In anticipation for the new season to start for real, I have chosen to dedicate this Monday’s editorial to one of my all-time favorites in the Inter shirt: Youri Djorkaeff.
Youri Djorkaeff was born in Lyon, March 9, 1968, and thus shares birthday with the club he represented with such class for three seasons. His father Jean Djorkaeff, who represented France in the 1966 World Cup, was of Kalmyk-Polish descent and his mother came from Armenia. The offensive midfielder started his professional career in Grenoble and then continued on to RC Strasbourg, AS Monaco under Wenger and Paris SG in France. In the summer of 1996 he signed a three year contract with Inter, who paid 7.5 billion lire for the offensive midfielder. Djorkaeff was an immediate success for his new team and his creative style of play and ability to score goals quickly made him a fan favorite at the Giuseppe Meazza. In his first season at Inter, he scored 14 goals in 33 games and it’s one of these in particular that I’ll never forget. It’s a goal that, along with Zanetti’s goal in the UEFA Cup final of 1998, is on of my two favorite goals.
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It was May 5, 1997 and Inter faced Roma at home. Inter were up 1-0 when Roma’s goalkeeper Giorgio Sterchele saved a shot that the Roma defender, instead of clearing, only managed to shoot straight up into the air so that Djorkaeff, as the ball was coming down, hit perfectly with a overhead kick that from a tight angle found the back of the net for 2-0. The goal is considered by many to be one of the most amazing football goals ever and as an Inter Supporter, it’s hard to disagree. A few years after, Djorkaeff was asked how he actually did to score that great goal, and he answered simply “I leaped for the sky.” Inter eventually won the match with 3-1 and finished the season with a third place that qualified the team for the following year’s UEFA Cup, which Inter went on to win.
Djorkaeff is sometimes cited as one of the greatest players who never won a league title. With Inter, he reached a second place once, and during his time in Ligue 1, he managed the same feat four times. However, Djorkaeff won other titles. In addition to the aforementioned UEFA Cup with Inter in 1997/98 he won the Cup Winners’ Cup with Paris SG in 1995/96 and together with Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps he formed the powerful midfield of the French national team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
After playing 127 games and scoring 39 goals for Inter, he left Milan in summer 1999 and continued his career playing for Kaiserslautern, Bolton, Blackburn and New York Red Bulls before he retired in October 29, 2006.
He spent only three years at Inter, but he still managed to win the fans’ love, a love that continues to this day and that is mutual. During Inter’s 100th anniversary, he talked about Inter and Massimo Moratti, whom he still calls “my president” and his move to Inter: “I didn’t worry about the signing. I discussed football with president Moratti, which seemed more important.” He also talked about when he left Inter:” It was like leaving a big love. It takes a while to recall it, but it’s something that still hurts.”
Despite his short time at Inter and although he only led Inter to one title, I consider him to be an Inter legend and one of the most memorable players during my nearly 25 years as Interista. The one who has resembled him the most was Wesley Sneijder in 2010, but according to me he wasn’t as exciting or magical as Youri.
