THE VITALS:

Team: Internazionale

Brand: Nike

Era: 1998-99 (Used for the 1998-99 Serie A season)

Name/Number: Ronaldo #9

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

Although the material is showing bobbling, the sponsor is slightly discolouring and the number 9 print has started to break; for a shirt that’s 20 years old now, you will be hard pressed to a version of this shirt in much better condition than this article.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Large Boys

Pit to Pit Measurement: 16.5 inches

Shirt Length: 25 inches

As an older shirt, use the dimensions accordingly to decide if this shirt is going to be the best fit for your child.

DESCRIPTION:

Nike took over from Umbro as Internazionale’s kit supplier ahead of the 1998-99 season, and it was no surprise given that they had Nike’s most prized asset amongst their ranks in the legendary Ronaldo, who had just taken on the #9 shirt! After last season’s fine 2^nd place finish and UEFA Cup victory; the club added the icon known as Roberto Baggio to join Ronaldo upfront in what was set to become one of the most irresistible attacking duets in world football. Sadly, the season would be filled with nothing more tumult as the club had 4 separate coaches employed throughout the season, as they stumbled to an 8^th place Serie A finish, and a disappointing Champions League quarter final defeat to Manchester United. This debut offering from Nike remains an Inter classic; with the classy collar, and cleaner finish than its Umbro predecessor, giving the shirt a modern feel as the 20^th century was coming to its end. This would also be the last Internazionale home shirt to worn by the club legend – Guiseppe Bergomi after he ended his 20 year exclusive career with the Nerazzurri, meanwhile – Aaron Winter, Diego Simeone, Gianluca Pagliuca and Youri Djorkaeff also departed in the summer of 1999!

THE SEASON:

Inter would fall just short in their quest to win a first Serie A title since the 1998-89 season, however, their 2^nd place finish was their place league finish since finishing 2^nd in 1992-93 and they would win the UEFA Cup in 1998 after the disappointment of finishing as runners-up in the 1997 final; making it all-in-all a great season for the Nerazzurri, and more importantly, laid exceptional foundations for an even better 1998-99 season, especially as a newly revitalised Roberto Baggio was signed from Bologna to join Ronaldo up front!

Luigi Simoni’s side began the new season with a 2-2 draw away against Cagliari, followed by 3 straight wins to move into 2^nd place, however, with just 2 wins in their next 7 games including crushing defeats to: Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina would spell the end of Simoni as Mircea Lucescu was brought in to change the clubs fortunes. He fared little better and lasted until March 30^th when Roy Hodgson returned to the club on a caretaker basis. Ultimately, the previous seasons runners-up would endure a torrid 1999 portion of the season as they won just 2 games after beating Empoli 5-1 at home on February 7^th, and would have to settle to a very disappointing 8^th place finish.

The Coppa Italia would ultimately represent a false beacon of hope for the club’s fans as they were beaten 4-1 on aggregate by Parma in the semi-final, and then in their showdown with Bologna at the end of the season where the winner of the 2-legged tie would take part in the 1999-00 edition of the UEFA Cup; they would be beaten 4-2 on aggregate to confirm that there would be no European football for Inter in 1999-00.

In their ever first participation in the newly rebranded UEFA Champions League; Internazionale Milano would perform admirably in the Group Stage as they enjoyed a 3-1 win over the reigning champions – Real Madrid en route to finishing top of the group. They would however bow out in the quarter final against eventual winners – Manchester United in the quarter final.

The notable players that season were:

Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio, Nwankwo Kanu, Ivan Zamarano, Nicola Ventola, Alvaro Recoba, Aaron Winter, Benoit Cauet, Paolo Sousa, Andrea Pirlo, Youri Djorkaeff, Ze Elias, Javier Zanetti, Fabio Galante, Salvatore Fresi, Taribo West, Dario Simic, Mikael Silvestre, Giuseppe Bergomi, Sebastien Frey, Gianluca Pagliuca