"Inter means family". The exclusive interview with Lothar Matthäus

“The four years I spent at Inter were the best of my career. I felt so much love and respect here, and the fans have never forgotten the years I spent at the Club, even though so much time has passed, Inter have had so many other great players and won so many trophies since then. I always felt like part of this family, which is why I say it was the best period of my career. We worked together as a team, we could speak openly with the coach, and we would even chat with the fans in the street or at restaurants. When people say that Inter is a family, it’s true, I say that from the bottom of my heart. I’m proud to have played here and to be able to tell my children and friends about it. Inter will always be in my heart. I came back after so many years and I still feel that same sense of familiarity around me, just like I did when I played here. People are kind and friendly, not only at the Club but at the stadium too. These colours have always given me back all the love I’ve given them.”

“I built my mindset when I was a child because I was always playing football in the living room against my older brother. He was four years older than me, so beating him was never easy and I always had to work very hard. I developed that mentality and carried it with me when I joined Borussia Mönchengladbach, then I found the same mindset at Bayern Munich and with the national team. When I arrived at Inter, we would always tell the other players from the very beginning: we play to finish first. I say “we” because I mean myself and Andreas Brehme. We arrived here together and, to me, he wasn’t just a friend, he was like a brother. We wanted to show the Germans that we were good enough to play in Serie A, which was the best league in the world at the time, and help Inter grow. When we arrived, we wanted to make it clear that we could beat any opponent. For example, we would go to play in Florence or Bologna and “Uncle” Bergomi would say, “We need to be careful, they’re very strong at home.” I would reply, “Zio, we’re going there to win!” And we did, we won 6-0 in Bologna.”

“Nobody expected us to dominate the league like we did, but everything came together perfectly. Zenga was one of the best goalkeepers in the world, while Bergomi and Ferri gave us a solid defence. Bianchi was excellent on the right, and Brehme needs no introduction, he was special to me both as a friend and as a player. Mandorlini was the one who organised the defence. With Matteoli, we had a No. 6 with an excellent sense of positioning, Nicola Berti was a great box-to-box midfielder, and Serena and Diaz formed a well-balanced attacking partnership. With me in the mix, we had a really good blend of qualities. We managed to build an understanding very quickly because so many of us were new to Inter. Berti, Bianchi, Brehme and I had all just arrived, and Trapattoni did an excellent job. The coach shaped the team brilliantly, bringing together the qualities of every player, and I think it was a wonderful season filled with some great victories. To prepare for the season, we trained for three weeks in Varese. That felt like a long time to me because in Germany we were used to getting together just ten days before the start of the season. If I had to pick one memory from the Scudetto, it would be my goal against Napoli: a free kick from around 22-23 metres that gave us the title. Inter fans had been waiting years for the Scudetto, and we made their dream a reality. We won it at our own stadium, our home, with the fans there to celebrate with us, and we had beaten Maradona’s Napoli to do it. It’s hard to ask for much more than that.”

“The game against the Netherlands was incredible, a truly special match. I think the Inter fans were supporting Germany while the AC Milan fans were behind the Netherlands. The fact that it was played at San Siro made the whole experience even more special.”

“Whenever you win, every trophy is special. We had a scare at the start of our UEFA Cup campaign against Rapid Vienna. We lost 2-1 away from home, then won the second leg 3-1 after extra time. We didn’t play in Milano, but in Verona, because San Siro’s pitch was being relaid after the World Cup and wasn’t ready for a football match yet. We played some important games against some great teams. I remember the matches against Sporting Lisbon and Atalanta, and then the comeback against Aston Villa, we won 3-0 in Milano after losing 2-0 in Birmingham. Then came the all-Italian final between Inter and Roma, which showed just how strong Serie A was at the time. We had three Germans in our team, while Roma had two in Rudi Völler and Thomas Berthold. We won the first leg at home with a penalty from me and a goal from Berti. We then lost 1-0 at the Olimpico in the second leg, but it was enough to win the Cup. It was a great celebration at the end of a really good season. I was very happy to win the UEFA Cup because a few years earlier, with Borussia Mönchengladbach, I had lost an all-German final against Eintracht Frankfurt.”

“Trapattoni gave everything for the team and his players. He had a very strong personality, but I think he genuinely cared about all of us. He wanted to help us improve, and he gave us not only his emotions and empathy, but also his time. In particular, after training, he would spend extra time with me on the pitch, helping me improve my left leg and left foot. Before I joined Inter, I never scored with my left foot, but after working with the coach, I started doing it. I had to work really hard to get the best out of my playing style because I had to cover a lot of ground and run very quickly. I was a box-to-box player, I worked hard defensively, I was good at tackling and I was a fighter. Then I would race up the other end of the pitch and help the attacking players get into the right positions to try to score, and if they didn’t, I would score myself. I have so many great memories with Inter, but I think the happiest moment came that Sunday when we beat Napoli and won the Scudetto.”