Djorkaeff: ‘You must earn Inter shirt’
By Football Italia staff
Youri Djorkaeff reflects on his time in Italy and warns the current Inter squad: ‘You must earn the shirt and wear it with humility.’
The World Cup and European Championship winner with France played at San Siro between 1996-1999 and won the UEFA Cup with the Nerazzurri in 1998.
"Jurgen Klinsmann, who played with me at Monaco and actually joined from Inter, took me to watch the derby – Fantastic,” he recalled to Inter Channel.
"San Siro is a proper football stadium. All the images we saw of Italy from abroad were of stadiums with a running track. San Siro was different: the cathedral of football.
"I've always felt like a citizen of the world, but I make sure I have strong roots in whichever city I find myself in.
"When I arrive somewhere, I learn its history, take on the good things, respect the traditions and listen before opening my mouth.
"The goal against Roma is something for Inter fans everywhere because it's a goal that's still played all over the world and you can see San Siro, the Inter shirt, Curva Nord and my team-mates.
"There was a photo of that goal on the season ticket for the following season. I don't need my passport when I come to Italy, I just pull that season ticket out.
"The eyes of the world were on Milan, I always liked the derby. I liked catching the bus from Appiano Gentile to the stadium, seeing all the traffic and the people.
"Before Inter bought Ronaldo, we spoke about it with Massimo Moratti. He came to Appiano Gentile and told me there was a possibility he could buy Ronaldo but he wanted my opinion.
“I said to him: 'Buy the lad immediately. He will take us to a new level, we need this calibre of player'."
"The win over Juve in 1998? For once in my life I ran faster than Ronaldo! When he had the ball at his feet, you couldn't keep up with him.
“I watched him run and managed to make it to the far post. It wasn't easy to beat that Juventus side, they were great but we overcame them on the pitch.
"What can we say about the reverse fixture? There was something not quite right about Italian football at the time.
"We lost the Scudetto in 1998 but then Inter won so much because things changed.
"My departure? Marcello Lippi had come to Inter and I immediately realised that things weren't going to be good. I preferred to step aside to not create any problems and so I left.
"I had big offers from numerous Italian clubs, but for me there could only ever be one team in Italy. It was Inter or nothing else.
"France is the country of hospitality. The beauty of sport is it shows politicians that things can function when people work well together. We spoke different languages, ate different food, came from different cultures, but on the pitch we played for one shirt. One shirt bound us all, the France shirt.
"Pulling on the Inter shirt isn't easy, you need to understand the history. You have to earn it and wear the shirt with humility. If you don't have that, you might do alright for a game or two – if you're lucky three – but not for the whole season."
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