Inter Hall of Fame 2020: the 57 midfield candidates

MILAN – Voting is now well underway for the third edition of Inter’s Hall of Fame. It’s a special edition this time around, with it also being possible to vote for members of the 2009/10 Treble-winning squad who have now hung up their boots (check out all of the info on criteria and how to vote here). As always, Inter fans are invited to select four legends, one for each position: goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and attacker.

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The winners from the last two seasons:

- 2018 edition: Walter Zenga; Javier Zanetti; Lothar Matthäus; Ronaldo; - 2019 edition: Francesco Toldo; Giacinto Facchetti; Dejan Stankovic; Giuseppe Meazza.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve taken a look at the goalkeeping and defensive candidates. Today, we’re going to focus on midfielders. There are 57 possibilities, but only one of these former players can join Matthäus and Stankovic in the Nerazzurri’s Hall of Fame this year.

Will Nicola Berti’s forward runs and Derby goals win through? Or perhaps the delightful pieces of play produced by Evaristo Beccalossi? The way that Luis Suarez and Esteban Cambiasso dictated play in the middle of the park was impressive, as was the class shown by Youri Djorkaeff and Luis Figo. The legendary goals scored by Sandro Mazzola and the winning Nerazzurri ethos embodied by Gabriele Oriali need to be considered too. And what about the magic produced by Wesley Sneijder or the genius and erraticism of Nacka Skoglund?

The 57 candidates were all great footballers who, in one way or another, greatly contributed to Inter’s history.

From the Club’s foundation in 1908 to the Second World War – 15 players from this period are in the running, all of whom brought prestige to the Nerazzurri colours. Some also left an indelible mark on the international stage, like Giovanni Ferrari, who became a two-time world champion. Virgilio Fossati, meanwhile, was the Inter captain when the Club won its first Scudetto. Armando Castellazzi had success as both a player and coach for the Nerazzurri. Attilio Demaria scored plenty of goals over two five-year spells. Inter fans can also choose from Emilio Agradi, Antonio Blasevich, Enrico Candiani, Aldo Cevenini I, Osvaldo Fattori, Renato Olmi, Enrico Rivolta, Paolo Schleider, Pietro Serantoni and Giuseppe Viani.

Post-war period – Lennart 'Nacka' Skoglund is a notable candidate from the list of players who shone in the Nerazzurri shirt from the 1950s. Known for his genius and erraticism, the Swede won two Scudetto titles with the Nerazzurri. Enea Masiero, Bruno Mazza, Maino Neri and Fulvio Nesti are also in contention.

Grande Inter – High-quality, legendary midfielders and playmakers with an eye for goal: an entire anthology could be written about all those players who contributed to the successes enjoyed by the Grande Inter side. From Bedin, tenacious with a knack for scoring, to Mario Corso with his frightening left foot. And then there’s Luis Suarez, the genius architect of Herrera’s team. Not forgetting Sandro Mazzola: 565 appearances and an Inter legend.

The '70s and '80s – Inter’s current First Team Technical Manager, Gabriele Oriali, who scored 43 goals in 392 matches and won both the Scudetto and Coppa Italia twice, is in with a chance of being inducted into the Inter Hall of Fame. This also applies to Salvatore Bagni, the magnificent Evaristo Beccalossi, Domenico Caso, Gianpiero Marini (who won the 1994 UEFA Cup as the Nerazzurri’s coach after many seasons spent at the Club as a player), Giancarlo Pasinato, Giuseppe Pavone, Herbert Prohaska and Alessandro Scanziani.

Inter’s record-breaking side and the 1990s – With Matthäus already having secured his spot, Nicola Berti is a strong contender for the 2020 Hall of Fame. But he’s not the only one: joining him are fellow teammates from Inter’s record-breaking Scudetto-winning side and midfielders who won the UEFA Cup with the Nerazzurri in the 1990s. The list is long: Alessandro Bianchi, Enrico Cucchi, Pietro Fanna, Gianfranco Matteoli, Benoit Cauet, Youri Djorkaeff, Davide Fontolan, Wim Jonk, Antonio Manicone, Francesco Moriero, Angelo Orlando, Igor Shalimov, Diego Simeone and Aaron Winter.

Trophy success under Mancini and theTriplete – Finally, there are those midfielders who enjoyed huge success in the new millennium, from the first trophies won in the 2000s (Scudetto and Coppa Italia titles with Mancini at the helm) to the heroes of the 2010 Triplete. In the running are the following: Esteban Cambiasso, Luis Figo, Kily Gonzalez, Thiago Motta, Wesley Sneijder, Santiago Solari, Patrick Vieira and Cristiano Zanetti