MILAN - It all began against the Old Lady. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come. On Sunday 28 November 1909 at Milan's Arena Civica, Inter - founded a little more than 18 months earlier - met Juventus in Week 4 of the Prima Categoria. That was the first time Italy's top flight was set up as a single division (scrapped the following year and relaunched definitively in 1929, the year the competition became known as Serie A. The Nerazzurri, taking part in the competition for the second time after their debut campaign had ended with two defeats, had not made a good start to the 1909/10 season. Far from it.
They sat second from bottom with one point in the table, following a draw in their opening match in the derby against Ausonia and two losses, 4-1 at home to Pro Vercelli - the only one of the nine sides not from Milan, Turin or Genoa - and 2-0 at Juventus with a brace from Ernesto Borel. Borel struck the Bianconeri's first goal in the Turin derby and would later father Felice Placido, who won the World Cup with Italy in 1934 under Vittorio Pozzo. It was Borel Snr. who led the Bianconeri - in the upper reaches of the table - into the game at the Arena, the same venue that nearly 100 years on - in 2002 - would be named after Gianni Brera, the man who dubbed Inter v Juventus the "derby d'Italia" in 1967.
Just two weeks on from their previous meeting (the concept of two halves of the season would come later), Inter - though improving - began the contest as underdogs. The Nerazzurri set up in two blocks. On the one side, the Swiss contingent included midfielder Ernest Peterly, defender Alfredo Zoller and goalkeeper Muller, the majority of whom were Swiss nationals who had moved to Milan for work and didn't want to give up playing football. Elsewhere there was the Italian core. Goalscoring midfielder Giovanni Capra, the back-up keeper Piero Campelli, credited by many with introducing the concept of catching the ball, the foreign-born Ermanno Aebi, defender Mario Moretti and, above all, him, Virgilio Fossati. He was 20 years old (other sources claim 18) yet already the captain and heartbeat of the Inter side. He operated at playmaker, as well as being a member of the technical committee that ran the team. In other words, he was a genuine leader. It was Fossati, the Inter fans' first icon, who led the side out in an unprecedented red and blue kit. He produced nice touches, passes and shots, so much so La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote the following of his performance: "It seemed like the ball was especially fond of him, as he cleverly keep it amidst opponents chasing him trying to win it back."
Yet Fossati wasn't the only one who played well. The entire Inter side performed excellently and only the ability of Bianconeri keeper Pennano kept the scoreline goalless. The deadlock was broken on 37 minutes, however. Bernard Schuler crossed the ball in (having gone close himself on several occasions) and Oscar Engler - a defender with a knack of scoring goals - finished from close range. The goal was twice as special for the former Saint Gallen player - Swiss like his team-mate - as he had represented Torino before moving to Inter.
His second strike of the campaign would prove to be the match winner. Inter battled after the break, with their keeper saving what he needed to (not a great deal according to reports from the time) and held firm in the face of Juventus' attacks. It was an historic win, Inter's first victory in Serie A and it would spark an incredible run. The Nerazzurri would win 11 games in a row and claim their first ever Scudetto. None of them, besides Aebi and Campelli, would win another league title and Virgilio Fossati wouldn't even live to see Inter's second crown in 1920 - he died in 1916 whilst battling bravely as an officer in the First World War.
Roberto Brambilla
