesty and justice.”
When they finally did manage to dominate the season with all their major rivals hampered by points penalties or demotion, good grace was far too much to ask. Roberto Mancini, Massimo Moratti and several players publicly announced they hoped Milan would lose the Champions League Final to Liverpool, because otherwise that would spoil their own Scudetto party.
In the words of Steve Martin: “Well excuuuuuuuuuse meeeeeeeeee!!!” Only a club as small-minded and petty as Inter could put this sort of sibling rivalry above the interests of Italian football as a whole. Considering the make-up of their squad it wouldn’t surprise me if at the World Cup they had been cheering on Argentina rather than the Azzurri.
Six months on and the lesson has not been learned. Mancini scoffed at the Club World Cup as “nothing more than a friendly tournament” and admitted he would not be supporting Milan or Boca Juniors in the Final. Even if everyone at the club secretly hoped for a Milan defeat, the official representatives are not supposed to come out and say it!
It’s a sad day when you need to take advice on sportsmanship and fair play from the less than gentlemanly Silvio Berlusconi, but that’s exactly what happened. “If Inter were challenging for an international trophy and representing Italian football, we would be cheering them on.” Not that it’s likely to happen, but still, it was a rare nice gesture from Berlusca.
So I apologise to that Inter fan, but no matter how many trophies, records and star players your side manages to notch up, you will have the rest of Italy willing with all their heart and soul for your absolute humiliation. Nothing personal.
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Only the deaf Inter supporters can't hear the crying. They actually 'won' the league last season. Good for them. But why must they whine about EVERYTHING? Their shrill bleating only serves to reinforce how long it had been and how they have no idea how to act as champions. It's one thing to be a bad loser, another to be a petulant winner. Perhaps that's in part why they haven't won a European Cup/Champions League title since 1965. Wait. Europe will be beyond their 'invincible' side again this year.
George
"I hate to intrude on what Susy Campanale clearly thinks is a tidy theory, but a Freudian might refer to her Everybody Hates Inter blog entry as projection." -Nathan Duin
...and you'd be wrong. Clearly you have a differing opinion, but it is you who brought up the idea that her argument was "a tidy theory", therefore you must have some acceptance in your mind that she made some good points which you cannot refute but compel you to disagree.
As for “Taking Mancini to task for some ostensibly impolitic remarks about Milan is as hilarious as believing Berlusconi would be cheering Inter on if the club was playing for an international trophy." You're missing the point - even if Berlusconi didn't want Inter to win, he would not be vocal about it. He would show some class and keep it to himself. That is what class is all about. You don't have to agree with someone to respect them and yourself enough not to make trouble with them. Decorum and class is something Milan take to naturally. But it seems that Inter are not so accustomed to it.
Andy.
It looks like Susy has kicked at the Interista hornet's nest! And don't they sound bitter? Convinced that they have been cheated out of Scudetti as always. Well, Inter's lack of success has more to do with the lack of support Moratti offered his Coaches up to now. That, paired with a constant influx of foreign talent that was never allowed to gel. At last Moratti seems to have got the balance right by supporting Mancini and allowing him to blend a great squad. It's a shame they needed Calciopoli to weaken their rivals.
Matteo Carpana
Personally, I feel that was the best blog written so far. Inter have struggled for so long and now they have something to shout about they can’t shut up. I feel Milan and Juve have always been gracious in victory and represented Italy proudly, Inter however.....
Inter are the Arsenal of Serie A. I couldn’t hate them any more if I tried. They are the signal of everything that is wrong with English football right now, except they are doing it in Italy. Milan, Juventus, Roma etc, are taking the right steps, investing through youth, keeping it local with Italian players, however Inter are there for glory and glory only. I can’t possibly see how an Italian could be an Inter fan. I hope they get stuffed on Sunday and all the goals come via Milan’s Italians or Inter’s Argentineans scoring own goals! I’m sure Milan will have the whole of Italy in their curva this weekend!
Pep, Peterborough
Just wanted to say that I used to support Juve and Milan when I was younger on an international level. However this has changed in the last 10 years, as supporters of Milan and Juve used to laugh at my expense about the poor run Inter had during the 90s and up to more recently. I guess if Milan fans enjoyed seeing Inter flop for so long it’s quite reasonable for Inter fans to enjoy watching Milan in the bottom half of the table. P.S. Apart from Milan and Juve fans, I don’t know of any other fans (including Roma) that dislike Inter.
Amedeo Banzato
Oh dear, it’s another embarrassing anti-Inter rant from the girl Campanale. Like a spoiled child who’s had it all their own way for so long, she can no longer face the fact that the younger sibling is now flourishing and outshining them. The times they are a-changin’. However with each passing month your twisted bitterness towards all things Inter increases. You’ve got to move on, Susy, otherwise you’ll find yourself completely alone, with only a cat & the mad rantings of Silvio Berlusconi for company.
Christopher Chau.
Another day, another story promoting an anti-Inter agenda. Yawn. Join the growing club of people who just can't accept the Nerazzurri being successful for a change. That's right bag us for having too many foreigners...who cares, is that the only ammunition you and the others have? In March 1908 our club was set up to cater for that exact reason - to allow foreigners to play because those meatheads across town wouldn't let them.
We Inter fans have had to put up with being second and third best for so long now, not to forget enduring the frustrating inconsistencies for several years as Coach after Coach went through the revolving door - not to forget our poor recruiting. Now that we are successful and enjoying winning (even without the likes of some key players recently), everyone has to berate us, which is in a similar vein to how UEFA somehow finds any way possible to sanction us for anything. It's about time you Juventus and Milan hacks just shut up for five minutes AND ACCEPT THAT THE TABLES HAVE NOW TURNED.
So what if Inter representatives wish Milan to lose? That's football and that’s the way clubs should act. I don't want the support of Ancelotti and Galliani and Co., I want them to hate us as much as I hate that team on the other side of Milan.
Joseph Sapienza, Perth, Australia
What a boring article, jumping on the bandwagon of knocking a side that has broken the monopoly of Milan and Juve (two sides who had cheated) and are now easy game because they are winning and keep winning. If Inter were mid table there would be none of this vitriol against them, just like in England with Chelsea, success breeds jealousy!
Carlo Capelli (London based Inter fan)
For the record, as an Interista, everything that she commented on was exactly how I wanted the club to react. When we were awarded our 14th Scudetto I celebrated it. It was more about recognition of everything that had gone on before, you know, the stuff we always went on about and were always told we were paranoid? So we got one title through the back door, you think that makes up for the legitimate triumphs denied by the scheming and cheating of our oldest rivals? Nice of her to also throw in the dig about last year’s “rivals” starting with points deductions – of course the 8 points Milan were docked proved decisive to the final table didn’t it? What’s the excuse this season?
And of course we wanted Milan to lose the Champions League Final. Apart from the fact that they should never have been allowed in it in the first place, why would we want our cousins (their word – of course, I have no cousins) to win the biggest trophy in club football? For the goodness of Italian football? That would be the Italian football that cost Inter dear while assisting Moggi and his assorted cronies? The Champions League had little enough credibility since non-champions were not only allowed entry but started winning it, but Milan destroyed even the little that had managed to remain. And just to let you know I own the DVD of Liverpool’s penalty triumph a couple of years earlier, so funny, and with that dirty scumbag Sheva missing the final penalty, I couldn’t have written a better script if I had tried. As for Sunday? Let’s just say that while shopping in Glasgow on Saturday I contemplated purchasing a Boca top.
So well played Mancini for his comments, he speaks for all Interisti. Delighted he does not see the need to pander to the PC brigade in the press. And if Inter success brings such petty articles from Susy then long may her poisoned pen be active.
Kevin Irvine
I'm just curious-did you take an international poll on how many people hate Inter? Blogs are a great tool for opinions to be shared but some opinions and views are just stupid and biased as the one I just read. Thanks and Forza Juve!
Xyzuth
Don't you think that you're being a little over-sensitive? I agree that celebrating their win by default was the action of a small-time club, and to suggest that Milan winning the Champions League would have ruined their celebrations was a little pathetic. However, do you really expect that they would want their rivals to win European trophies?!? I often hear Italian people say things like, 'I support Milan, but I support all Italian teams in Europe', but do you think this happens in England or Spain? Surely the club you support is the most important thing, no? To be honest, I thought the comments coming from Inter were quite restrained compared to the attitude Alex Ferguson had about the Final in Athens. I support Liverpool (as you may have guessed), but even if England had qualified for Euro 2008, I'd have been supporting Spain, as would 90% of other Liverpool fans.
You may well say this is sour grapes, but do you really think the Club World Cup is anything more than a friendly tournament? I know Berlusconi feels it's important because he can say that Milan are the world's most successful club, but nobody ever seems to point out that a European Super Cup is hardly equivalent to a Champions League. Until they win that for the 10th time Real Madrid will be the most successful.
You say it's not the fault of the fans that certain clubs are disliked. I disagree completely. I think it's the main reason. If the Inter fans had felt that the 2006 title was worthless, they wouldn't have gone onto the streets for the parade, would they? Does everybody hate Juve because they win all the time, or because of the arrogance and general ignorance of their fans? I can think of many reasons why one would hate Inter, but I don't really agree with the ones you mentioned.
Michael Orland
I have to totally agree with this. I should admit, I am an AC Milan fan, but that really isn't the reason why I agree so much. I have always wanted all Italian teams to do well in Europe, including Inter, and I cheer all Italian teams on. But it seems Inter and its fans love to hate Milan in particular, and to a degree, other successful teams. Why would you wish failure on your own countrymen, other than out of spite for previous losses or jealousy? Everything Susy Campanale mentioned perfectly sums up Inter. They celebrated an un-earned Scudetto like they won it, cheered on European teams over their country's own team in the Champions League, had nothing but put-downs for Milan as they won the Club World Cup to make Italy the greatest footballing nation on the planet and Europe the best continent in the world... When will this stop? Even as a Milan fan, although I will always want my team to do the best and think my team is better than the rest, I still have the respect for and the sense of self contentment and belief in my own team to be able to cheer on other Italian teams to victory. It seems that when players or fans do not do this it is because deep down they don't genuinely believe that their own team is as good, so they take it out on others with spite.
Andy
Pure jealousy from the author of this article and Berlusconi. If Inter are successful why shouldn't we rub it in a bit? God knows the Milanisti and Gobbi did. We've spent so long not achieving success due to Juve buying the league every season I think we're entitled to feel good. As for Berlusconi, the man is bitter. If Milan had got in gear for the league he wouldn't have to focus his attention on a tournament which is only going to further hamper Milan's Serie A recovery drive. Ask the Milanisti which they'd be happier with, the Scudetto or the Club World Cup? The answer is clear.
Dean Morgan, Aberystwyth.
No prizes for guessing this blog entry is obviously written by another one of those very frustrated AC Milan fans that are having trouble coming to terms with the fact that their already ageing squad is having extreme difficulty picking up points in Serie A without the illegal assistance of the referees. Milan and Juventus had the limelight for so many years only to find out it was all manufactured and has NO MEANING whatsoever.
You speak about Inter not wanting what's best for Italian football, that's rich coming from a club that over the last 10 years has disgracefully mocked and dragged the honest game of Italian football through the mud. Please let us pay respect where respect is due, Internazionale FC deserve their titles and one can only imagine how many others they were robbed off from the dirty tactics of Juventus & AC Milan. Juventus vs. Inter 1998 Season at the Delle Alpi comes to mind, a CLEAR Ronaldo Penalty is NOT given, resulting in a match that handed Juventus the title.
Fabian De Marco - FOREVER INTERISTA!
Previously if I ever felt the need to get angry I would always turn to your column at the back of the Calcio Italia Magazine and now with this blog you haven't failed to surprise me at your bitter, bitter opinions against Inter.
You bore us with the same old story: I can’t believe Inter accepted that title in 2006. Well look I'm sorry as an Inter fan yes I found it slightly out of turn for us to go on and on and on and on about it. However, for me to watch for 18 years Milan and Juventus being favoured by refereeing decisions and to have years of no domestic success because of this it was finally a bit of justice in Italian football. As for a meaningless gesture, yes probably to bitter Milan and Juve fans like yourself, but for the rest of us it was a victory against the cheats.
Next up you slate us for wanting Milan to lose the Champions League Final, well put the shoe on the other foot for one second. There is no way on earth you would have supported Inter in the Final against Liverpool if Milan had won the Scudetto. No way at all, you can deny it if you want, oh but if Inter won it would be good for Italian football...bla bla bla.
I would like to see Inter field more Italians and hopefully with Maresca, Barone and potentially Barzagli we will see some more next year. But again it’s Internazionale and why and how were we founded? By foreigners that were pushed out of AC Milan. It is our Centenary this year, what better way to celebrate than play the exact same way we were founded 100 years ago as a team made up of foreigners?
As for us not supporting Milan and our top representatives stating this, so what? It shows that they are 100% behind the club they are representing? Berlusconi says these things so he looks better, and anyone that believes his comments are obviously just plain thick. Yes outside Inter fans everybody may hate Inter, but they also hate Milan and Juve just as much if not more.
David
Although I normally enjoy reading your opinions on Channel4, I was outraged at your recent column on Inter Milan. Not because of myself being a loyal Inter fan, but because of the quality of your arguments. Your criticism of Inter Milan is based on what the players or coaches have allegedly said about Milan in the Champions League. I still think it is largely exaggerated that they publicly wished out loud for Milan to lose.
Well, surely, they did not cheer for Milan in any of the international competitions. But, then, why do you have to exact that kind of patriotism from them? You are of Italian origin, and are you really serious that such patriotism works in Italian football? You criticize Inter players rooting for Argentina because many of them are Argentineans. Well, then stop rooting for Italy when they face any British teams. That's hypocritical. Lastly, what really outraged me was your highly pretentious sympathy for Inter fans as if it is a fact for us. Please don't do that. If ya wanna criticize, go ahead with objective evidence for it. That's what readers want. It is really not pleasant to see that your high style suddenly lapsed for the sake of your personal feelings against a certain club.
Yours, Yonggi
The above column you wrote is utter rubbish! We Inter fans support all the Italian teams in all competitions and you are another reporter trying to cause conflict within our team. 2006 was indeed the honest title and we are more than happy to show off in style. An honest team demands respect for all the years they suffered due to the cheats of Juve and Milan. Maybe the shooting practice should be towards you without the apology now. Grow up and accept defeat once. Inter is deservedly on top at the moment!
Brian Vella
I know a lot of Italian soccer fans who despise Inter because they have almost no Italian representation on their roster. They're hardly an Italian team at all.
N Renda
Your article was disgraceful. I have never read more rubbish in my life. Normally a blog like that wouldn't bother me at all, as yes, I know, it’s YOUR OPINION. Shall I continue and point out to you, that it’s in fact YOU, that everybody will love to hate as you show nothing but jealousy and hatred to one team.
So Inter celebrating because they can finally win on "merit" other that "assistance" is a slap in the face to you, is it? Inter should have at least the decency to feel sorry for the cheats that have turned Italian football into a debacle?? I mean, Milan for instance, boy didn't they cop the full brunt.. what was it, eight-point deficit at start of year? Yet managed to fall 33 points behind, win a Champions League they shouldn't have even been allowed to play in, now claim to be the "best" in Europe and now the "world", and Inter has to show decency??
As you put it so nicely, well excuuuuuuuuuseeee meeeeee. How about Milan show some grace and say to the rest of Europe: "We cheated, we got caught out, we actually shouldn't even be here, but because we are Milan, we are allowed to play." Everybody hates Inter?? Everybody?? you sure? Or is it just bitter Milan and Juventus fans like yourselves, that got off lightly but still have the nerve to moan, and then say Inter aren't gracious??
Matthew Scapuzzi, Melbourne, Australia
As an avid Inter fan I am starting to get really sick and tired of the media making us out to be the ones at fault for everything. There are no easy games in football and no matter what has gone on you still have to beat the teams put in front of you. After so long without a Scudetto I think that Inter should celebrate, not the one that they were handed, but the one they won last season, because lets face it, in the past Inter have had some spectacular collapses. I don't know how deep the match-fixing went and how long it had gone on for, but if it was your team that hadn't won anything for so long and you found out that other teams had cheated, I'm sure you wouldn't have been so quick to forgive them.
The reason I think Inter are so aggrieved with Milan is probably they believe that AC should not have been allowed to compete in the Champions League, and so them winning it was a real kick in the teeth.
One last point, people should remember that football works in cycles, in the Premiership Liverpool dominated, then Man Utd, followed by Arsenal, then Chelsea so its only right that Inter get their turn in Serie A, after being dominated by AC and Juventus for so long.
Darren from Northern Ireland
I think Ms Campanale should open up the C4 vault and read more on comments made by Mancini as well as Berlusconi before some accusations are made.
Ace_snowman
I’m sorry but Campanale’s article could have been written by Moggi! Whilst I would agree that some things the Inter hierarchy say aren’t best advised, what team doesn’t make odd pronouncements? BUT. Why shouldn’t Inter celebrate a ‘clean’ Scudetto? After all we’ve missed out on ones through cheating by other clubs, so as FOR ONCE the playing field was levelled, that should be a good thing, surely? So we’re now criticised for not being a bunch of cheats and being happy that playing fairly finally overcame corruption in the game?
Sorry Susy, but we’ve been the butt (often deservedly admittedly) of a lot of jokes, and yes we do (justly I think) have a bit of a chip on our shoulder, but you berate us for not championing Italian football and then belittle the nation’s strongest team from, judging by the tone of the article, nothing more than personal malice? That makes you a hypocrite, doesn’t it? Milan and Juve we have been in your shadow, but no more. You and your mouthpieces can stir up as much hostility as you can, but we’re better than you, we’re not cheats.
FORZA INTER!
D Salmon
I agree with your article on why we should hate Inter. Rivalries are hardly ever friendly, but Inter's attitude make it hard for the Rossenero like myself to be civil towards that club. Inter's top representatives have not failed to pour cold water on every occasion of Milan's success. At the same time, I have never heard Berlusconi, Galliani or Ancelotti make a mockery of Inter's domestic success. My God, they even attack Kaka! This to me is just outright ridiculous. Milan is a club of ladies and gentlemen. Inter is not. At a another level, I hope Kaka, Seedorf and Pirlo will be recharged adequately enough to show their class above whoever Inter will bring and win a derby that every Italian football fan will want to watch. I know I am.
Rohan Bell
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't "professional" journalists meant to be impartial? Articles like this also help to generate unnecessary hatred and discontent over something that is nothing more than a sport! I think Susy should be ashamed of such a one-sided article. Yes comparisons with Juve were made in this article, but Juve were not hated for winning as such but how they achieved those "wins." It is inevitable that haters will hate, but ask any non-Juve supporter what it is they hated about Juve during the Moggi era, most will have an answer relating to cheating & match-fixing rather than Juve winning all the time or Juve being dull (which they were more often than not). Where were you then Susy? Where was your harsh criticism for the Juve machine back then?
The fact is that everyone does NOT hate Inter just as everyone didn't hate Juve during the Moggi era. Times change, no one team can be at the top forever! Ask any Inter fan if winning is more important than playing good football? Most Interisti would prefer the latter. Most Interisti don't mind if their team loses as long as they played well when doing so.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even you Susy! But sometimes opinions need to be kept to yourself or worded correctly if you absolutely have to have your say. This article just shows that you are a Hater of the highest order rather than a journalist of any sort!
Str8jackit
As a born and raised Interista, I don’t care that everybody hates Inter. I admit it was a little over the top for Inter to celebrate the “Scudetti of honesty” but they were robbed by biased refereeing in the last several years. As for supporting the local team in international competitions, I don’t think it’s unusual to support the team playing your local rivals. Last season I witnessed Man Utd supporters celebrating Liverpool’s loss in the CL just as many Inter supporters celebrated Liverpool’s win over Milan three years ago. As for the World Club Cup, it is a waste of time it will always come down to Europe vs. South America and Milan was the first European team to take it seriously – probably because it is their only chance of winning anything this season. FORZA INTER!
Bruno Dente
Not everyone hates Inter. From where I come from everyone is praising Inter. The World Club Cup is a farce and Milan’s league form shows they are not good enough to compete at the top level. To be considered a great team you have to win your own league first, as Wenger rightly said.
Mohammed Shabbar
You talk about Inter being a petty club that ‘puts rivalries above the interests of Italian football’. It is precisely out of concern for the depths that calcio was plunging into that Massimo Moratti pointed out the 2005-06 title should be awarded, for if not it would imply every team in the league was resorting to disgusting underhand measures. I clearly remember Billy Costacurta himself advocating the title had to be awarded to the next highest placed team. And I’m fairly sure he was not the only one. Agreed they had the Scudetto insignia stitched on the shirts but aside from that, I didn’t see or read about even a trace of the celebrations that followed the 2006-07 Scudetto triumph.
It often strikes me the site is biased against the Nerazzurri and in particular Roberto Mancini. For Pete’s sake, he was merely lending his opinion on the format of the Club World Cup and nothing more. He even said only two teams should play in the final, Milan and Boca. As Italians, they would surely recognize the fact that Milan’s triumph would bode well for Italian football. But that doesn’t mean they need to come out saying, ‘We support Milan.’ And I almost threw up when I read the part where you suggested Inter have to take a lesson in sportsmanship from Mr. Red Devil himself.
The only point in your article I could agree with is the lack of Italian flavour in the Nerazzurri squad which is something I’m sure most Inter fans would like to see change. But even then, from that to suggest that Inter would opt to support Argentina at the World Cup is going a bit too far and in poor taste.
So instead of tearing Moratti and Inter to shreds and asking us to be sporting, why don’t you put your acid pen aside for a few minutes, practice what you preach and doff your hat to a team that has suffered in every sense of the word to get where they are today.
Rohan Alvares
I thought the role of a journalist was to remain impartial. Your jealousy of Inter and what they have achieved is astounding, and to hold up Berlusconi as an example of good sportsmanship and of how things should be done is hilarious. Why don’t you just give a little bit of credit to Mancini and the squad for what they have achieved and are achieving? In 2006 if Inter and the rest of Serie A had been playing on a level playing field the Scudetto would have been settled as the final table showed after the penalties imposed. I find it incredible anyone connected with Juve or Milan can preach humility and honesty when they forfeited that right long ago.
Forza Inter.
Des
I hate to intrude on what Susy Campanale clearly thinks is a tidy theory, but a Freudian might refer to her Everybody Hates Inter blog entry as projection. The writer and some London-based Italian football fans dislike Inter for a variety of reasons; therefore, the rest of Italy is willing with all their heart and soul for Inter’s absolute humiliation. Sure, no exaggeration there. My Italian wife’s family is filled with supporters of Torino and Livorno. Not only do they not hate Inter, they do not give them any thought at all. I suspect that this attitude is more prevalent than the writer would care to admit.
Taking Mancini to task for some ostensibly impolitic remarks about Milan is as hilarious as believing Berlusconi would be cheering Inter on if the club was playing for an international trophy. Does anyone there think that Jose Mourinho was supporting Liverpool against Milan? Did anyone expect him to offer up generous words of encouragement to Benitez? Maybe Sir Alex got out his Arsenal scarf and hoped that his good friend Arsene Wenger would emerge victorious in Paris. Get some perspective please. When one takes into consideration the normal declarations of other top managers, Mancini is a UN diplomat in comparison. If Mourinho arrives in Milan, he will prove my point in short order.
Nathan Duin
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