Former Inter president Ernesto Pellegrini dies at 84
The official website of Inter reported that Ernesto Pellegrini, president of the Nerazzurri club from 1984 to 1995. He was born on December 14, 1940, in Milan. The news comes on the very day of the Champions League final against PSG. Here is the text of the statement.
“President Ernesto Pellegrini has left us. For eleven years he led Inter with wisdom, honor and determination, leaving an indelible imprint in the history of our Club. FC Internazionale Milano and all the Nerazzurri people huddle around his family members.”
“There are inevitable lightning strikes, made on purpose to set off the spark of a lasting, eternal, total love. For Ernesto Pellegrini it was a crowded Inter-Juventus: April 4, 1954. He was 14 years old and the amount of spectators at the San Siro almost prevented him from catching a glimpse of what was happening on the field. A pity, because on the pitch the Nerazzurri won 6-0, with a brace by the wonderful player who was Nacka Skoglund.”
“Ernesto Pellegrini, born in Milan in 1940, used to follow with his eyes full of joy the moves of the Swedish star player even on the streets of Milan: he watched him in Piazza dei Mercanti, where Skoglund went to have his shoes polished. Enraptured by so much resplendent class, young Ernesto matured endless passion and admiration: ‘I was in love with the Nerazzurri colors, proud. And I dreamed: one day…'”
“Son of farmers, enterprising worker: in 1965 he set out on his own, beginning an entrepreneurial adventure that now employs thousands of people. A story of success and determination, of dedication. The lure of Inter was strong, very strong. In 1984, when he had the opportunity, Pellegrini realized his dream that he had been cherishing since he was a child, since the days of Skoglund: to become the president of Inter.”
“He took over the company from Fraizzoli, with a handshake, becoming the seventeenth president in Nerazzurri history. Eleven years, until 1995, before passing the baton to Massimo Moratti. Eleven years with the Scudetto of records in 1989, the Italian Super Cup, the two Uefa Cups (1991 and 1994).”
“The Inter of the Germans: first Rummenigge, then Matthäus, Brehme, Klinsmann. Trapattoni’s Inter, with Zenga-Bergomi-Ferri-Berti, in short, with that formation that we can still recite by heart, with Serenza-Diaz to close out the’11 and the rhyme, as well as the actions of the game, always turned into goals.”
“Not just the field, not just work. The desire to give back, to give to others: the Pellegrini Foundation, the Ruben restaurant, concrete actions to feed people in need. To give dignity.”
“In 2020, Inter inducted him into the club’s Hall of Fame, presenting him with the Special Award. A recognition of the passion, dedication, and goodness of a person who has marked history, not only of Inter.”
