For Giuseppe Bergomi it was just too much. As the Italian paid tribute to his friend and former Inter teammate, Andi Brehme, the emotion got the better of him. His usual unflappable confidence and calmness disappeared, he hid his chiselled jawline behind his hands and sobbed. “I can only say that he was a true friend and teammate, a great person both on and off the pitch,” said Bergomi. “We had a special friendship. I was very close to him. We will miss him a lot.”
Brehme’s death at the age of 63 came as a shock and led to tributes from across the world. This was the footballer who scored the goal that gave West Germany victory over Argentina in the World Cup final in 1990. Everybody knew him for that penalty in Rome and, of course, as one of the “Three Germans” at Inter in an era that is now long gone but so well remembered. He enjoyed great success at Kaiserslautern and Bayern Munich, winning league titles with both German clubs, but Inter fans will find his passing especially hard to bear. He encapsulated a golden era in Italy, where Inter stood tall in a league of superstars.
For me, Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthäus and later Jürgen Klinsmann started everything. These three German players, along with the great Italians in Giovanni Trapattoni’s team – Walter Zenga, “Beppe” Bergomi, Nicola Berti, Riccardo Ferri and many more – changed my life forever. My father brought me back an Inter shirt from Milan in 1988 and that was it.
Seeing that team play was like watching football from another world. It started my love affair with Inter, which continues to this day. Channel 4’s superb show Football Italia and more trips to Milan than I can remember kept the dream alive. That team is the reason I speak Italian (not very well). Everything that followed started there. Now, I host the Inter podcast and work with Inter TV but, no matter what happens – the treble, the league titles, the incredible moments with ultras or interviews with players – nothing compares to the early years.
I interviewed Bergomi in 2015 and asked him about the Inter team from that era. We were standing under the Curva Nord in an empty San Siro and he enthused about the professionalism and drive of the German players. He smiled when it came to “Andi”. I told him that on my first visit to San Siro, I missed everything I should have taken in because I just wanted to see the spot where Brehme had struck his goal against the Netherlands at Italia 90.
Bergomi smiled and explained how important that game had been for the Inter players – that it was like a Milan derby. Brehme, Matthäus and Klinsmann taking on Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit. Those really were the days. These memories shaped my life and those of football fans all over the globe.
I had the chance to interview Brehme in 2018. Looking back, I wish I had done a better job as I had so much to ask him, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and time was so short it was impossible. One thing that was clear: he loved Trapattoni, Italy and the Curva Nord, which was imprinted on his heart.
For those who are too young to remember Brehme play, there is so much to tell. This was a modern wing-back playing in an era where they didn’t really exist. He was two footed – he genuinely did not know which was his better foot, so much so that he scored penalties with both feet at World Cups. He was sublime going forward and also stubborn and intelligent at the back.
Brehme is perhaps under-appreciated outside of Germany and Italy. When he and Matthäus signed for Inter in 1988, they dominated a league where Napoli had Maradona and Careca, Sampdoria had Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, Fiorentina boasted Roberto Baggio, Milan had the three Dutchmen, Torino had Müller, and Roma had Giuseppe Giannini and Rudi Völler.
Inter raced to the title in 1988-89 with a record points haul in the era of two points for a win. They were powerful, majestic and professional. Telling the story of that season would fill a book. Despite all the attacking talent in the league, Brehme won the Serie A player of the year award in 1989.
The goals he produced were incredible. Inter compiled a top 10 and it showcases his brilliance off both feet. The right-footed volley against Pisa from 20 yards out has no right to pass through the crowd. The left-footed chip against Roma would make an elite forward proud. And his goal against Lecce swerves both ways before crashing in. That’s before we get to his thunderous free-kicks.
Inter players from that era gave emotional statements this week. The message was clear: he was not just a teammate but a real friend. He loved and followed the club until the end. He holds a place in all of the Nerazzurri hearts so perhaps it is best to leave the last words to Inter themselves, whose tribute to Brehme read: “With him goes a piece of us. Goodbye Andy.”