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MILAN - You're born an Interista, that's for sure, but it's also true that 'Interism' needs to be 'taught'. How? Let's start by saying that Inter is not a team but a story, handed down from one generation to the next. Black and blue are not two colours, because once they're sight on each other, they immediately mix to become one: they flow in the same direction just like the blood which runs through our veins from our heart to our heads, because being an Inter fan is way of thinking and seeing things, a philosophy for life.
Therefore you need people who can put across and develop certain values. Inter have had dozens of people like that over the years. They're essential to say the least, because their words were often enough to make you forget a defeat or bring out a smile, even making you understand that you can offer your hand to 'one of them lot', provided you check your fingers are all still there afterwards.
It often happened that certain words were able to give an almost disarming charm to what was right there before your eyes, that being an Inter fan is easy (let's be honest, hardly ever), a daily duty, an honour, something eternal.
Occasionally something said in the heat of the moment, with your head still in the midst of the battle, becomes a commandment for the fans. Because words against your opponents can hurt almost as much as a goal against, especially when you say it to their face that it's better to not win than be like 'one of them.'
It's not easy being an Inter fan, but pride matters more than anything else in the end. That's the view of someone who fought with every last strength in his being on the pitch, for the fans that hero-worshipped him. That's how it was, and still is today, if your name's Nicola Berti. Yesterday the future of Inter had a lesson with someone who was and always will be a part of Inter. It was a face-to-face between Inter Forever and the Youth Academy, and there were plenty of smiles and interesting stories to go around. With two teachers like Francesco Toldo and Nicola Berti what else would you expect?
He liked the number 8 because it represents infinity, just as the passion you put into your work on the pitch must be infinite as well. It’s what the fans in the stands deserve to see. And it’s what sums up Nicola Berti and what it means to be an Interista.
