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Oct 6 - Oct 13,2002 |
The last of Italy's "Bandiere"
Giuseppe "Beppe" Bergomi looks back on his long career with Milan's Internazionale
By Mehrdad Masoudi
Originally Published: 2002-09-22
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Giuseppe “Beppe” Bergomi
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The new Italian soccer season got underway last weekend with far less fanfare than the previous ones. After a summer of discontent, fans are left wondering whether they should be relieved to see Serie A clubs launching their battle for another Scudetto.
The grief caused by the elimination of Italy from the 2002 World Cup quarter finals paled in comparison to what has gone on in the three months since. Financial woes of the majority of professional clubs, a never-ending bickering over TV contracts along with the baffling saga of Ronaldo and his departure from Internazionale kept the beleaguered fans frustrated throughout the summer.
The game has changed drastically over the last decade. Fans are disillusioned and they can no longer identify with their clubs they so dearly love. It is not just superstars like Ronaldo who change colours at will. Not long ago, club loyalty was a virtue not scarce. But, like everything else this aspect of the game has gone.
One of the last players in Italian soccer that remained loyal to a single club over two decades was Internazionale's Giuseppe Bergomi. As a rugged, no-nonsense defender with both Internazionale and the Italian national team, looking good for the cameras was the last thing on Giuseppe his mind.
But since hanging up his boots in 1999, Bergomi has become a respected soccer analyst co-commentator for Italian television channel, Telepiu.
"I could have continued playing for a few more years because I was still in good shape. But I wasn't given the chance to stay at Inter and I didn't want to play for anybody else. I preferred to finish my career at a great club and not go anywhere else," said Giuseppe Bergomi of his rational behind his retirement three years ago.
Inter and their city rivals Milan share a museum at the San Siro. It displays no end of memorabilia belonging to some of the great names to have represented the clubs down the years. But only one player has a whole section to himself - and that's "Beppe" Bergomi.
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