Ice, snow and winter sports: three Nerazzurri chapters

For anyone who loves sport, there’s a moment when time seems to stand still: the Olympic Games have always been part of our shared imagination. They give us unforgettable emotions and inspire us to dream, thanks to remarkable stories and achievements that, in some cases, earn a lasting place in culture and in History - with a capital H. For all of us, the Olympics are the stuff of legend. They mark the passing of time in our lives, just like the football World Cup and Inter’s matches. And now, for the first time ever, the extraordinary spectacle of the Games is coming to Milano, our city. It’s an unmissable event for every sports fan, and also a chance to rediscover some forgotten stories that feature Inter in a leading role. It may sound surprising, but the Nerazzurri’s history has several unexpected links with the world of winter sports. From ice hockey to bobsleigh and skiing, Inter has left a clear and recognisable mark here too - a connection now revived with fresh energy in the year of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

HOCKEY IN MILANO, INTER, THE NERAZZURRI DEVILS AND A MERGER…

Among the various Olympic disciplines that will take centre stage at the Milano Cortina Games, one in particular can be compared to football more than any other. Ice hockey is, in fact, the leading team sport at the Winter Olympics. Invented in its modern form on Canada’s ice rinks in the late nineteenth century, the sport made its Olympic debut - somewhat surprisingly - at the Summer Games in Antwerp in 1920, before becoming one of the most thrilling events of the newly created Winter Olympics, starting in Chamonix in 1924. It was that very edition that inspired a group of enthusiasts to found a team in our city: Hockey Club Milano (HCM), a side that went on to dominate the sport nationally for several years. Inter’s history first crossed paths with ice hockey in 1938, when the president of Ambrosiana-Inter at the time, Ferdinando Pozzani, decided to venture into the sport. And so the Diavoli Nerazzurri - the Nerazzurri Devils - were born, a branch of Ambrosiana-Inter. Their rivals were the Associazione Milanese Disco Ghiaccio Milano (AMDG), formed from the merger of HCM and the Diavoli Rossoneri, a team linked to AC Milan. It was a remarkable winter in Milano: in a way, the derby between Inter and AC Milan moved onto the ice, with the Diavoli Nerazzurri taking on the most successful side in Italian hockey. Pozzani’s team wore a light blue shirt with a black horizontal band and a diamond-shaped black-and-blue crest, and played a series of exciting matches against sides from major hockey nations such as Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Although no official Italian championship was held that season, the Diavoli Nerazzurri and AMDG faced each other in three thrilling derbies to decide the Coppa del Federale. The Nerazzurri lost the first match 2-1 but then claimed the trophy with two victories (2-1 and 3-1).

The story of the Diavoli Nerazzurri was an experiment that lasted just a single year: after the war, HCM and the Diavoli Rossoneri returned. But in 1950, an exciting new chapter was added to the Nerazzurri story on the ice. Hockey Club Milano effectively became a sporting section of Inter. The president was Mario Masseroni, son of Carlo, while the vice-presidents were Angelo Moratti and Ivanoe Fraizzoli - two figures who, as we know, would go on to leave an indelible mark on Inter’s history in the world of football. Hockey Club Milano Inter was founded in the spirit of the Club’s 1908 founding members: the team signed three Italian-American players, opening its doors to international talent to raise the quality of its play. In the years that followed, the Nerazzurri side dominated at national level, winning four league titles in 1951, 1952, 1954 and 1955, repeatedly getting the better of their city rivals, the Diavoli Rossoneri. And that wasn’t all. HCM Inter also triumphed internationally, winning the prestigious Spengler Cup twice, in 1953 and 1954. The tournament, held annually in Davos since 1923, made them only the second Italian team to lift the trophy, after the Diavoli Rossoneri. On 15 September 1956, yet another new chapter began: HCM Inter and the Diavoli Rossoneri merged to form Hockey Club Milan-Inter. It was an unusual story - one we’re not accustomed to - but at the time it saved Milanese hockey, thanks to the shared vision of Angelo Moratti and Andrea Rizzoli, president of AC Milan. The club adopted a red, black and blue crest, mirrored in the shirts worn on the ice. HCM Milan-Inter existed for just two seasons, yet still managed to win another league title in 1958, achieved after a perfect campaign of ten wins from ten matches. It would be Inter’s final triumph in ice hockey. The team later changed its name again, becoming Diavoli Hockey Club Milano.

INTER’S FOUNDING MEMBERS AND THE BOBSLEIGH

We all know that Inter was founded on 9 March 1908 by a group of 44 members at the Ristorante Orologio, then located at number 22 in Piazza Duomo, Milano. Among the founding members, the most famous, celebrated, and beloved by Nerazzurri fans was undoubtedly Giorgio Muggiani - a painter, illustrator, and futurist graphic designer who created the Club’s logo and chose the colours for the newly formed FC Internazionale Milano: “This wonderful night will give us the colours for our crest: black and blue against a backdrop of gold stars. It will be called Internazionale, because we are brothers of the world.” Muggiani came from an adventurous, sports-loving family, which is why Inter was conceived from the very beginning as a multi-sport club with several sections. We have already told the story of the Nerazzurri basketball champions of 1923: among the players on that winning team were Giorgio’s younger brothers, Arrigo and Marco Muggiani. While Marco focused primarily on basketball throughout his life, Arrigo was also a prominent figure in winter sports. In fact, after serving as the first president of the FIP (Italian Basketball Federation), the second of the Muggiani brothers took part in history’s first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924. Arrigo Muggiani was a member of Italy’s four-man bobsleigh team, but he was unable to compete due to an injury sustained during practice runs in the days leading up to the event, which was ultimately won by the Swiss team.

SKI TEAM

Inter wasn’t just about top-level sport. In 1933, the then Ambrosiana-Inter launched another initiative dedicated to promoting physical activity. Under the leadership of president Ferdinando Pozzani, the Club inaugurated a recreational sports section, aimed at encouraging and spreading the practice of sport. The opening was attended by Giuseppe Meazza, the legendary Nerazzurri forward and Italy’s most prominent sportsman of the era. Among the various activities promoted by the new section was skiing. For a brief period, Inter even had its own ski association, with the Nerazzurri colours proudly visible on the mountain slopes.