Roberto Baggio's new book "Light In The Darkness" reveals INSANE things about coach Lippi at Inter:
- Lippi getting angry for Baggio using spicy olive oil,
- Lippi demanding Baggio spy on his teammates,
- Lippi "constantly attacking" & "bullying" Baggio
"He [Lippi] got angry at me because I used a dash of spicy olive oil in my salad. For him this was some form of sacrilege." 🥗
"One time during the pre-match training camp, we were all allowed one glass of wine with our food. Myself, Peruzzi, Ferron & Frezzolini asked for a bottle [to share]. Lippi got angry. Same night it was Seedorf's birthday, whom shortly after opened a couple of bottles of champagne to make a toast. That was ok, but for us evidently not." 🍷
"He wanted to meet me in March, he asked me to name the names of players who could potentially argue with him.
I replied in my own way: 'Coach, I train my hardest, you can evaluate if I deserve to play or not but please don't ask me to do anything else'.
Annoyed, he tried to provoke me from the start of the summer, to instigate a reaction from me. But I never lost my temper, I had read the game.
If I had reacted any differently, he would have the excuse to accuse me of trying to disrupt the dressing room." 🕵️
"One day Lippi yelled at me in an arrogant and aggressive way: 'Phenomenon, why don't you tell your teammates what is wrong with you?'
I replied with maximum calm: 'Coach, why don't you tell the teammates what you asked me to do' alluding to his request for me to spy on the team." 🐀
"One time I joked to a journalist that Inter was like a Ferrari being driven by a traffic warden. The following training session, he put me in the middle of the pitch for a public trial in front of my teammates. It was a constant attack, tangible bullying." 👨⚖️
"In the end, Lippi was practically forced to play me in the Champions League playoff against Parma in Verona. My two goals were decisive: a freekick to the right of the area that surprised Buffon & a powerful left footed shot from outside the area.
We won 3-1 and for me it was a nice redemption on a personal level, after lots of problems.
Someone commented that I favored the very coach who had humiliated me.
Maybe without those two goals, Lippi would have been sacked at the end of that season. But I hadn't even thought about that for a second: I was playing for my team, to honor the shirt and the fans." 🖤💙
🏆🇷🇴 Cristian Chivu writes history this season:
- First to have won the Coppa Italia both as a player AND coach of Inter (2nd person in Inter's history to have won the Serie A as coach & player after Armando Castellazzi in 1934);
- first to have won the domestic double as a player & coach of Inter;
- 1st non-Italian coach to win the domestic double in his first season in charge of any Serie A team, (2nd coach after Antonio Janni with Torino who did it in his 2nd spell in charge of Granata in 1942/1943);
- third non-Italian coach after Sven Göran-Eriksson & José Mourinho to win the domestic double;
- Third Inter coach to win a domestic double after Mancini & Mou;
PERSONAL ANNOUNCEMENT
I was 7 years old when Lothar scored the winner that secured the club's 13th Serie A title in recordbreaking fashion. Trap's Inter dei Record of 1989. That was the first Serie A match I watched on TV. My aunt's husband (RIP) who was German, had installed a satellite dish on the balcony in no small part to watch Brehme (RIP) & Lothar dethrone cross town rivals Milan by beating Maradona and his Napoli to become champions of the greatest league the world has ever seen.
And I was hooked.
Watching Bergomi, Zenga, the aforementioned Lothar and Brehme, Ferri, Berti etc celebrate the title at the San Siro was as close to a magical experience that I ever had at the age of 7, all by just watching TV.
Because the San Siro that day was so magical, that just watching it on TV felt like it was the first day since having fled Iran 5 years earlier with my mother and grandmother (RIP), that life wasn't in black & white anymore. But once more it was a beautiful spectrum of colours so bright I could taste the hues of black, blue, red, white & green under the scorching Milanese sun. Needless to say I fell in love with Italy that day too.
But from that day on I was an Interista. After that day, I used to save up my weekly allowance I got from my mum to buy day old Gazzetta dello Sport papers (yes kids there was a period where there was no internet). Obviously I couldnt speak a lick of Italian back then, but turning the pages of the legendary pink newspaper looking at the words in big bold letters over action shots of Maldini, Baggio, Serena etc made me dream.
I dreamt one day I would learn Italian. And maybe one day I could go to Milan, to the San Siro and watch Inter play. My mum recently reminded me recently that when she asked me back then what I wanted to be when I grew up I said lawyer and journalist. And tram driver. It's a Gothenburg thing. Don't worry about it.
As life would have it, I was able to not only learn Italian, and visit the San Siro to watch Inter play, but I was lucky enough to call all of it my work. Because https://t.co/L6YMgrCgui was born out of a desire of not wanting Inter fans to grow up like me in the sense that just because we couldn't speak Italian we couldn't follow the daily news about Inter.
And so in February 2012 SempreInter was born. And every day since then, I made sure that sourced news about Inter was published in English. I say made sure, as in the past tense, because as of today I am no longer in charge of that. I want to wish the new owners the best of luck moving forward.
But above all, to all the millions of Inter fans worldwide that have read the over 118000 articles we published these last 14.5 years, to everyone that commented, shared the articles across all social media platforms, every guest we had on the #StudioInter podcast, every former Inter player we interviewed, every single writer and collaborator who contributed to the site, and of course to everyone at Inter itself: thank you x infinity.
I will continue to cover Inter and all of Calcio on @ItaFootPod with @carlogarganese & this exit will allow me to focus much more on that as well, especially given how well the pod is going and as a result how much more time it is taking up.
But in the meantime, Im looking forward to a summer off from the mercato, my first one off in 14 years.
So now I will savour the 21st Scudetto & hopefully a 10th Coppa Italia title that shines like a silver star with the rest of all you brothers and sisters of the world.
Grazie per tutto. Ma sempre e solo: Forza Inter.
X
Nima
*deep breath*
Not said anything about this publicly as there wasn't enough info out there to say anything of substance about it.
Now: the systematic smear campaign consisting of nothing but at best innuendo at worst lies, against Inter, by pretty much every single mainstream Italian news-outlet since Saturday, dragging the club's name through the mud, once & for all ends the debate if the Italian media is biased against Inter. Talk about exposing yourselves.
Will the apology be as loud as your smears & lies? Of course not, on to the next smear campaign. Pathetic.
Regarding the case itself: I've been demanding Rocchi's resignation for YEARS on here & on @ItaFootPod.
He isn't fit to hold the office he holds, he is at best incompetent.
A fired up, united & somewhat angry Inter send out a Scudetto statement win led by their talismanic captain Lautaro Martinez who embodies Inter when the team is on form.
Every single Inter player was good tonight, but can't help but give an extra thought to Thuram & Barella who have been HEAVILY & deservedly criticized.
Tonight they led the way. But the fact remains: No Lautaro = no party = no Inter.
A win against Como next week & Inter can start looking in the calendar as to when to prepare the Scudetto party.
FINALLY! THIS is how Inter should communicate.
Enough of this nice, diplomatic Marotta-style niceness, apologizing, being the "bigger man" etc.
Cost Inter a scudetto last year.
Always Contro tutto e tutti.
As it always was, as it always is, as it always will be.
JUST HIT 10k on YouTube!
Thank you all ❤️
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Three quick points:
1) Inter drop two points due to awful in-game coaching by Chivu who gave away all the initiative to Atalanta in the 2nd half via awful substitutions as well as being way too passive & defensive tactical approach from start of 2nd half. He coaches like a scared man & is again unable to manage delicate matches.
2) This is why Bastoni & Inter should NEVER have apologized for Kalulu incident. Apologizing means you open up to exactly what we saw today. Mark my words: From now until the end of the season EVERY important 50-50 call will go against Inter because the Italian system wants to create balance again. This is how the internal politics of Italian football works. Has always worked. Will always work.
3) Inter are out of form. And have been for weeks. Both as a team & individually: from Dimarco to Bonny. The fit senators Barella & Thuram have been awful all season.
The only person who can turn things around now for Inter is Lautaro. Who is injured & shouldn’t be rushed back.
As things stand We’re heading for one of the biggest facepalms in Inter’s history. Should this scudetto be lost, it’s on everyone from Chivu to Marotta to Barella etc.
Since 2006/2007, only Juventus have lost more than 5 matches in one Serie A season & still gone on to win the scudetto: Sarri lost 7 in 19/20.
Inter now have lost 5, with 10 matches left to play but go into those games with a 7 point lead.