Inter Milan Best All-Time XI
Gregory Caltabanis
4 Yrs Ago
Inter Milan’s 112-year history has been filled with great successes and legendary players. Today, the Nerazzurri are among the most successful clubs in Italy and became the first Italian club ever to win a treble when they overcame Bayern Munich in 2010.
Inter, however, have not lifted a trophy since then and have struggled in recent years. Their newly appointed chairman Steven Zhang is now tasked with leading the club into a new era and is well on his way at doing just that.
This season, Inter have gone toe-to-toe with Juventus and Lazio and are slowly establishing themselves as Scudetto contenders again.
The Inter faithful will be eager to return to their former heights as they have witnessed historic sides don their famous black and blue kit over the years. Whether it’s Helenio Herrera’s ‘Grande Inter’ or Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning side, Inter has regularly found itself at the pinnacle of Italian football.
Here is Inter Milan’s All-Time Best XI:
Júlio César
The Brazilian custodian joined from Chievo as a relatively unknown talent and ended up making 300 appearances for Inter over a highly successful seven-year stint with the club. César assumed the number one role between the posts after one year of backing up Francesco Toldo and performed brilliantly.
In his first season as a starter, the goalkeeper registered 17 clean sheets in 35 appearances, losing only once in league play. César was a main protagonist in Inter’s historic treble in 2010 and won 14 titles with the Nerazzurri, including five Scudetti.
Javier Zanetti
Zanetti joined Inter in 1995 and was Massimo Moratti’s first ever purchase. The fullback spent 19 years with the club, amassing 858 appearances with Inter in all competitions, leaving him fourth on the all-time list for Serie A appearances.
Captaining the side for thirteen years, Zanetti led Inter to five league titles and one Champions League trophy. Nicknamed El Tractor for his incredible work rate, the Inter legend was capable of playing on either side of the back four and even featured in midfield. Today, Zanetti is the club’s vice president.
Giuseppe Bergomi
One of Inter’s notable one-club men, Bergomi came through the Nerazzurri’s youth ranks and debuted for them in 1980. In his 20-year career with the club, Bergomi made 519 appearances and currently holds the record for most appearances in the UEFA Cup.
Bergomi initially started at right back and was later shifted at the heart of defense and was a key figure in their Scudetto triumph in 1989. The defender went to win a further three UEFA Cups throughout his time with Inter.
Iván Córdoba
Shortly after joining from San Lorenzo, the Colombian defender formed a formidable partnership with Marco Materazzi. Despite his small stature, Córdoba was a crucial piece to Inter’s backline in the early 2000s and led the club to five Scudetti and one Champions League.
Known for his athleticism and pace, Córdoba often deputized as a fullback. The defender made 324 appearances with the club over his 12-year tenure winning fifteen titles and even served as vice-captain behind Zanetti.
Giacinto Facchetti
Facchetti was an integral piece in Helenio Herrera’s ‘Grande Inter’, making 634 appearances and scoring 59 goals. The Inter man remains the most prolific defender in Serie A history. Facchetti began his career as a forward with his hometown club Trevigliese, but Herrera quickly converted him to an attacking fullback.
In 1966, Facchetti notched 10 goals in a season, which were the most by any defender until Materazzi broke the record. The defender spent his entire career with Inter, winning four league titles, two European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup. Facchetti famously captained Italy to its only European Championship in 1968.
Esteban Cambiasso
The Argentine midfielder joined Inter after his contract with Spanish giants Real Madrid expired in 2004. Cambiasso soon became a lynchpin in Inter’s midfield alongside compatriot Juan Sebastián Verón and played a major role in their treble-winning season.
Deployed in front of the back four, the midfielder acted as a destroyer, but had a keen eye for goal, as evidenced by his 41 strikes throughout his Inter career. Cambiasso spent ten seasons with the club making 315 appearances and won 15 titles including five Scudetti, before joining Leicester in 2014.
Luis Suárez
The Spanish maestro followed Helenio Herrera to Inter in 1961 and became the world’s most expensive player at the time. El Arquitecto remains the only Spanish player to have ever won the Ballon d’Or and was the creative force behind Herrera’s Grande Inter.
Suarez was equally capable of finding the back of the net and scored 55 goals in his 328 appearances with the club. Suárez spent nine seasons with the Nerazzurri, winning three Scudetti, two European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup.
Mario Corso
Another member of Herrera’s Grande Inter, Corso provided the offensive spark in the final third, scoring 75 goals in 413 appearances with the club. The Verona native scored on his debut as a 16-year-old becoming the youngest player in Inter’s history to do so.
Corso was nicknamed Il Piede Sinistro di Dio, God’s left foot, for his pinpoint crosses and set-pieces and quickly made a name for himself in Inter’s black and blue. The winger spent 16 years with the club, winning eight titles, including four Scudetti and two European Cups. Corso briefly captained the side before finishing his career with Genoa.
Sandro Mazzola
Mazzola is yet another one of Inter’s one club men spending his entire 17-year career with the Nerazzurri. The forward was instrumental to Herrera’s counter-attacking system and used his incredible change of pace to devastate the opposition on the counter. In 1965, Mazzola finished as the league’s capocannoniere, scoring 17 goals.
Just six years later, the Inter man finished second in Ballon d’Or voting behind Johan Cruyff. Mazzola made 417 appearances for the club and scored 116 goals, helping the Nerazzurri to four Scudetti, two European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup.
Ronaldo
Inter broke the world transfer record when they triggered the Brazilian’s release clause in 1997. Ronaldo’s five-year tenure with the Nerazzurri was ultimately derailed by injuries, but El Fenomeno’s impact on the club cannot be understated.
The striker spent five seasons with Inter, scoring 49 goals in 68 appearances and led the side to a UEFA Cup triumph in 1998. Beyond his impressive goalscoring record, the striker won two Ballon d’Ors and captained Inter until he joined Real Madrid. After joining the Spanish giants, Ronaldo became just the second player to break the world transfer record twice, joining Diego Maradona.
Giuseppe Meazza
Meazza was among the most prolific marksmen in Italian history, notching 242 goals in 13 seasons with the club. In fact, he registered 100 league goals by the age of 23. Meazza was given the nickname il Ballila, the Little Boy, by his teammate Leopoldo Conti after he began training with the senior team at just 17 years old.
The striker is currently Inter’s highest ever goalscorer and led the Nerazzurri to three Serie A titles. Meazza remains one of three Italian players to have won two World Cups, having featured in both 1934 and 1938. A year after his passing, the San Siro was named in his honor and has since become the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.