This is a continuation of our series of the best 50 players ever to wear an Inter jersey.  We first looked at players 41-50 (can be viewed here). We also have covered players 31-40 (can be viewed here).

30. Virgilio Fossati (1909-1915)
He was the first captain and coach in Inter’s proud history – at the tender of age 20, no less. And, in his very first season, which was also the club’s first, he led them to the Italian title. He was also capped for Italy in the Azzurri’s inaugural game back in 1910 – a 6-2 drubbing of France, in which he scored the second goal. Fossati left the Club in 1915 to fight in the First World War and was killed on the battlefield on the Austrian Front.

29. Giuseppe “Beppe” Baresi (1976-1992)
Came through the ranks and captained the side for much of the 1980s, making 559 appearances for Inter in all competitions. Alas, he had the misfortune of being overshadowed by his baby brother, Franco, who would go on to set records for AC Milan – the pair often squared off while captaining their respective sides in the Milan derby. A versatile, hard-working midfield player, who also had success at full back, winning 18 caps for Italy, he won two Scudetti and one UEFA Cup with Inter. He was one of José Mourinho’s assistant coaches during the treble winning year.

28. Gabriele “Lele” Oriali (1970-1983)
A tough-tackling, uncompromising holding midfield player, Oriali played the so-called “Makelele position” before Claude Makelele was born. A selfless and tireless worker, he guarded the back four with intensity and humility, to the point that Luciano Ligabue, the Italian singer-songwriter, dedicated a song to him. He won two Italian titles and two Italian cups with Inter and was a regular on the Italy team who won the 1982 World Cup.

27. Servaas “Faas” Wilkes (1949-1952)
While Inter supporters knew him as the “Flying Tulip”, those in his native Rotterdam called him “Rotterdam’s Mona Lisa” for the subtle elegance and beauty of his dribbling. Quick and light on his feet, he was a folk hero to Inter fans, although the club complained that he was often too selfish with the ball, which is why he was sold to Torino after three years. He remains Holland’s second-leading scorer – behind Dennis Bergkamp and ahead of Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff – an incredible feat if you consider that, from the age of 26 to 32, he was barred from playing at international level because Holland refused to pick professional footballers.

26. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1984-1987)
He joined Inter from Bayern Munich as the second-most expensive player in the world (after a certain Diego Maradona) and a two-times European Footballer of the Year, who also led West Germany to the 1980 European Championship and a runners-up spot in the 1982 World Cup finals. He was the king of the six-yard box, a striker with an eerie eye for goal and a natural leader. Alas, injuries – the curse of many an Inter striker – slowed him tremendously after his second year and his stay at the San Siro was cut short. Nevertheless, he remained a popular figure, albeit one whose Inter career was tinged with regret.

25. Evaristo Beccalossi (1978-1984)
The epitome of the naturally gifted but somewhat controversial “No 10, Beccalossi was a creative, fun-loving, attacking midfield player, with a penchant for the outrageous. Simply known as Il Beck, he divided Italian public opinion like few other players: some regarded him as a genius, others as a luxury. Incredibly, he was never capped for Italy. Rumour has it that the many Juventus players in the Azzurri squad “vetoed” his call-up, owing to events in 1979, when, during Inter’s 4-0 thumping of Juventus, he repeatedly nutmegged and mocked his opponents. Outspoken and entertaining, he is the reason many fans of a certain generation fell in love with the club. He played a crucial part in helping Inter win the 1979-80 Scudetto.

24. Andreas Brehme (1988-1992)
The former Germany defender was one of the greatest full backs in history. No attacking player could force him to use his “weaker foot” because he was perfectly two-footed, a skill he says he developed through hard work as a boy. He usually took crosses and corner kicks with his left foot, reserving his right foot for free kicks and penalties – indeed, his penalty kick was the only goal in the 1990 World Cup final. He played a key role in Inter’s 1988-89 Scudetto-winning side, who set a record for points and fewest goals allowed. He scored 70 goals in his career for club and country, quite a feat for a defender.

23. Christian Vieri (1999-2005)
Born in Italy, he grew up in Australia and remains a massive cricket fan. He joined Inter from Lazio in 1999 for a world-record £30 million. Big, brawny and outrageously quick for a man his size, Vieri’s outstanding physical traits also turned out to be both a blessing and a curse because he was often slowed by injuries. In fact, one Inter doctor put his frequent injuries down to “nature and human biology did not intend to create man so big, so strong and so heavy who could also move so fast.” Nevertheless, when he did play, he was devastating, scoring 103 goals in 144 Serie A starts. He was the league’s leading goalscorer in 2002-03, at better than a goal a game and led the side to the 2005 Coppa Italia. While he and Ronaldo overlapped for three seasons, their many injuries meant that they played only a handful of games together, leaving many to wonder wistfully whether they might have formed the greatest strike partnership in history.

22. Jair (1962-1967, 1968-1972)
This lightning-quick Brazilian winger was originally scouted by AC Milan, who brought him over to Italy in 1962, a few weeks after Brazil won their second successive World Cup (with the legendary Garrincha ahead of him, he got no playing time). However, therossoneri’s doctors decided he was too frail for European football and Inter pounced. They collected him straight from Milan’s headquarters and signed him to a long-term deal. He would go on to become a key component of La Grande Inter, winning four league titles – the last after returning to the club for a one-year hiatus with Roma – and two European Cups.

21. Luigi “Zizi” Cevenini (1912-1915, 1919-1921, 1922-1927)
One of the most colourful characters in the history of the game, Cevenini was a tricky, sublimely gifted attacking midfield player, who loved to taunt opponents and went on to score an incredible 158 goals in 190 Serie A matches with Inter. He was one of five footballing brothers and came through the ranks at AC Milan, scoring a goal on his debut a month after his 17th birthday. He shocked the club by walking out and joining Inter a few months later. He starred for the nerazzurri for three seasons before returning to Milan just as the country became embroiled in the First World War, halting all football. As soon as it was over, he went back to Inter, leading them to the 1919-1920 scudetto. In 1921-22, a number of clubs seceded from the Italian league after an administrative dispute. He promptly joined one of them, Novese, and led them to the Italian title (one of two handed out that season). He returned to Inter the next campaign and played for another five seasons. Legend has it that in 1919, on the eve of a MIlan derby, he disappeared without saying a word to anyone. Inter, fearing he had been kidnapped, launched a nationwide search. As it transpired, Cevenini was in London, where he had a successful trial with Arsenal. On the day he was supposed to sign, the homesick Cevenini “disappeared” once again and made his way back to Milan. Apparently, he did not like the English weather.

Sources: Times.co.uk and inter.it

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