20 - Inter Xmas Advent Calendar: Benito Lorenzi

"While I was walking with the lemon peel in my hand, I saw Cucchiaroni still looking at the referee on his right. Some instinct came over me to take the lemon peel and put it under the ball."

His mother Ida renamed him Poison when he was little. He was a pest, not least on the pitch. Benito “Poison” Lorenzi was one of those unforgettable figures. But while he was no stranger to histrionics, he also let his football do the talking. He spent eleven seasons at Inter, scoring 143 goals in 314 appearances. He won two Scudetto titles in the process.

His battles with John Charles, the nickname ‘Marisa’ which he gave to Boniperti, the slap he handed out to Nyers. But above all, that moment in the 1957-58 Derby will always be remembered. It was 6 October 1957 and Milan were awarded a penalty. Cucchiaroni stepped up to take it but shot over the bar. Cue the laughter and smiles from Veleno, who had very cleverly put a lemon peel under the ball in secret shortly before this, thus causing it to soar.

Between his goals and quips, Lorenzi left an indelible mark on Inter’s history. He passed away in 2007 at the age of 82.