Nicola Berti, the symbol of Inter in the late eighties and nineties, is confident that the Nerazzurri are back on the right track after five trophyless years. Kevin Azzopardi spoke to the former Italy and Inter talisman...

Enterprising, athletic, determined and handsome.

No player embodied the traits associated with Inter in the eighties and nineties more than Nicola Berti. A marauding and hard-tackling midfielder, he won a host of honours during his 10-year stint with the Serie A club, including one scudetto and three UEFA Cups.

More than 12 years have elapsed since Berti retired from football but he’s still revered by the Inter faithful. That much was in evidence recently when Berti was given a rapturous reception by the members of the Inter Club Malta during his four-day stay here.

For a player who donned the Nerazzurri shirt with pride and honour, Berti is sad about the club’s decline after their famous treble feat in 2010 but he is backing Erick Thohir, the club’s new owner, to restore Inter’s status as one of the leading teams in the Serie A.

“I’ve met Mr Thohir,” Berti, 47, said.

“I’ve been with him on two trips, one to Madrid and the other outside Milan.

“I have to say that he (Thohir) is a nice person, very alert, but unfortunately he has inherited a package from (Massimo) Moratti where there are debts to repay.

“That means that he has to remedy the situation before he can actually spend and show the fans his attachment (to the club).

“Patience is needed but, anyway, he is already doing a lot. Thohir has already changed the coach, bringing back (Roberto) Mancini who was a winner with Inter.

“Mancini knows that he has a blank paper in the transfer market, he will buy three to four players that he wants, especially in the defensive phase where Inter badly need reinforcements. After that people can begin to judge what Thohir is doing for the club.

“At the moment, it’s still early because taking over Inter is not easy. Honestly, after the final years of Moratti’s tenure, which were extraordinary, culminating in the treble feat in 2010, it was clear that the following years were going to be tough.

“But we’re almost there. I believe that we are in a good moment, we already have four to five important players in the squad. Inter have extended (keeper Samir) Handanovic’s contract and also confirmed Mauro Icardi… they are two top players.

“There is (Mateo) Kovacic, Hernanes, (Fredy) Guarin and (Rodrigo) Palacio, who is a champion and gentleman who loves the Inter shirt.”

Mancini has already brought in some reinforcements, namely French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, who was coveted by a host of clubs, Colombian defender Jeison Murillo and Brazilian centre-half Miranda.

Looking back on his own career with Inter, Berti earmarked the scudetto won in 1988-89 and the UEFA Cup triumphs as his best moments.

“I’ve won three UEFA Cups, one European Super Cup and one Serie A title,” Berti reflected. “The title I won with Inter became known as the scudetto dei record.

“It was historic because we won the league with a total of 58 points at a time when only two points were awarded for a win.

“I have fond memories of the UEFA Cup finals as I scored in two of them (1991 and 1994).

“I’m also proud of the bond I have with the fans. For a few years, I was detached from football as I went away to the Caribbean but then I return and the enthusiasm is still high.

“I still go to San Siro. I take my children to see the games and the supporters go mad, they smile when they see me and for me this is fundamental, a great satisfaction.

“I believe they appreciate what I have done for the club but the fans have also given me a lot. They have always supported me, even in difficult moments… there has always been a special bond between Nicola Berti and the supporters of Inter.”

In the nineties, I played in two World Cups… in 1994 I was the only Interista with 14 Milanisti, let’s not forget that

Berti, who had spells with Parma and Fiorentina before joining Inter in 1988, has worked with some legendary coaches in his career, including Sven-Goran Eriksson and Giovanni Trapattoni.

“I had a lot of sympathy for Trapattoni because he was a friend,” he said.

“I was a bit of a trouble-maker because I loved to go out but on the pitch, I gave my absolute best.

“Of course, there were weeks when I was not in the best form but when we had important games, I never let the team down.”

Berti has played with and against some of the world’s greatest players, including Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten and Lothar Matthaeus.

“Matthaeus was a great champion but the player who impressed me most, and who I had the fortune to play with for six months, was Ronnie… Ronaldo,” Berti observed.

“He was a phenomenon. That season, I wasn’t playing and in fact I went to Tottenham but Ronaldo produced some moves in front of the bench that I used to stand up to applaud him.

“It was the beauty of football. He merged speed with technique, he was the first player to do that.

“Obviously, Maradona was also great.”

Unlike many of his peers, Berti didn’t pursue a coaching career after his retirement from football in 2002.

“I went to the Caribbean,” he said of the early years after quitting football.

“I have a beautiful house in St Bart, a small island.”

No coaching ambitions

“Was coaching something you wanted to do after you stopped playing?” I asked.

“No, never,” he replied.

“My father used to tell me to go into coaching but I always said no. It’s a mechanism that doesn’t appeal to me.

“Putting on the shorts… don’t get me wrong, I like to be surrounded by people, I adore it, but being there every day, doing the same things I did for 20 years…

“I just wanted to close that chapter. I stopped (playing) in 2002 and spent the next five years in the Caribbean.

“Then I had my children and therefore I returned to Italy because to have your kids born there (St Bart) is a bit complicated as it’s a very small island.

“I decided to return to Milan, near Milan-Piacenza, where I live with my two children.

“I have worked for a television station, this year I have started an association with La Gazzetta dello Sport and I’m also doing some work for Inter.”

Between 1988 and 1995, Berti also made 39 appearances for Italy, scoring three goals. His eyes lit up as he recalled that, at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, he was the only Inter player in Arrigo Sacchi’s squad.

“My career with Italy was marvellous. In the nineties, I played in two World Cups… in 1994 I was the only Interista with 14 Milanisti, let’s not forget that,” he said.

“I played in a World Cup final (against Brazil) which we lost on penalties, fairly perhaps, but the strongest squad was that of 1990.

“The 1990 team was even stronger than the one that won the tournament in 1982. Seven games, six victories and one draw which we then lost to Argentina on penalties in the semi-finals, in Naples.”

Berti had a dig at the celebrity lifestyle of today’s football stars.

“Italy makes me sad because we have slipped to fourth-fifth place in the statistics on a global scale,” Berti remarked.

“I see personalities who don’t really impress me because they are almost untouchables. There was a time when we were in the middle of the people, the players had more contact with the fans whereas nowadays they are like stars… what stars?

“Maybe there are two or three stars but the others are nothing special. The stars are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but the rest...”

On his Malta visit, Berti said he gladly accepted the invitation of the Inter Club Malta after being introduced to president Chris Bonett by Francesco Toldo, the former Inter goalkeeper.

“The contact was made through Inter Forever, namely Toldo who got me in touch with Chris Bonett,” Berti said.

“I came over with my family. It’s a pleasure for me, they have been really great with us and I’ve done the same.”