In a decade where Italian football ruled the world, FC Internazionale were prominent in the late 90’s, both domestically and on the continent. They had some incredible players, played some good football and challenged in almost every competition they competed in.
The Inter side of the 1997/1998 season was no different, pushing Juventus all the way before losing out by just one point in what was their first serious title challenge in years. Runners up in Serie A, quarterfinals in the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup winners meant that this was a successful season for the Nerazzurri (in large part down to a little Brazilian forward who we will get on to later).
But what are the players in that famous side doing now? What happened to them after they left Inter, or did they ever leave the club? Here are the starting XI members of the Inter Milan side during the 1997/1998 season.
Gianluca Pagliuca
Largely recognised as one of the best goalkeepers Italy has ever produced and certainly one of the best of his generation, Gianluca Pagliuca will go down in Inter history as one of their greatest ever goalkeepers.
Making 592 Serie A appearances during his career and making a league record amount of penalty saves (24 saves); Pagliuca is an Italian club legend. His outstanding performances for Sampdoria, Inter and later on for Bologna ensured him a legend status at multiple clubs, and his outings during this campaign, where he captained the side to UEFA Cup glory.
After retiring in 2007, Pagliuca went into coaching and is currently the goalkeeping coach for the under-19’s side at Bologna, his very first club as a player.
Giuseppe Bergomi
A one-club man, Giuseppe Bergomi is the definition of an Inter Milan legend. Spending 20 years at the club, the defender is widely recognised as one of the greats of the club and of Italian football in general.
Representing Italy at four separate World Cups, the legendary defender was an incredible player and though he may not be remembered as fondly as others during his time, Bergomi was key to this Inter side’s success, captaining them for many years.
He finally called it a day after 20 years in 1999, where he then lent his incredible footballing brain to Sky Italia, where he is often seen as a pundit and occasionally does co-commentary for the channel.
Javier Zanetti
When you mention Inter Milan to a football fan, chances are that Javier Zanetti is the first player they think of. He may not be a one-club man like Bergomi, but he is certainly on the same level of legendary status thanks to his 615 appearances for Inter.
He was only a youngster when Inter won the UEFA Cup in 1998, but Zanetti had already shown his ability and leadership across the season. He had scored the second goal in this victory over Lazio, and was handed the captaincy once Bergomi retired, and began making his mark at the club for many years to come.
The Argentinian would eventually retire in 2014 at the age of 40, but has remained at Inter in the role of Vice-president as the new Chinese/Suning era looks to bring the Nerazzurri back to the top of the Italian game.
Taribo West
The Nigerian will always be remembered for two reasons. One, being a god on Football Manager and two, his unusual hairstyles. What many fail to mention is that he is a pretty successful defender who managed to play for both Milan clubs, Derby County and Plymouth Argyle.
West only played 44 games for Inter in his two years at the club, but this season he played the majority of the season at the fullback position. He was a pacey left back who occasionally went on bursts forward, but not too often.
Towards the back end of his career, a lot of weird things happened. He trialled at Manchester City but failed to get a contract due to a lack of fitness, he moved from Plymouth to Croatia and reportedly claimed to be moving to Spanish Segunda side Xerez, but the club’s president didn’t even know a deal was in place.
The only thing of note to happen in his retirement is that he was accused of being 12 years older than he claimed to be.
Diego Simeone
El Cholo was a fiery midfielder who wasn’t afraid of a challenge and feared no opponent. The Inter fans love him, and his performances as a player show why. Simeone always put in 110% on the field and his passionate style resonated well with the ultras in the Curva Nord.
After winning the UEFA Cup with Inter, Simeone left to join Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Lazio revolution, where he won his first and only Scudetto. A return to Atletico Madrid followed before embarking on a managerial career that could yet see him return to his old home in Milan.
Simeone started out his career back in Argentina with Racing and Estudiantes before making his way to Europe, staving off relegation with Catania. Not long afterwards he joined his former club Atletico Madrid, winning La Liga, the Copa Del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Europa League.
A return to Inter has always been on the cards, so who knows what will happen next.
Benoit Cauet
The Frenchman has been forgotten over the course of time, but he made a name for himself by being a very good midfielder across France and Italy. Starting out at Marseille, Cauet failed to consistently break into the first team before moving to Caen where he would make 144 appearances in a four-year-spell.
His two Ligue 1 titles with OM made him a player who at a young age had a knack of winning trophies, and after spells with Caen, Nantes and PSG, Cauet found his home with Inter. He would go on to make 147 games for the Nerazzurri, as well as playing a big part in the UEFA Cup final, setting up Ronaldo for the third and final goal.
Post his playing career, Cauet went into coaching and is currently a coach in the Inter Milan youth system. However, a big shame in his career is that despite his success and talent, he never got a full international cap for the French national squad.
Aron Winter
Dutchman Aron Winter was an exciting young midfielder emanating from the world famous Ajax youth academy and even in his first few years as a professional, he managed to pick up five trophies. His 187 league appearances for Ajax earned Winter a move to Serie A, where he first played for Lazio and then eventually for Inter Milan.
At Inter, Winter would reach two UEFA Cup finals, winning one in 1998 and losing the previous year, missing a vital penalty against Schalke. 77 appearances later, and Winter would return to Ajax before ending his career on loan at Sparta Rotterdam.
The Dutchman moved into management after retiring and has worked mainly in youth football. He has been a youth coach at Ajax and the Netherlands national team and is currently the head coach of the U-19 side at Ajax.
Ze Elias
A Brazilian journeyman, Ze Elias may have only been at Inter for two years, but he made an impact in the 1998 UEFA Cup final. Starting his career in his homeland with Corinthians, he soon made a move to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen before joining Inter Milan in 1997.
His career may not have been spectacular, but he will be able to look back in years to come and be proud of what he has achieved both in Brazil and across Europe. Since retiring in 2009, Elias has been enjoying his retirement out of the limelight and supporting his brother Rubinho, who has spent most of his career in Italy as a goalkeeper.
Youri Djorkaeff
French legend Djorkaeff spent three years at San Siro with Inter, yet he will always go down in history as one of the best attacking midfielders in their recent history.
Grenoble, Strasbourg and Monaco were Djorkaeff’s first clubs but it was with Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain where Europe started to take notice of the attacking midfielder. His time in France earned him a move to Inter where he would spend two years and win a UEFA Cup before moving on to Kaiserslautern, Bolton Wanderers and finally with the New York Red Bulls.
After retiring in 2006, the Frenchman has set up the Youri Djorkaeff Foundation based in New York City.
Ivan Zamorano
Arguably the greatest Chilean footballer in history, Ivan Zamorano was a deadly striker who plied his trade in Spain and Italy and had a very successful career at both Real Madrid and Inter Milan, as well as Sevilla and Club America.
Zamorano made his name at Real Madrid where he and Dane Michael Laudrup formed a lethal partnership as Madrid romped to multiple trophies, as well as Zamorano clinching the Pichici trophy in 1995.
Moving to Inter in 1996, and was originally given the number 9 shirt, but due to Roberto Baggio arriving and getting the number 10 shirt, Ronaldo had to let go of his original number 10 and take Zamorano’s 9. This prompted the Chilean to pick the number 18, but have a plus symbol in between the numbers to make his own number 9 shirt.
Zamorano scored the opening goal in the UEFA Cup final and established himself as a club legend and a national hero in Chile. After his retirement, Zamorano has been fairly quiet outside of his homeland and has been an ambassador for multiple products and football clubs.
Ronaldo
One of the greatest strikers to ever play the game, Ronaldo was a key player for Inter in this season and their run to the UEFA Cup triumph. His world record transfer from Barcelona in 1997 made him only the second player after Diego Maradona to break the transfer fee twice.
His time at Inter was full of goals and success, winning the UEFA Cup and the FIFA World Player of the Year as well as the Ballon D’or. He had an unreal amount of pace and had an ability to skin a defender in an instant.
After moving on to Real Madrid and Milan, Ronaldo, unfortunately, had to cut his career short due to constant knee injuries, and during his retirement, he has kept himself rather busy.
He has been an ambassador for FIFA and the 2014 World Cup as well as being a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and multiple cases of charity work. Ronaldo will forever be recognised as one of football’s greatest, with his time at Inter arguably being his peak.
