In an interview with former Argentine national team player Juan Pablo Sorin, former Inter player Ivan Zamorano has revealed why he decided to give up the number nine shirt when Il Fenomeno Ronaldo joined the Nerazzurri in 1997.
Zamorano gave up the number nine jersey and then famously took on the 1+8 shirt number afterwards and he explained: “I gave up the number nine shirt for friendship and for solidarity. For me Il Fenomeno deserved to have that shirt number. He was the best striker in the world.
“I had never had another number on my shirt other to number nine so I had to ask for special permission to play with 1+8. In fact, I played a few games with the number 18 and then added the plus sign. That shirt became one of the best selling in the history of Italian football.”
In the interview which was shared on Sorin’s official Instagram channel, Zamorano then spoke on something he had to do whilst at Inter.
“I had be smart to know how to strengthen my weaknesses. Great teams need players who are hard workers and this was one of my biggest strengths.”
The former Chilean national team forward then discussed how his nickname ‘the helicopter’ came about.
“It came when I was playing in Switzerland. In one of the games I played I scored four goals, including one with my head. The next day the newspapers called me ‘the helicopter’ because I spent so much time in the air to score the header.”
In conclusion Zamorano revealed that prior to joining Inter, he could have ended up at the Nerazzurri’s arch rivals Juventus.
“I was going to stay at Real Madrid but Juventus and Bayern Munich appeared and they courted me. Then Moratti came in for me. He wanted to make Inter great and I was convinced to go to Inter where I spent five wonderful years.”
Zamorano joined Inter in the Summer of 1996 and would go on to make a total of 150 appearances in the Nerazzurri shirt, in which he scored 41 goals and provided a single assist for his teammates.
