During his time at Inter from 1988 to 1992, Lothar Matthäus won Serie A, the Ballon d’Or and the World Cup. Here are his ten biggest goals for us.
Perhaps Diego Maradona paid Lothar Matthäus the biggest compliment by describing him as “the best rival I have had in my entire career”. Both players won Scudetti when Serie A was at its peak, but they were very different. Maradona was an imperfect genius who seemed to play in the skies, while Matthäus was perhaps the most complete midfielder who ever existed (often considered the first box-to-box player, editor’s note). He led by example, was professional, powerful, incredibly motivated and confident. He had an incredible engine; his range of passing was phenomenal; and he got a shot. As a natural leader, he improved the players around him.
Between 1988 and 1992, Matthäus scored 53 goals in 153 appearances for Inter. He won Serie A, Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup for the club, while winning the Ballon d’Or in 1990 and the World Cup in Italy the same year. To celebrate his 60th birthday (Sunday March 21, 2021, editor’s note), here are 10 of his best goals for Inter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX56TOCux-0&t=94s
Inter vs Napoli, never 1989, Serie A
Matthäus said it was his most important goal for Inter. Giovanni Trappatoni’s side entered the game against Napoli after a 6-0 win over Bologna. With five games left in the 1988-1989 season, Inter were three points ahead of Napoli, hoping to beat their title rivals and take a big step forward to win their 13th Scudetto.
There was a tense atmosphere at Meazza at the start of the game and it became more tense when Careca opened the scoring for Napoli in the 36th minute. Walter Zenga’s heroism kept Inter in the game before Nicola Berti equalized with a deflected shot early in the second half.
Then, in the 83rd minute, Inter won a free kick. Andreas Brehme intervened, but the wall advanced and the referee ordered a restart. Brehme ran up a second time, but was illegally loaded again, much to Maradona’s chagrin. Matthäus decided it was his turn. He saw a slight gap in the wall and shot low to the keeper’s right, giving him no chance. The Meazza burst. The fans knew the Scudetto was theirs. They continued to win by 11 points and that was when we had two points for a win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hkjuFO_W2A&t=92s
Napoli vs Inter, mars 1991, Serie A
Sampdoria won the only title in their history in the 1990-91 season, but Matthäus could hardly have done more for Inter, ending the campaign as the top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions. This match against Napoli at San Paolo sums up Inter’s season. They didn’t win it, but Matthäus always shone.
With scoreless play, he begins a movement in midfield and continues his run, passing his marker. The ball above is good, but what comes next is extraordinary. As the ball bounces off the edge of the penalty area, Matthäus notices that Giovanni Galli is out of his line and unleashes a powerful half volley that flies over the keeper, hits the crossbar and stabs into the net. Careca scored an equalizer for Napoli a minute later. It was that kind of season for Inter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54R50YK2h1w
Rapid Vienna vs Inter, September 1990, UEFA Cup
Inter picked up silverware in the 1990-91 season, beating Roma in the final to win the UEFA Cup. Inter have faced a good team from Rapid Vienna in the last 32 games and have won 4-3 on aggregate, with Matthäus making his mark.
The pressure had barely started when the German midfielder produced one of his scoring goals. Picking up the ball on the left, he drove into the field and faced two Rapid defenders. He had some luck with a ricochet, but the pace and power of his race left Vienna’s back line slack. Seeing the goalkeeper engage, he unleashed a powerful push into the left corner of the goal. This goal sums up what Matthäus was: to take the game by the throat and produce the sublime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr3_26Cv3nA
Inter vs Juventus, September 1989, Serie A
Matthäus enjoyed the Derby d’Italia. He always seemed to score against Juventus. In 1989-90, Inter were defending champions and added Jürgen Klinsmann to their ranks. But they started the campaign indifferently, beating Cremonese, drawing against Bologna, beating Lecce and then losing to Sampdoria. As the derby rolled in they knew they would have to beat Juve to come up to credibly defend their title.
With the game goalless late in the first period, Inter striker Aldo Serena drifted to the left. His low cross was meant to find Klinsmann but the striker couldn’t control him and the ball inadvertently fell to Matthäus. It couldn’t have worked better for Inter; Matthäus adjusted his feet and launched a missile into the lower corner, leaving Stefano Tacconi no chance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZcQLEfEBcU&t=104s
Inter vs Côme, avril 1989, Serie A
Few matches show Matthäus’ overall brilliance like this victory over Como. Inter had won five straight before this game in a sunny Meazza and they could feel the championship coming to them.
Matthäus was majestic in the first half. He forced Marco Paradisi to make some great saves and hit the crossbar with such force it was questionable if he could break it. He converted a penalty to put Inter at 2-0 and then produced the match moment. Como had the ball about 25 yards from his own goal and went out; Brehme managed a tackle and forced him and pressed Matthäus picked up the ball in the box on the right. He bamboozled the defender in a quick turn, then fired a missile into the net that swung first left and then right of goal. It was a magical moment in a great 4-0 victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu7FFw6ucTw
Inter vs Atalanta, mars 1991, Coupe UEFA
Matthäus was not a fan of movies and stuff. He was not interested in humiliating his opponents; he just wanted to destroy them. So many of its goals are unstoppable.
When Inter won the UEFA Cup in 1991, they faced Atalanta in the quarter-finals. In the first leg, they got a goalless draw in Bergamo by a strong Atalanta side that included Glenn Strömberg and Claudio Caniggia in their ranks.
Halfway through the second half of the return leg it looked like the draw could go all the way to extra time, but Serena scored at 60 minutes to calm Inter’s nerves. Three minutes later, Inter got a free kick from 30 yards away. Giuseppe Bergomi rolled the ball to Matthäus and he dispatched it without acknowledgment of receipt. The rise of the balloon is something seldom achieved with the balloons of the time. Inter won the match and took home the trophy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJHW8Tszgig&t=132s
Inter vs Sampdoria, January 1990, Serie A
Sampdoria had every reason to be confident during their visit to the Meazza in January 1990. They had beaten Inter 2-0 a few months earlier and were in full swing. They would win the Cup Winners’ Cup later in the season and go on to win the Scudetto the following year. They were on a 10-match unbeaten streak and could call on Roberto Mancini, Attilio Lombardo, Gianluca Pagliuca and Gianluca Vialli.
However, this match was dominated by Matthäus. He had scored a brace in the previous game against Bologna, and once again he showed he was a master of the free kick. Inter got a free kick on the left side of the Sampdoria area. The ball was tapped at Matthäus and he shot a shot past Pagliuca at his near post. He scored again 10 minutes later and Inter won 2-0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl8WPLzU2pY
Inter vs Juventus, mars 1991, Serie A
Matthäus had a soft spot for Juventus. With 10 minutes left in the first half of that game, Inter won a free kick at midfield. It was too far even for Matthäus to shoot so he picked Antonio Paganin on the right flank.
Paganin passed the ball through the penalty area to Berti, who was back to goal. The midfielder saw Matthäus come into the box and passed him. The inevitable has happened. Matthäus clinically placed him in the far corner to give Inter the lead. They won the game 2-0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVayQGedOCU&t=180s
Inter vs Roma, October 1989, Serie A
Matthäus opened the scoring in the 3-0 victory over Roma with a header, but it was only the warm-up act. With Inter at 2-0 in the 74th minute, Riccardo Ferri made one of his marauding runs and split the Louve’s defense in two with a nice pass to Matthäus.
He ended up with nothing but green grass in front of him, well, that and an overly engaged Giovanni Cervone, who was now coming out of his goal towards Matthäus. The midfielder calmly tapped the ball to one side of the keeper and ran to the other side before placing it in the goal at a tight angle, much to Curva Nord’s delight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WCeLdwTeM&t=258s
Inter vs Napoli, November 1990, Serie A
Matthäus scored a plethora of free kicks. This one against Napoli is among his best. Many of his free kicks flew to the bottom corner like a shot into a pool, but here he had to hit the ball with enough pace to beat the keeper from 35 yards, all the while knocking him down behind the wall. He managed to put the ball to the side with the right combination of power and spin to beat the hapless Giovani Galli. It was the work of the man in his prime.
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