Has it really been a whole week? This time my tale is about how it’s all the little things that make supporting Inter so wonderful…
Almost 23 years have gone by since these colours found me, in that time I’ve watched Inter lift trophies, win cups, make history and sign some of the finest players to have ever kicked a football. These are the moments we will always talk about, the titles, the triumphs and ultimately the glory. However, part of the magic that comes with being an Interista is how the small moments, the often forgotten memories make up some of the happiest times any of us experience. From Andy van der Meyde’s stunning strike at Highbury in 2003 to Emre Belözoğlu’s incredible contribution in a 3-3 draw with Lazio in 2002. Another instance which comes to mind is ‘that’ debut brace from Alvaro Recoba in 1997 which sent me screaming down the street as ‘El Chino’ announced his arrival to the Meazza.
We’ll always remember Milito’s double in Munich and Ronaldo’s step-over masterclass in Paris but we should also never forget the smaller episodes that fill in the gaps between these epic experiences.
So here we are on the 31st October 2012, I’m stood outside the Meazza and have brought a friend along to his first ever Inter game. It’s raining and when I say raining, I mean RAINING. The streets are like swimming pools and my beer is filling up with water before I’ve even taken the next sip. Despite this, the emotion is beginning to build. My friend Dan is standing in awe gasping at the sheer size of the Meazza and Inter come into this fixture on the back of seven straight wins in all competitions. We’re away to Juventus after this game and I’m desperate to send the lads off to Turin with another three points. When I take friends to the stadium for the first time there is no greater pleasure than watching their expression as they step out on to the Curva, swear words are normally next or just the obligatory ‘wow’ and then at least a minute of silence as they just stand and stare. As I said previously it’s the little things that make supporting this club so amazing.
Finally kick off arrives and although the attendance is down due to the atrocious weather the Curva Nord is absolutely buzzing. It feels like we’ve just won seven in a row and even when Sampdoria take the lead with a goal sent straight from the circus, we’re creating a right old racket. As Dan and I deliver the half time post-mortem he comes out with the line of the night: ‘They needed this, nothing like going one goal down and then turning it all around, after that you get the feeling like you can actually win this league’. I wasn’t so sure, nervous as hell I slugged on my next bottle of sambuca and lit up my umpteenth cigarette. What was I even worried about? Seven minutes after the interval Diego Milito had scored a penalty and the visitors were down to ten men. As the stadium exploded and we continued to roar Inter on, the inevitable second arrived courtesy of Rodrigo Palacio. The stage was finally set for one more of those ‘little moments’.
Dan and I had watched Fredy Guarin do the mini-treble with Porto and as part of our jobs watched Portuguese football obsessively He was a player we’d both felt could do well for one of Europe’s top clubs. Naturally I was delighted when he joined Inter and in the days leading up to the game we couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it would be to see a ‘Fredy-Bomb’ in person. Despite leading against ten men Inter were still showing signs that they could let the visitors off the hook with a point, that was until the 81st minute arrived. After a quick counter attack the ball arrived at Guarin’s feet on the right hand side of the area, neither Dan nor I looked at the shot we already knew what was coming. In one of those crazy slow motion moments that seem to take forever the ball crashed into the back of the net and before I could scream we were flat on the seats with at least two guys on my back. It wasn’t a final, we hadn’t won a championship and it wasn’t the difference between staying up or being relegated but for those few seconds I was in Munich or Paris or Siena or any of the other places Inter have lifted silverware. It was a small episode in the scheme of things but it was magic.
A football fan for as long as I’ve been and a regular at the Arsenal, Dan turned to me at the final whistle and said ‘That might just be the best football experience of my life’. Always remember even when there’s no titles, no cups and there is a long wait for the glory we all crave, it’s these types of moments that keep you going.
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