Inter Milan won their first Serie A league title since 2010, ending Juventus’ nine-year winning streak in Italian football.
Antonio Conte’s side clinched their 19th Scudetto on Sunday after Atalanta drew 1-1 at Sassuolo to leave the Nerazzurri 13 points clear at the top of the table with four games remaining.
It was Conte who started Juventus’ record run – winning the first three titles in the nine-year streak from 2012 onwards. The Italian then took over Inter in 2019 and lifted the trophy after finishing second last season.
“I’m astonished,” said Conte.
“We’re breaking up a dynasty. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that we’d make up this much ground on the team that dominated Serie A for nine years in the space of two seasons.”
Inter are now second for league trophies in Italy, just overtaking city rivals AC Milan who have been on 18 for quite a while now but still way behind Juventus who have 36.
Inter Milan fans celebrate winning the Serie A Scudetto in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Pistoia#870251#51B ED/Getty Images)
‘Yes, we are. Champions of Italy.’
The city of Milan erupted with car horns after the final whistle went in the Atalanta game that saw Inter being confirmed as champions. Fans immediately started gathering in the main square in front of the cathedral Piazza Duomo to celebrate.
Thousands of fans collected in Piazza Duomo, with flags and scarves, chanting and singing as they jumped and clapped with little care about the coronavirus restrictions.
“We are, yes, we are. Champions of Italy. We can finally scream it, after dreaming of it, after keeping it hidden in the depths of our hearts, after holding on to it like a precious dream that we did not want to waste,” read a statement on the Inter website.
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli congratulated his Inter chairman Steven Zhang Kangyang on his club’s success.
The side from Lombardy had not won the Serie A since Jose Mourinho’s historic Italian treble in 2010 when he led the club to the UEFA Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the same season.
Inter’s last trophy was the Coppa Italia all the way back in 2011! They missed out on the Champions League for six consecutive seasons before Luciano Spalletti helped get them back into Europe’s premier club competition in 2018.
Conte is the 13th manager since Mourinho and the club has changed ownership twice over the past decade.
Billionaire Massimo Moratti, whose family controls Saras Group, sold to a consortium led by Indonesian business tycoon Erik Thohir in 2013, with Chinese electronics retailer Suning Holdings Group taking a majority stake in 2016.
It is the first time that a foreign-owned Italian team has won the league title.
Romelu Lukaku was, by far, Inter Milan’s star player. His fortunes have turned significantly under Antonio Conte and the Belgian striker has become one of the most lethal goalscorers in world football.
