1997–98 Inter Milan season

Inter Milan
1997–98 season
OwnerMassimo Moratti
PresidentMassimo Moratti
ManagerLuigi Simoni
Serie A2nd
(in 1998-99 UEFA Champions League)
Coppa ItaliaQuarter-finals
UEFA CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ronaldo (25)

All:
Ronaldo (34)
Highest home attendance80,095 vs. Milan
(22 November 1997)
Lowest home attendance16,085 vs. Lyon
(21 October 1997)
Average home league attendance67,825
All statistics correct as of 16 May 1998.

In the 1997–98 season, the Italian football club Inter Milan, managed by Luigi Simoni, won the UEFA Cup and achieved second place in the Serie A league.

Season overview

Massimo Moratti relied on Luigi Simoni as coach and on Ronaldo as star.[1] Further purchases resulted in Diego Simeone, Francesco Moriero and Álvaro Recoba who – in his debut – scored twice, helping Inter beat Brescia in a 2–1 comeback.[2] Compared to the previous seasons, it proved to be better for Inter who mounted their first serious shot at the title since 1989.[3]

However, with a loss at Juventus, the reigning champions won 1–0, holding three points over Inter.[4] Ten days later, Inter won – for the third time in the last seven years – the UEFA Cup beating Lazio 3–0.[5] The domestic league ended with Inter in second place, last achieved in 1993.

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Italy ITA Gianluca Pagliuca
2 DF Italy ITA Giuseppe Bergomi
3 DF Italy ITA Massimo Tarantino
4 DF Argentina ARG Javier Zanetti
5 DF Italy ITA Fabio Galante
6 MF France FRA Youri Djorkaeff
7 DF Italy ITA Salvatore Fresi
8 MF Netherlands NED Aron Winter
9 FW Chile CHI Iván Zamorano
10 FW Brazil BRA Ronaldo
11 FW Nigeria NGA Nwankwo Kanu
12 GK Italy ITA Andrea Mazzantini
13 MF Brazil BRA Zé Elias
14 MF Argentina ARG Diego Simeone
15 MF France FRA Benoît Cauet
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF Nigeria NGA Taribo West
17 MF Italy ITA Francesco Moriero
18 MF Italy ITA Nicola Berti
19 DF Italy ITA Massimo Paganin
20 FW Uruguay URU Álvaro Recoba
21 DF Italy ITA Luca Mezzano
22 GK Italy ITA Raffaele Nuzzo
23 FW Italy ITA Maurizio Ganz
24 DF Italy ITA Luigi Sartor
27 FW Italy ITA Marco Branca
33 DF Italy ITA Francesco Colonnese
35 DF Uruguay URU Martin Rivas
36 DF Italy ITA Mauro Milanese
40 MF Portugal POR Paulo Sousa

Transfers

In
Pos. Name from Type
FW Ronaldo Barcelona U$31,0 million
MF Diego Simeone Atletico Madrid U$6,5 million
FW Álvaro Recoba Nacional de Montevideo U$3,5 million
MF Zé Elias Bayer Leverkusen
MF Benoît Cauet Paris Saint-Germain
DF Luigi Sartor Vicenza U$3,2 million
DF Taribo West Auxerre U$3,0 million
MF Francesco Moriero A.C. Milan co-ownership
DF André Cruz Napoli
DF Devis Nossa Orsa Treviglio
FW Alessandro Sgrigna Lodigiani
MF Alessandro Conticchio Gualdo re-purchased
MF Fabio Di Sauro Cremonese re-purchased
MF Marco Nichetti Gualdo re-purchased
MF Andrea Zanchetta Foggia re-purchased
GK Marco Fortin Torres loan ended
GK Giorgio Frezzolini Trapani loan ended
GK Raffaele Nuzzo Gualdo loan ended
GK Paolo Orlandoni Foggia loan ended
DF Alessandro Fioretti Trapani loan ended
DF Natale Gonnella Ravenna loan ended
DF Luca Mezzano Torino loan ended
DF Alessandro Pedroni Cremonese loan ended
MF Fabio Cinetti Torino loan ended
MF Pierluigi Orlandini Hellas Verona loan ended
MF Gianni Testa Frosinone loan ended
FW Caio Napoli loan ended
FW Samuel Ipoua Torino loan ended
FW Mohammed Kallon Lugano loan ended
FW Fabrizio Laccetti Solbiatese loan ended
FW Marco Veronese Monza loan ended
Out
Pos. Name To Type
MF Paul Ince Liverpool
MF Ciriaco Sforza Kaiserslautern
DF Jocelyn Angloma Valencia
DF André Cruz A.C. Milan
DF Alessandro Pistone Newcastle United
MF Pierluigi Orlandini Parma
FW Marco Delvecchio Roma
GK Christian Berretta Varese
GK Marco Fortin Giorgione
DF Matteo Ferrari Genoa
DF Natale Gonnella Hellas Verona
DF Alessandro Pedroni Monza
FW Caio Santos Futebol Clube
MF Alessandro Conticchio Lecce
MF Gianni Testa Lodigiani
GK Paolo Orlandoni Acireale loan
GK Giorgio Frezzolini Fidelis Andria loan
MF Fabio Cinetti Chievo Verona loan
MF Fabio Di Sauro Fidelis Andria loan
MF Marco Nichetti Ascoli loan
FW Arturo Di Napoli Vicenza loan
FW Mohammed Kallon Bologna loan
FW Marco Veronese Prato loan
FW Samuel Ipoua Rapid Wien loan renewal
MF Andrea Zanchetta Chievo Verona co-ownership
FW Gionatha Spinesi Castel di Sangro co-ownership

Autumn

In
Pos. Name To Type
MF Paulo Sousa Borussia Dortmund U$6,0 million
DF Mauro Milanese Parma
DF Francesco Colonnese Napoli
DF Martín Rivas Danubio
GK Giorgio Frezzolini Fidelis Andria loan ended
MF Marco Nichetti Ascoli loan ended
FW Mohammed Kallon Bologna loan ended

Winter

In
Pos. Name from Type
GK Sébastien Frey Cannes
Out
Pos. Name To Type
GK Sébastien Frey Cannes loan

Competitions

Serie A

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Juventus (C) 34 21 11 2 67 28 +39 74 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Internazionale 34 21 6 7 62 27 +35 69 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
3 Udinese 34 19 7 8 62 40 +22 64 Qualification to UEFA Cup
4 Roma 34 16 11 7 67 42 +25 59
5 Fiorentina 34 15 12 7 65 36 +29 57[a]
Source: 1997–98 Serie A, RSSSF.com, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw. (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).[6]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Fiorentina finished ahead of Parma on head-to-head points: FIO 1–1 PAR; PAR 1–2 FIO.

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
ResultWWWWDWWWDWDWLWWLDWLDWLWLWWWWWWLDLW
Position2111111111111111222222233222222222

Matches

31 August 1997 1 Inter 2–1 Brescia Milan
16:00 CET Recoba 80', 85' Report Hübner 73' Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 69,682
Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti
14 September 1997 2 Bologna 2–4 Inter Bologna
16:00 CET R. Baggio 45', 58' (pen.) Report Galante 12'
Ganz 38'
Ronaldo 52'
Zamorano 66'
Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara
Attendance: 36,267
Referee: Stefano Braschi
21 September 1997 3 Inter 3–2 Fiorentina Milan
16:00 CET Ronaldo 45'
Moriero 72'
Djorkaeff 81'
Report Serena 46'
Batistuta 47'
Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 73,375
Referee: Graziano Cesari
27 September 1997 4 Lecce 1–5 Inter Lecce
20:30 CET Palmieri 61' (pen.) Report Djorkaeff 33', 78'
Ronaldo 48', 81'
Ganz 84'
Stadium: Stadio Via del Mare
Attendance: 35,535
Referee: Stefano Farina
5 October 1997 5 Inter 1–1 Lazio Milan
20:30 CET Ronaldo 41' (pen.) Report Nedvěd 35' Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 65,656
Referee: Fiorenzo Treossi
18 October 1997 6 Napoli 0–2 Inter Naples
15:30 CET Report Galante 10'
Turrini 69' (o.g.)
Stadium: Stadio San Paolo
Attendance: 55,881
Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto
1 November 1997 7 Inter 1–0 Parma Milan
14:30 CET Ronaldo 15' Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 72,000
Referee: Piero Ceccarini
9 November 1997 8 Atalanta 1–2 Inter Bergamo
15:00 CET Caccia 81' Report Djorkaeff 28'
West 88'
Stadium: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia
Attendance: 23,870
Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti
22 November 1997 9 Inter 2–2 Milan Milan
20:30 CET Simeone 13'
Ronaldo 68' (pen.)
Report Weah 29'
Cruz 80' (pen.)
Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 80,905
Referee: Pierluigi Collina
30 November 1997 10 Vicenza 1–3 Inter Vicenza
15:00 CET Ambrosini 59' Report Simeone 33, 39'
Ronaldo 68'
Stadium: Stadio Romeo Menti
Attendance: 19,744
Referee: Alfredo Trentalange
6 December 1997 11 Sampdoria 1–1 Inter Genoa
14:30 CET Montella 31' (pen.) Report Ronaldo 9' Stadium: Stadio Luigi Ferraris
Attendance: 35,375
Referee: Fiorenzo Treossi
14 December 1997 12 Inter 3–0 Roma Milan
14:30 CET Djorkaeff 40' (pen.)
Branca 49'
Petruzzi 71' (o.g.)
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 65,846
Referee: Domenico Messina
21 December 1997 13 Udinese 1–0 Inter Udine
20:30 CET Bierhoff 90+1' Report Stadium: Stadio Friuli
Attendance: 29,123
Referee: Livio Bazzoli
4 January 1998 14 Inter 1–0 Juventus Milan
20:30 CET Djorkaeff 47' Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 80,569
Referee: Stefano Braschi
11 January 1998 15 Piacenza 0–1 Inter Piacenza
14:30 CET Report 70' Moriero Stadium: Stadio Leonardo Garilli
Attendance: 17,508
Referee: Gennaro Borriello
18 January 1998 16 Inter 0–1 Bari Milan
14:30 CET Report 77' Masinga Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 63,846
Referee: Stefano Farina
25 January 1998 17 Empoli 1–1 Inter Empoli
14:30 CET Esposito 3' Report 82' Recoba Stadium: Stadio Carlo Castellani
Attendance: 19,720
Referee: Emilio Pellegrino
1 February 1998 18 Brescia 0–1 Inter Brescia
14:30 CET Report 75' Ronaldo Stadium: Stadio Mario Rigamonti
Attendance: 26,121
Referee: Graziano Cesari
8 February 1998 19 Inter 0–1 Bologna Milano
14:30 CET Report 56' Paramatti Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 66,327
Referee: Roberto Bettin
11 February 1998 20 Fiorentina 1–1 Inter Florence
20:30 CET Batistuta 42' Report 26' Ronaldo Stadium: Stadio Artemio Franchi
Attendance: 40,547
Referee: Robert Boggi
15 February 1998 21 Inter 5–0 Lecce Milan
15:00 CET Ronaldo 18', 70' (pen.), 79'
Milanese 29'
Cauet 40'
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 57,362
Referee: Tarcisio Serena
22 February 1998 22 Lazio 3–0 Inter Rome
15:00 CET Fuser 25'
Bokšić 29'
Casiraghi 61'
Report Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 66,535
Referee: Pierluigi Collina
28 February 1998 23 Inter 2–0 Napoli Milan
20:30 CET Zamorano 63'
Ronaldo 73'
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 57,564
Referee: Pierpaolo Rossi
8 March 1998 24 Parma 1–0 Inter Parma
15:30 CET Crespo 78' Report Stadium: Stadio Ennio Tardini
Attendance: 27,924
Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti
14 March 1998 25 Inter 4–0 Atalanta Milan
15:00 CET Moriero 66'
Kanu 74'
Ronaldo 78'
Cauet 89'
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 60,131
Referee: Massimo De Santis
22 March 1998 26 Milan 0–3 Inter Milano
20:30 CET Report 42', 87' Simeone
77' Ronaldo
Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 80,227
Referee: Livio Bazzoli
28 March 1998 27 Inter 2–1 Vicenza Milano
15:00 CET Simeone 67'
Ronaldo 90+5' (pen.)
Report Zauli 82' Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza
Attendance: 64,674
Referee: Domenico Messina
5 April 1998 28 Inter 3–0 Sampdoria Milan
15:00 CET Hugo 50' (o.g.)
Sartor 53'
Ronaldo 88'
Report Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza
Attendance: 69,273
Referee: Robert Boggi
11 April 1998 29 Roma 1–2 Inter Rome
16:00 CET Cafu 63' Report 53', 75' Ronaldo Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 71,766
Referee: Graziano Cesari
19 April 1998 30 Inter 2–0 Udinese Milan
16:00 CET Djorkaeff 80'
Ronaldo 85'
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 77,172
Referee: Gennaro Borriello
26 April 1998 31 Juventus 1–0 Inter Turin
16:00 CET Del Piero 21' Report Stadium: Stadio delle Alpi
Attendance: 64,001
Referee: Piero Ceccarini
3 May 1998 32 Inter 0–0 Piacenza Milan
16:00 CET Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 65,484
Referee: Livio Bazzoli
10 May 1998 33 Bari 2–1 Inter Bari
16:00 CET Ventola 86'
Masinga 89'
Report 34' Ronaldo Stadium: Stadio San Nicola
Attendance: 48,614
Referee: Pierluigi Collina
16 May 1998 34 Inter 4–1 Empoli Milan
16:00 CET Colonnese 23'
Fusco 31' (o.g.)
Ronaldo 62' (pen.), 72'
Report Cappellini 79' (pen.) Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 58,205
Referee: Roberto Rosetti

Coppa Italia

Round of 32

3 September 1997 First leg Foggia 0–1 Inter Milan Foggia
20:45 CET Recoba 21' Stadium: Stadio Pino Zaccheria
Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto
23 September 1997 Second leg Inter Milan 3–2
(4–2 agg.)
Foggia Milan
20:45 CET Recoba 3' (pen.)
Zé Elias 82'
Winter 90+4'
Bergomi 45' (o.g.)
Di Michele 67'
Stadium: San Siro
Referee: Pierpaolo Rossi

Eightfinals

15 October 1997 First leg Piacenza Calcio 0–3 Inter Milan Piacenza
20:45 CET Ronaldo 17', 19', 58' Stadium: Stadio Leonardo Garilli
Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti
18 November 1997 Second leg Inter Milan 0–1
(3–1 agg.)
Piacenza Calcio Milan
20:45 CET Stroppa 90' Stadium: San Siro
Referee: Lorenzo Branzoni

Quarter-finals

8 January 1998 First leg Milan 5–0 Inter Milan Milan
20:45 CET Albertini 29' (pen.)
Ganz 33'
Savićević 44'
Colonnese 46' (o.g.)
Nilsen 60'
Stadium: San Siro
Referee: Graziano Cesari
21 January 1998 Second leg Inter Milan 1–0
(1–5 agg.)
Milan Milan
20:45 CET Branca 90' Stadium: San Siro
Referee: Roberto Bettin

UEFA Cup

First round

16 September 1997 Inter Milan Italy 2–0 Switzerland Neuchâtel Xamax Milan
20:45 (CET) Ronaldo 59'
Zé Elias 71'
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden)
30 September 1997 Neuchâtel Xamax Switzerland 0–2 Italy Inter Milan Neuchâtel
20:45 (CET) Report Moriero 26'
Ganz 69'
Stadium: La Maladière
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)

Second round

21 October 1997 Inter Milan Italy 1–2 France Lyon Milan
20:45 (CET) Ganz 69' Report Giuly 22'
Caveglia 80' (pen.)
Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 16,085
Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)
4 November 1997 Lyon France 1–3 Italy Inter Milan Lyon
20:45 (CET) Bąk 67' Report Moriero 9', 69'
Cauet 46'
Stadium: Stade Gerland
Attendance: 29,591
Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)

Round of 16

25 November 1997 Strasbourg France 2–0 Italy Inter Milan Strasbourg
20:45 (CET) Baticle 11'
Ismaël 19'
Report Stadium: Stade de la Meinau
Attendance: 25,101
Referee: Sergei Khusainov (Russia)
9 December 1997 Inter Milan Italy 3–0 France Strasbourg Milan
20:45 (CET) Ronaldo 27'
Zanetti 48'
Simeone 73'
Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 46,560
Referee: Atanas Ouzounov (Bulgaria)

Quarter-finals

3 March 1998 Inter Milan Italy 1–0 Germany Schalke 04 Milan
20:45 (CET) Ronaldo 17' Report Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Urs Meier (Czech Republic)
17 March 1998 Schalke 04 Germany 1–1 Italy Inter Milan Gelsenkirchen
20:30 (CET) Goossens 90+2' Report West 90+1' Stadium: Parkstadion
Attendance: 56,824
Referee: Gilles Veissière (France)

Semi-finals

31 March 1998 Inter Milan Italy 2–1 Russia Spartak Moscow Milan
20:45 (CET) Zamorano 45'
Zé Elias 89'
Report Alenichev 48' Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 57,803
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
14 April 1998 Spartak Moscow Russia 1–2 Italy Inter Milan Moscow
17:30 (CET) Tikhonov 12' Report Ronaldo 45', 75' Stadium: Dynamo Stadium
Attendance: 36,500
Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)

Final

6 May 1998 Inter Milan Italy 3–0 Italy Lazio Paris
20:45 (CET) Zamorano 5'
Zanetti 60'
Ronaldo 70'
Report Stadium: Parc des Princes
Attendance: 44,412
Referee: Antonio López Nieto (Spain)

Statistics

Players statistics

No. Pos Nat Player Total Serie A Coppa Italia UEFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Italy ITA Pagliuca 49 -42 34 -26 4 -8 11 -8
4 DF Argentina ARG Zanetti J 41 2 25+3 0 4 0 9 2
2 DF Italy ITA Bergomi 42 0 28 0 5 0 9 0
24 DF Italy ITA Sartor 38 1 23 1 6 0 9 0
5 DF Italy ITA Galante 31 2 20 2 4 0 7 0
16 DF Nigeria NGA West 34 2 22+1 1 3 0 8 1
17 MF Italy ITA Moriero 44 6 26+2 3 6 0 10 3
14 MF Argentina ARG Simeone 41 7 27+3 6 2 0 9 1
8 MF Netherlands NED Winter 35 1 23+1 0 3 1 8 0
6 MF France FRA Djorkaeff 42 8 25+4 8 4 0 9 0
10 FW Brazil BRA Ronaldo 47 34 32 25 4 3 11 6
12 GK Italy ITA Mazzantini 3 -2 0+1 -1 2 -1 0 0
33 DF Italy ITA Colonnese 29 1 17+4 1 3 0 5 0
15 MF France FRA Cauet 42 3 15+13 2 5 0 9 1
7 DF Italy ITA Fresi 23 0 13+3 0 2 0 5 0
13 MF Brazil BRA Zé Elias 30 2 12+8 0 3 1 7 1
40 MF Portugal POR Paulo Sousa 11 0 10+1 0 0 0 0 0
36 DF Italy ITA Milanese 9 1 5+4 1 0 0 0 0
9 FW Chile CHI Zamorano 20 3 4+9 1 2 0 5 2
27 FW Italy ITA Branca 8 1 3+4 1 0 0 1 0
23 FW Italy ITA Ganz 10 4 3+3 2 1 0 3 2
11 FW Nigeria NGA Kanu 18 1 3+8 1 2 0 5 0
20 FW Uruguay URU Recoba 19 5 2+6 3 5 2 6 0
21 DF Italy ITA Mezzano 8 0 2+2 0 2 0 2 0
18 MF Italy ITA Berti 4 0 0+4 0
22 GK Italy ITA Nuzzo 0 0 0 0
19 DF Italy ITA Paganin
35 DF Uruguay URU Rivas 3 0 0+1 0 1 0 1 0
3 DF Italy ITA Tarantino 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

References

  1. ^ Enrico Currò (May 30, 1997). "Ronaldo, è proprio Inter". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 51.
  2. ^ Gianni Mura (September 1, 1997). "Recoba l' altro fenomeno Entra, segna e salva l' Inter". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 40.
  3. ^ Gianni Piva (January 26, 1998). "SORPASSO/INTER 37 Recoba evita l' umiliazione". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 32.
  4. ^ Licia Granello (April 27, 1998). "Juventus, toccata e fuga". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 32.
  5. ^ Alberto Cerruti; Luigi Garlando; Antonello Capone (May 7, 1998). "Champagne per l' Inter". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian).
  6. ^ Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.

Sources