Happy birthday, Diego Milito

Diego Milito, who scored 75 goals in 171 matches for Inter, turns 45 today. His runs with his arms outstretched while collecting the applause of the Nerazzurri fans are truly memorable, just like Inter's glorious 2009/10 campaign. Goals, incredible pieces of play and matches that went down in history.

RONALDO, MEAZZA... MILITO

Thanks to his performances and goals, Milito won the hearts of the Nerazzurri faithful, who, in 2020, voted to induct him into the Inter Hall of Fame after two huge figures in the Club's history: Ronaldo and Giuseppe Meazza.

GOALS IN FINALS

In the collective memory of the Nerazzurri fans, he'll forever remain the Prince who, on that wonderful night in Madrid, delivered an extraordinary fairy tale. In total, he scored 30 goals in Inter's triumphant season in 2009/10, four of which were particularly crucial on the way to the Treble: his perfect finish in the Scudetto-deciding clash against Siena, his right-footed strike against Roma in the Coppa Italia final, and his historic and unforgettable brace against Bayern Munich in Madrid to clinch the biggest trophy of all: the Champions League.

ARGENTINA AND ITALIAN ORIGINS

Born in Bernal on 12 June 1979, Diego Milito grew up with a ball at his feet and the desire to challenge and conquer the world. It was a passion that guided him, first to Racing de Avellaneda's youth sector and then to Europe, where he initially played for Genoa before moving to Zaragoza. After another season at Genoa, where he truly shone, destiny brought him to Inter. Italy was part of his story even before he arrived in the country: his paternal grandparents' hometown was Terranova da Sibari, Calabria.

BAYERN MUNICH 0-2 INTER: HIS BRACE

"For the second goal you need to rewind the tape all the way back to 2001: Racing 2-0 Lanus, the penultimate day of the Apertura," said Milito in the Letters to Inter format.

"I'd held that bit of play in my mind for nine years: it was at El Cilindro de Avellaneda, I squared up to the defender, pretended that I was going to bend one into the top corner, but instead cut it back with my right. I hit it with the outside of my foot, crossbar, and Chatruc tucked away the rebound. My drop of the shoulder to beat Van Buyten in Madrid was identical to that one nine years earlier: I was just better at keeping the ball at the right distance to open up my body and slot it in at far post. In that moment I would have liked to embrace every Nerazzurri fan across the world."

DESTINY

On 1 November 2015, while wearing the Racing shirt, Milito bagged brace against Crucero before being substituted with ten minutes to go. The man who replaced him was none other than current Nerazzurri captain Lautaro Martinez, who made his professional debut that day.