To the soccer world,
Last Tuesday was a dark day for us inter fans. Not because we were knocked out of the Champions League, but because we lost something dear. Our image as a model club was tarnished by a few of our own, and we found ourselves in an unfamiliar position. For us inter fans, the name Internazionale is synonymous with integrity, honesty and principles. We might be a mockery for some due to our recent lack of success. However, few understand the league our team plays in. Year after year, we grind our teeth and earn every single point we get. All the while, others get freebies thanks to their behind-the-scene power. We could write books about that, but this is not what the letter is about.
This letter is about those horrible moments that felt eternal. It is about those revolting moments at the San Siro where we saw our image being burned by flares and beaten by umbrellas. We knew that this was not what inter is about. We have endured torturous Sundays and Saturdays supporting our club. Our love for this club has never decreased, not in those tough moments and dark days, if anything, it has increased. We want to win and earn our wins by our sweat, not by our powers. We would rather endure droughty years than get a tainted trophy. That is why those images were hard on us; they were against the very essence that the name Internazionale stands for.
Those fans that did those disgraceful acts might have acted out of anger, but nothing justifies it. The perfectly legitimate goal that was disallowed, combined with certain episodes in the game, reminded the fans of what we have to deal with week-in and week-out. Those fans acted not like inter fans, but like angry humans letting go some of the bottled up emotions. Unfortunately, they chose the worse occasion possible to do so.
At forza-inter.com, we represent about 500 inter fans from around the world. Strangers from China to Colombia and from Finland to South Africa, all joined by one heart beating black and blue. Some of us understood and justified what happened, and some were distressed and disgusted by those scenes. But we all agreed that this inter that is being vilified in the media is not the inter we love. We want the world to know that our club and our fans are against wickedness in the beautiful game. We are against corruption and violence, two evils that our club never stood for.
At the end, we want to tell our fans to look with optimism towards the future, to keep supporting our club and to never forget what we stand for. We conclude by the following words from our song “Pazza Inter’:
Nerazzurri
Non fateci soffrire
Ma va bene, vinceremo insieme
Which translates to:
Inter…Don’t make us suffer
But it’s okay, we will win together
Sincerely,
www.forza-inter.com
Forum Supporter
10 years of FIF
