Legendary former Nerazzurri President Massimo Moratti looks back on what former midfielder Luis Suarez meant to Inter Milan.
The former President spoke to Milan-based newspaper Il Giorno in an interview published in yesterday’s print edition, via FCInterNews, remembering the Spaniard after his passing on Sunday.
The passing of Spanish former Inter, Barcelona, and midfielder midfielder Suarez has left a big impact on the world of football.
Moreover, Suarez is not only a significant figure in the Nerazzurri’s history for what he did on the pitch. The Spaniard also maintained a connection with the club for the rest of his life.
Naturally, Suarez’s story is tied with that of the Moratti family.
It was Massimo Moratti’s father Angelo who signed the Spaniard to Inter from Barcelona in 1960.
And, as Suarez continued to maintain a strong connection with the Nerazzurri long past the end of his playing days, he would continue to be close with Massimo Moratti as he stepped up into the role that his father had filled, President of Inter.
Moratti Looks Back On Luis Suarez Impact At Inter
Moratti said of Suarez that “He had a style of play that put Inter in a the best possible position to execute [Helenio] Herrera’s tactics.”
“He was the driving force,” he said of Suarez’s arrival. “We sold [Antonio Valentin] Angelillo for more or less the same amount [to Roma] in order to sign him. At the time it was considered a major sacrifice, even if the Argentine was in a bit of a crisis period.”
“But he changed his way of playing at Inter,” Moratti said of Suarez.
“We were used to completely different midfielders, like the kind that [Bengt] Lindskog were, tall and physically strong.”
“He was something totally new, and he took us to another dimension.”
In his role as a club director, Moratti noted that Suarez “Always had his eye on emerging players. That was one of his best qualities.”
Moratti also replied to the anecdote that Suarez had unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting CP.
“I can confirm that,” the former President said of Suarez’s recommendation. “He pointed him out when he was still a very young player.”
“And then I thought, just because of his name, that he’d be like a ‘fake’ copy of the player we’d signed before.”
“And instead he was right!” Moratti looked back on Suarez’s appraisal of Ronaldo.