GK:  Giuliano SARTI 1
RB:  Tarcisio BURGNICH  2 CB:  Giacinto FACCHETTI  3 LB: Aristide GUARNERI  4                                                 RM: Gianfranco BEDIN 6 RCM: Alessandro MAZZOLA 5 LCM: LUIS SUAREZ  7 LM:  Mario CORSO 8
RCF: JAIR Da Costa 11 CF: Joaquín PEIRO 10  LCF:  Gerry HITCHENS  9

SUBS:
Armando PICCHI 14,  Spartaco LANDINI 13,  Saul MALATRASI 15,  Carlo TAGNIN  16,
Horst SZYMANIAK 18, Angelo DOMENGHINI 25, Sergio GORI 20

Manager: Helenio Herrera
Home Ground: San Siro

Barcelona coach Helenio Herrera joined Internazionale in 1960, bringing along his famous midfield general Luis Suarez. The impact that the almost mythical Herrera had on the club can not be understated. Il Mago (The Magician) as he was nicknamed, immediately set about revolutionising not only Inter, but also the art of management and the execution of football itself. Under his tutelage, Inter soon became the pre-eminate force in Italian football, a famous side that would become to be known as Il Grande Inter.  Herrera began by implementing a modified version of the Catenaccio system that places a heavy emphasis on defence. He added a sweeper behind the back line, an innovation at the time, whose role was to recover loose balls, shore up the defence and double-mark when nessesary. Using this system, Inter ground out small wins such as 2-1 or 1-0, finishing a credible third in Herreras first season in charge. Each following season they went one better, placing second in 1961 and becoming Serie A champions in 1962.

 

Grande Inter were also incredibly strong in attack. They had Sandro Mazzola, the son of the legendary Valentino Mazzola, and one the greatest forwards Italian football had ever seen. He was supported by Suarez and Brazilian star Jair. This equated to a combination of defensive rigidity and attacking intent, and the formula led to Inter winning the the European Cup in 1964, when, in their first time entering the competition, they defeated Real Madrid 3-1 in the final, a team that had reached seven of the nine finals to date., and featured many of the by now aging stars of the 1950’s. Inter made it to their second successive European Cup final in 1965, facing Benfica. Inter were gifted a 1-0 lead early on, then Benfica lost their goalkeeper to injury and replaced him with a defender. Even Eusebio was unable to work his magic on the quagmired pitch. Inter solidified their defence and fought their way to a 1-0 victory and back to backs European Cups.  

Herreras defensive tactics had won him few fans across Europe, and prior to the game, he promised that Inter would play a more entertaining style in front of their home crowd, but his promise was a hollow one. Journalists began to complain that efficiency was flourishing at the cost of art and entertainment in European football. Off the pitch, Herrera imposed strict regulations on his players. In his own words, Herrera stated that he never allowed his players to attend banquets, even after their greatest triumphs. He even invented a system called ritiro, where he would isolate his entire squad from the outside world prior to every game.  He forbade his players from drinking or smoking, controlled their diets, and even suspended one of his players for saying “We came to play in Rome” instead of “We came to win in Rome”. This, combined with his psychological motivation skills including pep talk phrases such as “He who doesn’t give all gives nothing” and “Our team plays better with 10 than with 11”, obviously worked, as Inter also won the Intercontinental Cup in 1964 and 1965, both times against Argentine team Independiente. 

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The question was: Was Herrera simply a missionary of defensive football, or was he a man who was willing to use whatever ideas he had in his arsenal to bring European success to a club that had never tasted it before? Whatever the answer, his influence continues to be felt to this day, with defensive tactics permeating the Italian game. In addition, Herrera was the first manager to call on the support of the  “12th player” - the spectators. This indirectly led to the appearance of Ultras groups which continue to have a presence in European and world football. By 1967, Jair had left the club, and the team were defeated in the European Cup final by Celtics famous Lisbon Lions. In 1968, Herrera left the club to coach Roma, and left a mark on football and the history of the club that would remain unchallenged until Jose Mourinho arrived in Milan decades later.

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Acheivements:
Serie A – Champions x3
European Cup – Winners x2
Intercontinental Cup – Winners x2

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Star player: Sandro Mazzola, DoB 8 November 1932, PoB Turin, Italy

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The Mazzola name is one of the most revered in Italian football. Alessandro Mazzola is the son of Valentino Mazzola, one of the greatest players of the 1940’s, who was killed in the Superga air disaster of 1949. He was born in Turin just a few weeks after his father joined Torino FC from Venezeia. Sandro was six years old when his father died. He was one of Il Grande Inters most important members. He was an offensive midfielder on a primarily defensive team, with creative instincts helped by his passing range, vision and control. In addition, he was well known as a prolific goalscorer. Mazzola spent his entire career, 17 seasons, with Inter Milan, making him one of the most well known one-club-men.  He and his brother Ferruccio signed for Inter together in 1961, where he joined manager Herrera, Burgnich, Facchetti, Jair, Corso, and Picchi. Together, these individuals transformed Inter into one of the best teams in Europe, and Mazzola went on to score 116 Serie A goals in his career, including two against Real Madrid in the 64 European Cup final, cloning AC Milans feat of the year before. Mazzola played 70 times and scored 22 goals for Italy. He starred for Italy in 3 World Cups, 1966, 1970 and 1974. He won the 1968 European Championship with Italy, the highlight of his career. By the end of his career, Mazzola won four Serie A titles, two European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and a European Championship. Today Mazzola is a football analyst and commentator on Italian channel RAI.