Steven Zhang has succeeded in becoming the fourth ever Inter President to guide the team to the semifinals of either the Champions League.
This is highlighted in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, who note that the Nerazzurri President joins the likes of Angelo and Massimo Moratti as well as Ivanoe Fraizzoli to reach the penultimate stage of Europe’s top club competition.
After seeing out their quarterfinal tie against Benfica with a 3-3 draw, meaning a 5-3 win in the tie on aggregate, Inter are set to face AC Milan in a two-legged Milan derby tie for a place in the biggest match in European club football in June.
The last time Inter faced off against the Rossoneri at that stage of the competition was in twenty years ago 2003, when Massimo Moratti was President.
The Nerazzurri lost that tie as Milan went on to the final where they beat Juventus, although Moratti would later go on to guide the team to the final in 2010, where they beat Bayern Munich to secure the European Treble.
Moratti was the third ever Nerazzurri President to guide the team to the semifinals of Europe’s top competition, although the first of the Champions League era.
During the European Cup era there had been Moratti’s father Angelo, who guided the team all the way by winning the competition twice in succession during the mid-1960s.
Then, there was Ivanoe Fraizzoli, who took Inter to the final of the 1971-72 edition of the competition, having beaten Celtic in the semifinals before losing to Ajax in the final.
Fraizzoli would also get Inter into the penultimate stage of the competition in 1981, although they fell at that hurdle against Real Madrid.
Zhang has now become the fourth President to get this far,forming a “fab” four with the father and son Moratti and Fraizzoli, and now he’ll be dreaming of getting even further, to face one of Real Madrid or Manchester City in the final.