This weekend, La Gazzetta dello Sport, published a long interview with Massimo Moratti in which the Inter president spoke openly and honestly, but without revealing too much, more or less confirmed that Erick Thohir will enter into Inter and Moratti’s role will be very much less important than today. Perhaps he will not even hold any official position in the team that he loves and has done so much for.
There is, however, a lot of things we don’t know about the person who seems to become Inter’s new owner soon. We do know that he has a lot of money and that he is an accomplished businessman with worldwide contacts. We do know that he has the ability to expand Inter’s brand in Asia and the rest of the world, we do know that he has the ability to finance a new arena and we do know that he could reorganize Inter to increase the club’s revenue. He is simply a very skilled businessman, no one can deny that. Neither does Inter’s former president Ernesto Pellegrini in an interview the other day, but he put the finger on the thing that we don’t know and I share his view: “I have nothing against Thohir but he is driven by business interest however football clubs must be loved.” We don’t know if Thohir really loves Inter.
Pellegrini was President of the Inter between 1984 and 1995 and sold to Inter Moratti after during these eleven years have won a Scudetto, two UEFA Cups and one Supercoppa Italiana. I remember the first few months of 1995 when it became known that Pellegrini was about to sell the club and I remember that I wasn’t as concerned as I am now. Pellegrini wasn’t a bad president, he led Inter to the first title in Europe in 27 years and he signed world players like Matthäus, Klinsmann and Brehme. Inter was, however, a team that constantly underperformed and after the 1993/94 season when Inter was one point from being relegated from Serie A there was talk about Inter once again being owned by a Moratti for the first time since 1968, when Angelo Moratti sold the club that during his time came to be known as La Grande Inter.
The reason I was not concerned then was that the new owner’s name and heritage was a guarantee that there was a deep-rooted love for the team. The fact that Moratti also had a large fortune which he was willing to use to improve the team he and I both love meant that there was hope. Until 2010, Massimo Moratti spent €750 million out of his own money to see his team win the titles his father won with Inter. After 5 Scudetti, four Coppa Italia, 4 Supercoppa Italiana, 1 Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup we are about to see a new owner.
The things that Erick Thohir are good at are the same things that Massimo Moratti has been less good at, namely to lead Inter as a business. During Moratti’s time as president, the club has constantly reported red numbers on the balance sheet and he himself admits that the club isn’t effective at the moment because the turnover is too bad. Here, I believe and hope that Erick Thohir will be able to make a significant work by modernizing the club’s organization and make it more self-sufficient than before, which is a requirement under the guidelines for Financial Fair Play that UEFA developed.
As a supporter and an opponent of modern football, I am however sad that people who are driven by passion and love for football and in this case, Inter, have less and less space. I am, However, proud, happy and above all forever grateful for all the work Moratti has done for the club and I am happy that he managed to fulfill his dreams of leading Inter to greatness like his father. I hope everything that Erick Thohir said about preserving traditions and build on Inter’s history is true and I hope that he will use the help of people who knows the Italian football in general and Inter in particular. I know that Moratti loves Inter, but I do not know if Thohir does. As a supporter, I find my solace in Moratti, a supporter just like me, wouldn’t have sold the club if he wasn’t sure it was the best for the future of the club.
