Ferri and the challenges against Juventus: “My leap into the sky, higher than Rummenigge...”

MILAN - “Nowadays you won’t believe it, but that used to be how things were. Especially if we had a home game on Sunday, and it didn’t matter whether it was any game or even if it was Inter vs. Juventus: we would be in a training camp, our friends would arrive, play cards, foosball, pool. It was like being in a youth club, it was a different kind of football back then.” Riccardo Ferri saw all sorts of things, especially in Nerazzurri colours. He came from afar, from Capralbese, when the call came from Inter at the age of 14: “It wasn’t every day that a village boy ended up in Inter’s youth team. I can still relive the emotions of those days vividly today.” It wasn’t strange to him, therefore, to prepare for a big game in the most relaxed way possible. “That remains the best time of my life.”

His past also contains suffering and fear of not making it as a footballer: “I broke my arm with a nasty fracture, which meant there was a chance I would no longer be able to play. However, I made my Inter debut under Bersellini on 11 November 1981 instead.” The start of a great career, a Nerazzurri love story that ended on that triumphant evening of the 1994 UEFA Cup, when both Ferri and Zenga said goodbye to Inter and moved to Sampdoria.

On Sunday, Inter will face Juventus, which sparks a series of clear and unforgettable images in Ferri’s memory: “I remember the stickers I used to play with: I used to exchange them and I could see Zoff, Cabrini, Brio and Gentile on them. Then, without even realising it, I found myself on the pitch playing against them. However, I never lost sleep over it, I was more excited and enthusiastic about being there and experiencing those moments rather than being nervous.

“It’s always been a tough trip to Turin and Juventus have always made it hard for opponents on their own pitch. It was always a difficult game, then as it is today, which demands character, technique and tactics. Even if, I must confess, the game that most excited me, more than any other game, was the derby against AC Milan. For me, an Inter fan, it was the best.

“When I was 21, I found myself marking Platini, I always had the fastest and most dangerous forwards to mark like Paolo Rossi, Rui Barros or Ian Rush. I remember that game Inter vs. Juventus on 11 November 1984 with great fondness. We won 4-0, a game we dominated with three headed goals out of the four: myself, Rummenigge (twice) and Collovati were the goalscorers. I won’t forget this goal, my first in Serie A, and my first against Juve: it came after a free kick which Brady crossed in from the left, I had so much exuberance and strength that I jumped higher than Rummenigge. Then I ran to embrace my mentor Gian Piero Marini with whom I left Inter in ’94 after winning the UEFA Cup.”

He also commented on the fact that Juventus against Inter will be played behind closed doors: “It has to be done, because health must be put first. There will not be a lack of motivation, because even though it’ll be different without a crowd, it is still a crucial game when it comes to the league.” Inter will, just like in Ferri’s days, line up with a group of high-quality defenders: “Yes, there are similarities with my times. Obviously football has changed, but all of Inter’s teams have always shown that they have extraordinary technical and tactical skills.” So, off we go, all that’s left to do is to look ahead to Sunday’s game.