Second most titled club in Serie A (20 scudetti behind Juventus and ahead of AC Milan), Inter will try to win the fourth Champions League in its history on May 31 in Munich, with French internationals Benjamin Pavard and Marcus Thuram. The Nerazzurri are the survivors of a legendary semi-final opposite Barça (3-3, 4-3 AP), after an exceptional first round in Catalonia then a completely crazy return to Meazza on Tuesday.
The last European coronation of the inter-experiences obviously dates back to the LDC won in 2010 by the team of José Mourinho against Bayern (2-0). The Lombard club won its two other C1s, named champion club cup at the time, in 1964 and 1965, under the leadership of a Franco-Argentinian coach entered the legend. Helenio Herrera has indeed popularized the catnaccio (The Italian lock), an ultra-defensive system born in Switzerland but which has fully shaped the history of transalpine football.
Helenio Herrera is undoubtedly a legend of French football. It is too simplistic to describe it as a “naturalized French Argentinian”. This son of Andalusian was born in Buenos Aires in 1910, but grew up from his three years in Morocco, then French protectorate. He joined France during the teenager to become a footballer. As a defender, he played in several Ile -de -France clubs and, with the Red Star, won the French championship in the area occupied in 1941 and the Coupe de France in 1942. Called among the Blues twice, he never came into play.
A French coach changes the history of Inter
After the Second World War, Herrera became a coach and headed in particular the Stade Français by also being a physical trainer in the France team. He is nicknamed “the sorcerer”, but will then become “Il Mago”, the Magician in Italian. The strategist directs Atlético and FC Barcelona for two titles of Spanish champion each time (1950 and 1951, 1959 and 1960) as well as a cup of fairs cities (the ancestor of the Europa League) with the Blaugranas. Before disembarking in Italy to offer Inter three Scudetti and twice the most beautiful of European cuts (nicknamed the “3C” at the time).
An article from The team Traces the life of “HH” and his last wife, an Italian, reveals that the star coach had himself changed on his passport the last figure of his date of birth, transforming the 0 of 1910 into a 6 in order to display 1916. “He probably did it by coquetry, to appear younger”she explained. The illustrious Helenio Herrera retired after a season at Barça in 1980-1981. He died in 1997 in Venice, at the age of 87. If one takes into account his official date of birth of 1910.
