Happy birthday, Trap!

“I love the green of the grass and the ball. I was a coach because I couldn’t see myself anywhere else.”

His visceral love for the beautiful game inspired generations of fans and wrote countless pages of Italian football history. As the Inter coach, Giovanni Trapattoni guided a star-studded team to record-breaking Scudetto success in 1988/89 as the side won 26 games out of 34, drawing six and losing just two, racking up 67 goals and conceding 19. The final standings showed a return of 58 points from a possible 68, 11 more than second-placed Napoli, with the Nerazzurri boasting the most potent attack and meanest defence in the division.

Teamwork, technical brilliance and a relentless hunger for victory were all key components in that legendary season in which Inter made history.  While in the Nerazzurri dugout, Trap also clinched the 1989 Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Cup in 1990/91 in a two-legged final against Roma, having won over the fan base from the get-go.

The whole FC Internazionale Milano family and the club’s supporters worldwide would like to wish Giovanni many happy returns on his 83rd birthday.