1997–98 Inter Milan season

Inter Milan

1997–98 season
Owner	Massimo Moratti
President	Massimo Moratti
Manager	Luigi Simoni
Serie A	2nd
Coppa Italia	Quarter-finals
UEFA Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Ronaldo (25) All: Ronaldo (34)
Highest home attendance	80,095 vs. Milan (22 November 1997)
Lowest home attendance	16,085 vs. Lyon (21 October 1997)
Average home league attendance	67,825
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 1996–97 1998–99 →
All statistics correct as of 16 May 1998.

In the 1997–98 season, the Italian football club Inter Milan, managed by Luigi Simoni, won the UEFA Cup and achieved second place in the Serie A league.

Season overview

Massimo Moratti relied on Luigi Simoni as coach and on Ronaldo as star.^[1] Further purchases resulted in Diego Simeone, Francesco Moriero and Álvaro Recoba who – in his debut – scored twice, helping Inter beat Brescia in a 2–1 comeback.^[2] Compared to the previous seasons, it proved to be better for Inter who mounted their first serious shot at the title since 1989.^[3]

However, with a loss at Juventus, the reigning champions won 1–0, holding three points over Inter.^[4] Ten days later, Inter won – for the third time in the last seven years – the UEFA Cup beating Lazio 3–0.^[5] The domestic league ended with Inter in second place, last achieved in 1993.

Players

Squad information

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (age)
Goalkeepers
1	Gianluca Pagliuca		GK	(1966-12-18)18 December 1966 (aged 30)
12	Andrea Mazzantini		GK	(1968-07-11)11 July 1968 (aged 28)
22	Raffaele Nuzzo		GK	(1973-02-21)21 February 1973 (aged 24)
Defenders
2	Giuseppe Bergomi (captain)		RB / CB / SW	(1963-12-22)22 December 1963 (aged 33)
3	Massimo Tarantino		LB	(1971-05-20)20 May 1971 (aged 26)
4	Javier Zanetti		RB / CM / RM	(1973-08-10)10 August 1973 (aged 23)
5	Fabio Galante		CB	(1973-11-20)20 November 1973 (aged 23)
7	Salvatore Fresi		CB / SW	(1973-01-18)18 January 1973 (aged 24)
16	Taribo West		LB / CB	(1974-03-26)26 March 1974 (aged 23)
21	Luca Mezzano		CB	(1977-08-01)1 August 1977 (aged 19)
24	Luigi Sartor		RB / CB / RM	(1975-01-30)30 January 1975 (aged 22)
33	Francesco Colonnese		CB / RB	(1971-08-10)10 August 1971 (aged 25)
35	Martín Rivas		CB / LB	(1977-02-17)17 February 1977 (aged 20)
36	Mauro Milanese		LB / LM	(1971-02-17)17 February 1971 (aged 26)
Midfielders
6	Youri Djorkaeff		AM / SS / CF	(1968-03-09)9 March 1968 (aged 29)
8	Aron Winter		DM / CM	(1967-03-01)1 March 1967 (aged 30)
13	Zé Elias		DM / CM	(1975-09-25)25 September 1975 (aged 21)
14	Diego Simeone		CM / RM / LM	(1970-04-28)28 April 1970 (aged 27)
15	Benoît Cauet		CM / DM	(1969-05-02)2 May 1969 (aged 28)
17	Francesco Moriero		RM / RW	(1969-03-31)31 March 1969 (aged 28)
18	Nicola Berti		CM / LM / DM	(1967-04-14)14 April 1967 (aged 30)
40	Paulo Sousa		DM / CM / AM	(1970-08-30)30 August 1970 (aged 26)
Forwards
9	Iván Zamorano		CF	(1967-01-18)18 January 1967 (aged 30)
10	Ronaldo		CF	(1976-09-18)18 September 1976 (aged 20)
11	Nwankwo Kanu		CF / SS	(1976-08-01)1 August 1976 (aged 20)
20	Álvaro Recoba		SS / CF / AM / LW	(1976-03-17)17 March 1976 (aged 21)
23	Maurizio Ganz		CF	(1968-10-13)13 October 1968 (aged 28)
27	Marco Branca		CF	(1965-01-06)6 January 1965 (aged 32)
27	Alessandro Sgrigna		SS / LW / RW	(1980-04-24)24 April 1980 (aged 17)

Transfers

Autumn

Winter

Competitions

Serie A

League table

Results by round

Matches

Inter v Brescia

31 August 1997 1	Inter	2–1	Brescia	Milan
16:00 CET	Recoba 80', 85'	Report	Hübner 73'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 69,682 Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti

Bologna v Inter Milan

14 September 1997 2	Bologna	2–4	Inter Milan	Bologna
16:00 CET	R. Baggio 45', 58' (pen.)	Report	Galante 12' Ganz 38' Ronaldo 52' Zamorano 66'	Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara Attendance: 36,267 Referee: Stefano Braschi

Inter Milan v Fiorentina

21 September 1997 3	Inter Milan	3–2	Fiorentina	Milan
16:00 CET	Ronaldo 45' Moriero 72' Djorkaeff 81'	Report	Serena 46' Batistuta 47'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 73,375 Referee: Graziano Cesari

Lecce v Inter Milan

27 September 1997 4	Lecce	1–5	Inter Milan	Lecce
20:30 CET	Palmieri 61' (pen.)	Report	Djorkaeff 33', 78' Ronaldo 48', 81' Ganz 84'	Stadium: Stadio Via del Mare Attendance: 35,535 Referee: Stefano Farina

Inter Milan v Lazio

5 October 1997 5	Inter Milan	1–1	Lazio	Milan
20:30 CET	Ronaldo 41' (pen.)	Report	Nedvěd 35'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 65,656 Referee: Fiorenzo Treossi

Napoli v Inter Milan

18 October 1997 6	Napoli	0–2	Inter Milan	Naples
15:30 CET		Report	Galante 10' Turrini 69' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stadio San Paolo Attendance: 55,881 Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto

Inter Milan v Parma

1 November 1997 7	Inter Milan	1–0	Parma	Milan
14:30 CET	Ronaldo 15'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 72,000 Referee: Piero Ceccarini

Atalanta v Inter Milan

9 November 1997 8	Atalanta	1–2	Inter Milan	Bergamo
15:00 CET	Caccia 81'	Report	Djorkaeff 28' West 88'	Stadium: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Attendance: 23,870 Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti

Inter Milan v Milan

22 November 1997 9	Inter Milan	2–2	Milan	Milan
20:30 CET	Simeone 13' Ronaldo 68' (pen.)	Report	Weah 29' Cruz 80' (pen.)	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 80,905 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Vicenza v Inter Milan

30 November 1997 10	Vicenza	1–3	Inter Milan	Vicenza
15:00 CET	Ambrosini 59'	Report	Simeone 33, 39' Ronaldo 68'	Stadium: Stadio Romeo Menti Attendance: 19,744 Referee: Alfredo Trentalange

Sampdoria v Inter Milan

6 December 1997 11	Sampdoria	1–1	Inter Milan	Genoa
14:30 CET	Montella 31' (pen.)	Report	Ronaldo 9'	Stadium: Stadio Luigi Ferraris Attendance: 35,375 Referee: Fiorenzo Treossi

Inter Milan v Roma

14 December 1997 12	Inter Milan	3–0	Roma	Milan
14:30 CET	Djorkaeff 40' (pen.) Branca 49' Petruzzi 71' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 65,846 Referee: Domenico Messina

Udinese v Inter Milan

21 December 1997 13	Udinese	1–0	Inter Milan	Udine
20:30 CET	Bierhoff 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Friuli Attendance: 29,123 Referee: Livio Bazzoli

Inter Milan v Juventus

4 January 1998 14	Inter Milan	1–0	Juventus	Milan
20:30 CET	Djorkaeff 47'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 80,569 Referee: Stefano Braschi

Piacenza v Inter Milan

11 January 1998 15	Piacenza	0–1	Inter Milan	Piacenza
14:30 CET		Report	Moriero 70'	Stadium: Stadio Leonardo Garilli Attendance: 17,508 Referee: Gennaro Borriello

Inter Milan v Bari

18 January 1998 16	Inter Milan	0–1	Bari	Milan
14:30 CET		Report	Masinga 77'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 63,846 Referee: Stefano Farina

Empoli v Inter Milan

25 January 1998 17	Empoli	1–1	Inter Milan	Empoli
14:30 CET	Esposito 3'	Report	Recoba 82'	Stadium: Stadio Carlo Castellani Attendance: 19,720 Referee: Emilio Pellegrino

Brescia v Inter Milan

1 February 1998 18	Brescia	0–1	Inter Milan	Brescia
14:30 CET		Report	Ronaldo 75'	Stadium: Stadio Mario Rigamonti Attendance: 26,121 Referee: Graziano Cesari

Inter Milan v Bologna

8 February 1998 19	Inter Milan	0–1	Bologna	Milan
14:30 CET		Report	Paramatti 56'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 66,327 Referee: Roberto Bettin

Fiorentina v Inter Milan

11 February 1998 20	Fiorentina	1–1	Inter Milan	Florence
20:30 CET	Batistuta 42'	Report	Ronaldo 26'	Stadium: Stadio Artemio Franchi Attendance: 40,547 Referee: Robert Boggi

Inter Milan v Lecce

15 February 1998 21	Inter Milan	5–0	Lecce	Milan
15:00 CET	Ronaldo 18', 70' (pen.), 79' Milanese 29' Cauet 40'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 57,362 Referee: Tarcisio Serena

Lazio v Inter Milan

22 February 1998 22	Lazio	3–0	Inter Milan	Rome
15:00 CET	Fuser 25' Bokšić 29' Casiraghi 61'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 66,535 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Inter Milan v Napoli

28 February 1998 23	Inter Milan	2–0	Napoli	Milan
20:30 CET	Zamorano 63' Ronaldo 73'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 57,564 Referee: Pierpaolo Rossi

Parma v Inter Milan

8 March 1998 24	Parma	1–0	Inter Milan	Parma
15:30 CET	Crespo 78'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Ennio Tardini Attendance: 27,924 Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti

Inter Milan v Atalanta

14 March 1998 25	Inter Milan	4–0	Atalanta	Milan
15:00 CET	Moriero 66' Kanu 74' Ronaldo 78' Cauet 89'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 60,131 Referee: Massimo De Santis

Milan v Inter Milan

22 March 1998 26	Milan	0–3	Inter Milan	Milan
20:30 CET		Report	Simeone 42', 87' Ronaldo 77'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 80,227 Referee: Livio Bazzoli

Inter v Vicenza

28 March 1998 27	Inter	2–1	Vicenza	Milano
15:00 CET	Simeone 67' Ronaldo 90+5' (pen.)	Report	Zauli 82'	Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza Attendance: 64,674 Referee: Domenico Messina

Inter v Sampdoria

5 April 1998 28	Inter	3–0	Sampdoria	Milan
15:00 CET	Hugo 50' (o.g.) Sartor 53' Ronaldo 88'	Report		Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza Attendance: 69,273 Referee: Robert Boggi

Roma v Inter

11 April 1998 29	Roma	1–2	Inter	Rome
16:00 CET	Cafu 63'	Report	53', 75' Ronaldo	Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 71,766 Referee: Graziano Cesari

Inter v Udinese

19 April 1998 30	Inter	2–0	Udinese	Milan
16:00 CET	Djorkaeff 80' Ronaldo 85'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 77,172 Referee: Gennaro Borriello

Juventus v Inter

26 April 1998 31	Juventus	1–0	Inter	Turin
16:00 CET	Del Piero 21'	Report		Stadium: Stadio delle Alpi Attendance: 64,001 Referee: Piero Ceccarini

Bari v Inter

10 May 1998 33	Bari	2–1	Inter	Bari
16:00 CET	Ventola 86' Masinga 89'	Report	34' Ronaldo	Stadium: Stadio San Nicola Attendance: 48,614 Referee: Pierluigi Collina

Inter v Empoli

16 May 1998 34	Inter	4–1	Empoli	Milan
16:00 CET	Colonnese 23' Fusco 31' (o.g.) Ronaldo 62' (pen.), 72'	Report	Cappellini 79' (pen.)	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 58,205 Referee: Roberto Rosetti

Coppa Italia

Round of 32

Foggia v Inter Milan

3 September 1997 First leg	Foggia	0–1	Inter Milan	Foggia
20:45 CET			Recoba 21'	Stadium: Stadio Pino Zaccheria Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto

Inter Milan v Foggia

23 September 1997 Second leg	Inter Milan	3–2 (4–2 agg.)	Foggia	Milan
20:45 CET	Recoba 3' (pen.) Zé Elias 82' Winter 90+4'		Bergomi 45' (o.g.) Di Michele 67'	Stadium: San Siro Referee: Pierpaolo Rossi

Eightfinals

Piacenza Calcio v Inter Milan

15 October 1997 First leg	Piacenza Calcio	0–3	Inter Milan	Piacenza
20:45 CET			Ronaldo 17', 19', 58'	Stadium: Stadio Leonardo Garilli Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti

Inter Milan v Piacenza Calcio

18 November 1997 Second leg	Inter Milan	0–1 (3–1 agg.)	Piacenza Calcio	Milan
20:45 CET			Stroppa 90'	Stadium: San Siro Referee: Lorenzo Branzoni

Quarter-finals

Milan v Inter Milan

8 January 1998 First leg	Milan	5–0	Inter Milan	Milan
20:45 CET	Albertini 29' (pen.) Ganz 33' Savićević 44' Colonnese 46' (o.g.) Nilsen 60'			Stadium: San Siro Referee: Graziano Cesari

Inter Milan v Milan

21 January 1998 Second leg	Inter Milan	1–0 (1–5 agg.)	Milan	Milan
20:45 CET	Branca 90'			Stadium: San Siro Referee: Roberto Bettin

UEFA Cup

First round

Inter Milan v Neuchâtel Xamax

16 September 1997	Inter Milan	2–0	Neuchâtel Xamax	Milan
20:45 (CET)	Ronaldo 59' Zé Elias 71'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden)

Neuchâtel Xamax v Inter Milan

30 September 1997	Neuchâtel Xamax	0–2	Inter Milan	Neuchâtel
20:45 (CET)		Report	Moriero 26' Ganz 69'	Stadium: La Maladière Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)

Second round

Inter Milan v Lyon

21 October 1997	Inter Milan	1–2	Lyon	Milan
20:45 (CET)	Ganz 69'	Report	Giuly 22' Caveglia 80' (pen.)	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 16,085 Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

Lyon v Inter Milan

4 November 1997	Lyon	1–3	Inter Milan	Lyon
20:45 (CET)	Bąk 67'	Report	Moriero 9', 69' Cauet 46'	Stadium: Stade Gerland Attendance: 29,591 Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)

Round of 16

Strasbourg v Inter Milan

25 November 1997	Strasbourg	2–0	Inter Milan	Strasbourg
20:45 (CET)	Baticle 11' Ismaël 19'	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Meinau Attendance: 25,101 Referee: Sergei Khusainov (Russia)

Inter Milan v Strasbourg

9 December 1997	Inter Milan	3–0	Strasbourg	Milan
20:45 (CET)	Ronaldo 27' Zanetti 48' Simeone 73'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 46,560 Referee: Atanas Ouzounov (Bulgaria)

Quarter-finals

Inter Milan v Schalke 04

3 March 1998	Inter Milan	1–0	Schalke 04	Milan
20:45 (CET)	Ronaldo 17'	Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Urs Meier (Czech Republic)

Schalke 04 v Inter Milan

17 March 1998	Schalke 04	1–1	Inter Milan	Gelsenkirchen
20:30 (CET)	Goossens 90+2'	Report	West 90+1'	Stadium: Parkstadion Attendance: 56,824 Referee: Gilles Veissière (France)

Semi-finals

Inter Milan v Spartak Moscow

31 March 1998	Inter Milan	2–1	Spartak Moscow	Milan
20:45 (CET)	Zamorano 45' Zé Elias 89'	Report	Alenichev 48'	Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 57,803 Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

Spartak Moscow v Inter Milan

14 April 1998	Spartak Moscow	1–2	Inter Milan	Moscow
17:30 (CET)	Tikhonov 12'	Report	Ronaldo 45', 75'	Stadium: Dynamo Stadium Attendance: 36,500 Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)

Final

Inter Milan v Lazio

6 May 1998	Inter Milan	3–0	Lazio	Paris
20:45 (CET)	Zamorano 5' Zanetti 60' Ronaldo 70'	Report		Stadium: Parc des Princes Attendance: 44,412 Referee: Antonio López Nieto (Spain)

Statistics

Players statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Serie A		Coppa Italia		UEFA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ITA	Pagliuca	49	-42	34	-26	4	-8	11	-8
4	DF	ARG	Zanetti J	41	2	25+3	0	4	0	9	2
2	DF	ITA	Bergomi	42	0	28	0	5	0	9	0
24	DF	ITA	Sartor	38	1	23	1	6	0	9	0
5	DF	ITA	Galante	31	2	20	2	4	0	7	0
16	DF	NGA	West	34	2	22+1	1	3	0	8	1
17	MF	ITA	Moriero	44	6	26+2	3	6	0	10	3
14	MF	ARG	Simeone	41	7	27+3	6	2	0	9	1
8	MF	NED	Winter	35	1	23+1	0	3	1	8	0
6	MF	FRA	Djorkaeff	42	8	25+4	8	4	0	9	0
10	FW	BRA	Ronaldo	47	34	32	25	4	3	11	6
12	GK	ITA	Mazzantini	3	-2	0+1	-1	2	-1	0	0
33	DF	ITA	Colonnese	29	1	17+4	1	3	0	5	0
15	MF	FRA	Cauet	42	3	15+13	2	5	0	9	1
7	DF	ITA	Fresi	23	0	13+3	0	2	0	5	0
13	MF	BRA	Zé Elias	30	2	12+8	0	3	1	7	1
40	MF	POR	Paulo Sousa	11	0	10+1	0	0	0	0	0
36	DF	ITA	Milanese	9	1	5+4	1	0	0	0	0
9	FW	CHI	Zamorano	20	3	4+9	1	2	0	5	2
27	FW	ITA	Branca	8	1	3+4	1	0	0	1	0
23	FW	ITA	Ganz	10	4	3+3	2	1	0	3	2
11	FW	NGA	Kanu	18	1	3+8	1	2	0	5	0
20	FW	URU	Recoba	19	5	2+6	3	5	2	6	0
21	DF	ITA	Mezzano	8	0	2+2	0	2	0	2	0
18	MF	ITA	Berti	4	0	0+4	0
22	GK	ITA	Nuzzo	0	0	0	0
19	DF	ITA	Paganin
35	DF	URU	Rivas	3	0	0+1	0	1	0	1	0
3	DF	ITA	Tarantino	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

Goalscorers

Rank	No.	Pos	Nat	Name	Serie A	Coppa Italia	UEFA Cup	Total
1	10	FW		Ronaldo	25	3	6	34
2	6	MF		Youri Djorkaeff	7	0	0	7
	14	MF		Diego Simeone	6	0	1	7
4	17	MF		Francesco Moriero	3	0	3	6
5	20	FW		Álvaro Recoba	3	2	0	5
6	9	FW		Iván Zamorano	2	0	2	4
	23	FW		Maurizio Ganz	2	0	2	4
8	13	MF		Zé Elias	0	1	2	3
	15	MF		Benoît Cauet	2	0	1	3
10	4	DF		Javier Zanetti	0	0	2	2
	5	DF		Fabio Galante	2	0	0	2
	16	DF		Taribo West	1	0	1	2
	27	FW		Marco Branca	1	1	0	2
14	8	MF		Aron Winter	0	1	0	1
	11	FW		Nwankwo Kanu	1	0	0	1
	24	DF		Luigi Sartor	1	0	0	1
	33	DF		Francesco Colonnese	1	0	0	1
	36	DF		Mauro Milanese	1	0	0	1
Own goal					4	0	0	4
Totals					62	8	20	90

References

Sources

• RSSSF - Italy 1997/98