MILAN – Massimo Moratti gave a long interview to Novella Calligaris for Rainews 24 in which he talks about Inter, family, players and coaches, about love, pain and happiness. inter.it offers you the honorary president's interview in full.
The Moratti family and Inter is a 'love story'.
"It began 50 years ago with my father, perhaps even before that with my mother, who was a big fan and took my father to Rome for Lazio v Inter. That's when he became a fan too. Many years later it happened to me [to take control of the club] too and I must say that it seemed like a line of continuity that we had to take up again, which isn't exactly true but we heard that some people were saying we were almost duty-bound to go back to Inter and that's why I put all my enthusiasm into what was a new adventure for me."
How do you feel now?
"I think I've done the right thing because I've always believed that you should feel indispensable while you're doing something because it means you're careful about everything, although you know you're not really indispensable. And you also need to believe that since you're not indispensable, there comes a time when you need to put the future in the hands of those who share your same enthusiasm and strength. Above all because times change. There's a start and an end to everything."
When did you first have the idea to separate from this great love? Partially at least because the family Moratti is still part of Inter.
"The idea first came to me shortly after the Treble, in 2010. And now it's come to fruition. We had this opportunity which came about because of the desire of the person who came in. It seemed like an interesting proposition. Then from just participating it developed into something else."
What's Erick Thohir like?
"Very active, hardworking, precise. And I must say that he made a good impression on me the first time we met, the second time an even better impression and so on. He's certainly got something good about him because every time you see him your opinion of him improves. He's very careful about everything, approachable, a good communicator - and that's very important in football. I think we've been lucky."
Who was your favourite player of all?
"Everyone knows that in a unique way it was Recoba because I think he was a player who perhaps possessed even more talent than he was able to express, so he would surprise you. You got the impression that every time he came up with something even more special. He was a brilliant player and a smashing lad. He's certainly the one who excited me the most."
Ronaldo.
"When I bought him he came to my home and within five minutes he knew the names of everyone in the house. He was quiet to start with and then after five minutes he'd learnt everything about what was going on in my house. So you understand why he was a player who with such immense pace was capable of knowing what to do with the ball and how to move on the pitch."
Roberto Mancini.
"It all started with an Inter shirt that he sent me with a huge Scudetto and he said, 'If I come to your club, we'll start it all again.' That struck me and indeed he went on to be successful. He's not always an easy person to deal with but that's part of his winning character."
José Mourinho.
"He's special, very smart, very ready and a very hard worker. He's also capable of becoming a personality, he has a special ability to communicate, is funny – it's all calculated to help him win. Some things are instinctive too obviously, but it's all down to the huge amount of work he does for a club, so he's an excellent person to work with."
The most exciting moment and the most difficult during your time at Inter?
"The most difficult was the last phase of the change of ownership because you have to hope and make sure that the person who is taking the reins of the club is capable of providing what the fans expect, not so much for yourself. That's a difficult time, more difficult than when you decide to take over yourself because that's a moment of madness and so you overcome the difficulties with a bit of recklessness, whereas in the second situation it's calculated, careful and you can't afford to do anything superficially. My happiest moment was winning the Champions League after lots of league titles. You always expect it to be more than it is, because you're in it, but it gave me huge satisfaction. When you do these things you always think about what's coming next and there's that a part of you which makes you happy but it also makes you aware of your responsibility for what's to come."
You've been criticised in some quarters for having too many foreigners in the team and turning Italian football upside down.
"And now we've ended up with a foreign president... maybe we've gone a bit overboard [smiling]! Joking aside, I've never seen any difference between a foreign player and an Italian player, so I've always found it hard to reason along the lines that you should have seven Italians, five Italians, four Italians, or whatever. To me Zanetti was Italian, Ronaldo was Italian, in that they were great players playing for Inter who excited us all and who improved an Italian team with Italian fans. So it's never caused me any grief. I still don't get what the problem is and maybe that's one of the reasons why it was right for me to leave."
How do you see Italian football now with this possibility of a joint venture between Americans and Chinese at Roma?
"I couldn't have a negative view of it since I've done the same thing myself, so may the foreigners keep coming to Italy. They show appreciation for our work and our teams, they spend money and get involved, so that's a good thing. A very good thing. There are certain things about Italian football, the way it's run, which are positive. Clearly nowadays you have to open your horizons and be open to the needs of communication because communication has developed at such a pace that you can't stay stuck within your own territory."
What was this change of ownership like for your family, which has always been a part of Inter and supported Inter as fans?
"The same people, and I'm speaking of my wife here, who were afraid when I took control of Inter are now sorry because they see a creature where a lot could still be done and in which there was lots of interesting potential for growth. And then there's the fondness you feel towards the people who work at the club. All these things make you sorry to step away from a project that up until the day before kept you awake at night, but then the next day you have to forget about it and say to yourself 'I don't belong there anymore'. So it hasn't been that easy for them, although I must say that my children have understood it. The negotiations were ongoing for several months so they had time to get used to it and understand what the present is about and what the future is."
What's your future?
"I'm the sort of person who puts a lot of emotion into what I do, so I'll find something else to put my emotions into."
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