"New Money"

Putting aside my hatred for Inter Milan as a die-hard Juventus fan, I can't help but admire the club's recent success. The Milano club has dominated the Serie A since 2006's infamous Calciopoli scandal (from which it picked up a couple Juve players that form the core of their team, I might add), and the management has built a squad nearly any supporter would be happy to have. While I am not a fan of the 'Special One' Jose Mourinho, I do respect his abilities as a tactician and manager. However, I still can't seem to shake the feeling that Inter, despite it's storied history, is still rather nouveau riche.

Inter Milan has been around since 1908, and the club has a rich and successful background, including two European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) wins in 1963-64 and '64-65. In recent years, Inter has struggled away from the peninsula with it's lone bright point the 2003 Champions League semifinals. The 90s and early 21st century was a dark period for the Nerazzuri, and it seemed a miracle was needed to restore their former heights.

Enter Calciopoli. With the discovery that 5 Serie A clubs were guilty of match-fixing (Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio & Reggina), Inter was awarded the 2005-06 Serie A title for being next-highest in the league in 3rd position. With the money gained from that "win", 8 points being deducted from Milan, and the relegation of Juventus for the first time in it's storied history, Inter was well placed to retain "their" title the next year. In addition, with Juve's relegation, Inter was able to poach two of their biggest stars, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira from the Bianconeri ranks.

Inter went on to easily win the Serie A in 2006-07, further reaping the financial benefits that came from being on top of the table and in the media spotlight. However, the "upstarts" were still unable to achieve success in Europe, and were unceremoniously knocked out by Valencia that year, and again by Liverpool the next year, leading to shouts for Roberto Mancini's head.

With Inter's growing financial clout, the club was able to lure Jose Mourinho as well as a host of new players, including the €18.6 signing of Ricardo Quaresma. However, as dominant as Inter has been on the Italian stage, the club still does not seem to hold the same pedigree as their compatriots AC Milan and Juventus. Although it has been much more successful locally in recent years, Inter's name does not seem to hold the same resonance as the other, more storied Milan club, or the Bianconeri of Turin. Nonetheless, with the arrival of Jose Mourinho and his proven success in Europe, Inter's name could soon ring as true as Associazione Calcio Milan or Juventus Torino.