MILAN – Derby fever has infiltrated the Inter Channel studios, where Thursday’s guest on Inter Nos was none other than Nicola Berti.
The former Nerazzurri midfielder was happy to stoke the flames ahead of derby day: "I love getting on the AC Milan players’ backs. Years ago, when we used to warm up in a shared space with AC Milan before the derbies at San Siro, I loved trying to put them off by booting the ball at them. Am I a bit like Peppino Prisco in that regard? He’s miles ahead of me. He was fabulous – a genius. I was lucky to meet him. He was a huge Inter fan."
Berti was then asked a series of quick-fire questions: "Best player I ever played with? Ronaldo. Best Inter team ever? A mixture of the 2010 side and the 1988/89 side. Who have I been most struck by in the current squad? Icardi, he’s our future. He had an extraordinary season last year. We really believe in him. My childhood idol? I loved Tardelli because he played in my position and was a similar sort of player to me."
The conversation was always going to turn to his wonderful goal against Bayern Munich: "It was a unique feeling – fantastic. There were loads of Nerazzurri fans there too. They closed the Olympiastadion after that! I ran with the ball at my feet for over 80 yards with their players chasing me. It was crazy! Then I carried on running in front of our fans."
Asked what his career highlight was, Berti replied: "The Scudetto and the UEFA Cups I won, plus my goals in the finals. I was proud to be the only Inter man in the 1994 World Cup final, even if it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to."
Recently, Berti has taken on a special role within the Inter family: "Yes, I’ve become an Inter Club ambassador. Coming back to the club is a dream. Plus I play with Inter Forever. I don’t play much because I don’t have the physique for it anymore! I played three minutes at the Bernabeu and the same at the Allianz Arena."
Finally, Berti spoke about the current Nerazzurri crop: "Defeats happen, but it’s the derby now and we need to be positive. We need to put all the rest out of our mind and focus on kicking on against AC Milan. Inter must finish in the top three, that’s what the team’s been assembled for. We’ve had a tough month, but it’s the derby. Bring on the match – it can help us to kickstart our season again. We’ll need to show heart and desire to be contenders again, as we were at the start of the season."
