Before the game between Hamburg and Inter this afternoon, HSV.de spoke to Lothar Matthäus, who revealed why his time at the San Siro was not only his most successful but also most emotional time, as well as explaining how he rates HSV’s chances of qualifying for the Europa League.
Lothar Matthäus, while at Inter, you won the 1989 Serie A league title and two years later the UEFA Cup. You personally won a host of prizes, including world footballer and world sportsman of the year. Was your time there the most successful of your career?
“Yes definitely. Apart from the titles and trophies it was the nicest and especially most emotional time during my career. I had a special relationship with Inter fans – they are experiences which will live with me forever. I also made some special friends there.”
With whom?
“My former teammates Guiseppe Bergomi, Walter Zenga and Alessandro Bianchi. There are many more names I could add.”
In 1990 you led the Germany team to success in the World Cup finals in Italy. Was that success down to your familiarity of the country it was staged in?
“I wasn’t the only player in the national team playing in Italy at the time: Brehme, Klinsmann and I were at Inter Milan, Völler and Berthold at AS Rome, Riedle at Lazio and Häßler at Juve. We all knew the country well which I am sure was an advantage.”
What was your most emotional moment in an Inter shirt?
“Tough to say. But if I had to pick one moment, it would be the round 30 Serie A game during my first season at Inter. We played Napoli who had Diego Maradona in their team. I scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory which secured us the league title prematurely. 85,000 fans inside the San Siro celebrated wildly – it was incredible.”
The current Inter team is no where near such successes at the moment. After their historic triple win in 2010 they have failed to lift a further trophy…
“It seems to me that after winning the Champions League in 2010, club president Massimo Moratti has become tired. That title was his dream, and afterwards he changed down a couple of gears financially and recently sold quite a few players for big money. Inter Milan are a club in transition.”
It was recently said that the Moratti family plan to sell a large part of the club to an Indonesian investor…
“Yes, sadly. I view those developments with mixed emotions. The Moratti family is the face of Inter Milan in Italy. But that’s life. It is a sign of the times in today’s football.”
On Saturday HSV take on Inter in a friendly at the Imtech Arena. How do you see the current developments in Hamburg?
“HSV is a great club with a historic past. Sadly I was not lucky enough to play for them. Last season’s seventh place finish was good, but long term HSV should be higher than that. But the club must remain calm and not have too many things going on to disrupt that calm. Focus must only be on sporting matters.”
Oliver Kreuzer is now responsible for such things…
“I know Oliver well from our time together at Bayern, and later Red Bull Salzburg. He is a man with experience, who has excellent contacts within the German-speaking countries in Europe and beyond. Oliver will do HSV good.”
Source: hsv.de
