That will be the third time in Appiano for Oriali who was the first team player from 1970 to 1983 and then team manager with Massimo Moratti from 1999 to 2010, ending that cycle with a treble in his name. This time, he is going to be the team manager, the role that the 66-year-old has done very well since 2014 when Conte was the coach of the national team. Antonio was the one that convinced FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio to hire Oriali.
Two years ago, the Zhang family strongly considered Oriali’s return when there was the possibility of getting close to Conte. Oriali has black and blue in his DNA, beloved by the fans and symbol of a winning Inter. Lele was and is the right man to convey the sense of belonging to the colors and cement the relationship between the dressing room and management. Back then, there was a meeting with sporting director Piero Ausilio but nothing happened.
But now, 9 years later, Oriali will be able to forget the disappointment he felt two months after that Madrid night when Moratti decided to let him go, something that he did not accept: “There is no trust in me,” he said. “They made choices that I do not agree with, they took me out of this club.” Thus ended a very happy marriage.
On the pitch, Oriali won two Scudetti and two Coppa Italia titles and as a team manager, he worked side by side with Mancini and then Jose Mourinho. He was Mou’s right hand man and the fans still remember until today the images of Camp Nou after losing to Barcelona 1-0, enough to move on to play in the Champions League final in Madrid. Jose was celebrating with the traveling fans, Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes did not take it well and so he tried to stop him. It was Lele that separated both of them and continued to celebrate with the players and the fans. Inter then won the Champions League title at the Bernabue where Oriali also won the 1982 World Cup. Then, Mourinho left and Lele followed him soon after.
Now with five years working in the Italian national team behind him, he is returning to Inter and will find Conte in the dugout. One is a Juventino but always a great professional, the other is always an Interista. When Tavecchio appointed him as team manager, Lele said that “the beauty is that I only met Conte on TV. As an analyst at the time, I asked him a few questions but as midfielders, we understand each other very well. Antonio is not just a motivator, he teaches football and makes players better.”