In 1939, as the world sat on the edge of the abyss, Inter could no not have been happier.
They began the 1938/39 season as champions and would end the 1939/40 season achieving the same goal. In between, despite an intense political climate, they would also capture their first Coppa Italia. It is a forgotten story, as the competition held up a beacon of light to the Milanese who had suffered in the league. Here though, they were free and managed to achieve a monumental success and write their names into the annuls of Inter’s history books.
It is a season that should not be forgotten.
On September 5th, 1938, a day after the Coppa Italia began for that season, the Nuremburg rally began in Germany. Four days after its conclusion on May 18th 1939, Italy and Germany signed ‘The pact of steel’. The climate politically was forever moving and changed dramatically in this time. Benito Mussolini’s fascist part was perusing the ‘Italianisation’ of the peninsula and this even effected sport and of course football. The team had been re-named Ambrosiana Inter to reflect its Italian background even if the club had been formed to incorporate internationals.
The club were on the up however, and were building a team that would end up having legendary status. The 1936-37 season had been a poor one. Seventh place in Serie A and a semi-final Coppa Italia exit to Roma had seen their supporters wonder just what direction the team was going in and question coach Armando Castellazi’s credentials but there was one part of this season which will live in infamy as far as Inter are concerned. The arrival of Annibale Frossi was crucial; he arrived at Inter fresh from performing brilliantly in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
He was the competitions top scorer and had excelled against a fantastic Austrian side. He was memorable for always wearing his glasses and looked like and accountant rather than a footballer. His passion and his goals would serve Inter well. Upon arriving in Milan, he said, “My state of mind is indescribable when I am told I will play with Meazza and Ferraris. I go onto the pitch and my heart is bursting, my legs are no longer mine.”
The 1937/38 season was a glorious one for Inter but it was also a tough one. The Scudetto would be claimed by Inter this season but it was not an easy task. Castellazzi would state that it was he who brought the title to Inter but in fact, it was Giuseppe Meazza who dragged them to the finish kicking and screaming, scoring 20 goals in the league and 30 in all competitions. Still, that being said the coach was the youngest to win Serie A, he was just 33 years of age and it is a record that stands to this day.
This team was that would go down in history, alongside Meazza and Frossi, goalkeeper Giuseppe Peruchetti, Pietro Ferraris and Giovanni Ferrari were just some of the players who excelled that campaign. Frossi only scored five but reports at the time claimed he was central to many of Meazza’s goals. Even so, Juventus made it difficult for them and towards the final day of the season, the league table saw only a point between them. Inter won away in Bari thanks to goals from Meazza and Frossi and upon their return to Milan central station, they were met by hordes of Inter fans.
One thing still escaped them: the Coppa Italia. That year’s Coppa had seen them eliminated by Juventus at the semi-final stage. It was an improvement but not good enough. These were the days when the Coppa mattered and there was a strong desire to win it since it almost carried as much weight as the Championship. In the 1938/39 season, Inter opted for Bari coach, Tony Cargnelli. The Austrian had performed miracles with Bari keeping them in the division and his Danubian style of football appealed to the Inter hierarchy. This change of style and leadership was however, forced on them, as after 261 appearances as an Inter player and a Scudetto winner as coach, Castellazzi decided that at 34, his work here was done and shocked Italy by choosing to retire.
Cargnelli wanted titles and he wanted to do this in style but in 1938, he was hampered by many of the squad getting injuries for long spells, Meazza included. This was perhaps highlighted by the league form as they finished fourth with Frossi finishing top scorer with mere 10 goals. The Mitropa Cup saw them go out to eventual winners, Ujpest, and it would be fair to say that President, Ferdinando Pozzani, would have thought no trophies were coming to the Civic Arena that year.
The Coppa Italia used to be a huge affair and the rounds would go as thus: Serie C elimination round, first round, second round, then Serie B elimination round, third round. Only at the round of 32 would Inter get involved and they were given a tricky tie against Napoli. They drew 1-1 but wold defeat the Neapolitans in a replay back in Milan 1-0. Ironically, the team they would meet in the final, Novara, were the only other team to need a replay beating a tough Pro Vercelli side 2-0 in the second game.
It was not easy for Inter as they struggled again (injuries taking their toll) against Livorno; it took extra time to get the 1-0 win. Roma were beaten (just) 1-0 in the quarter and it took extra time again in the semi-finals to beat a tough Genoa side 3-1. There was no Danubian school at play here, Cargnelli was instead showing why he was seen as a miracle worker with Bari, he was grinding out results.
So it was, that on Thursday the 18th May, 1939 the Coppa Italia would be played in Rome’s Stadio Nazionale. On the same day, Giovanni Valetti won the Giro D’Italia and sport was very much on the nations mind, helping block out the fear of impending war. This was probably Inter’s best display of the whole campaign and it showcased some of what the coach had been wanting. They blitzed Novara early and Pietro Ferraris netted after only two minutes, he would finish overall top scorer with 14 this season and this was his crowning moment. Meazza was not himself according to reports but it was the bespectacled Frossi who would claim the headlines as he scored the second. Novara came back in the second half thanks to a goal by Marco Romano but it was not enough. The Nerazzurri held out and won their first ever Coppa Italia.
It was certainly a major achievement as the squad had been decimated by aliments. The next campaign and with a few additions, Inter would go on to win their fifth Scudetto. Cargnelli had achieved what he set out to and that team started a love affair between Inter and the Coppa Italia that lives on to this day. It is a season that is often forgotten about but should always be celebrated as a monumental point in the history of the club