“It’ll begin here, at l’orologio restaurant, artist hangout, and it will always be a team of great talent. This splendid night will give the colors to our badge: black and blue on a golden background made of stars. It will be called Internazionale, because we are brothers of the world.”
This is how the 105 years of glorious black and blue history began, with a declaration by its founders that has left a permanent mark on Inter’s skin, irreversibly characterizing its DNA. Inter stands for “international”, and international it’s been, from the first season, up until today, when Inter’s starting lineup counts on seven different nationalities. In spite of this, what is about to happen is still regarded as “extraordinary”, as Erik Thohir, Indonesian tycoon in the telecommunication industry, just took over the majority share - 70% for €250 M- of the club from Massimo Moratti, the most successful president- and owner- in nerazzurri’s history. During his reign nerazzurri won 5 Scudetti, 1 Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, 4 Italian Cups, 4 Italian Super Cups.
"Every president leaves his mark, there's no doubt about that, with time there might perhaps be a different mark, I don't know. What's important is that you're always respectful of what's going on in the rest of the world, outside of your own business, and I believe these people are keeping that in mind" Moratti commented.
This is a somehow historic event for Inter, because if you run down the list of the 20 presidents in the history of the club, all are Italian (as are the owners- the two very often coincide in Italy). In addition, foreign ownership has not been a very common trend for Italian clubs, not as much as English clubs for example (with the only exception of US-owned Roma). Therefore the fan base’s feelings are mixed, and range from enthusiastic to concerned. Whilst both feelings are understandable, this deal is in my opinion a manna from heaven for the nerazzurri, who have recently struggled to keep pace with its competitors in Italy, let alone in Europe.
Inter needs a new organization; it needs to become a truly global company, adapting to the evolving football world, which has become more of a business than just a (beautiful) game. And who better than an international business leader, with a background in communication and media and a managerial experience in U.S. sports, is there to achieve such goal?
Erick Thohir, son of Teddy Thohir, co-owner of the automotive group Astra International, is as ambitious as ready to face this new adventure. Sure, he does not have the black and blue DNA that Massimo Moratti had when he bought the club in 1995, having lived in first person as a kid in the 60s the epopee of his father with “La Grande Inter” led by Helenio Herrera. Thohir is a businessman: he did not buy the club because he loves the colors. He bought it because “of its history, because of the recent successes, and because Inter has a very solid, numerous and loyal fan base.” The nerazzurri can count on around 7 M fans only in Italy, and who knows what the number is around the world.
Many local fans in Milan hope that Thohir will be Inter’s Abramovich, and that he will arrive and spend without judgment whatsoever. They are wrong. Thohir’s mission won’t be that of spending as much as his financial capacity allows him to. Moratti has done this already, and 18 years - and around €1.300M - after he’s got to a point where he simply cannot go on. The Indonesian tycoon will have to add a sound, truly international managerial organization to the money, in order to monetize the fans’ passion, and increase the club’s revenues which, in a time of Financial Fair Play, is Inter’s main weakness (€185 m vs Real Madrid’s leading €512 M). Merchandising, sponsorships and communication will have to be his mantras, for his presidency (or at least his ownership) to be sustainable, as well as successful.
Tuesday, October 15 th, 2013
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