Inter and AC Milan Rule Boston for a Weekend

By Brian Lofrumento | 28th July 2009

Inter and AC Milan Rule Boston for a Weekend | read this item

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inter-milan-in-niketown This summer football fans in America got a glimpse of some of the world’s top talents and teams during the World Football Challenge. Chelsea, Club America, AC Milan, and Inter Milan all arrived in America to massive crowds, high expectations, and lots of fun for everyone. With Premiership Talk based in Boston, we witnessed first hand how the Italian giants consumed everyone in and around the Boston area for a weekend.

Read on for a tale that takes you into the lives of two of football’s most historic clubs and what it’s like to be behind the scenes as a member of the press.

Saturday, July 25

The day before the match, Inter Milan made an appearance at Niketown in Boston. On the densely populated Newbury Street you could feel the buzz of the Italian champions, and the line was throughout the store and out the front door onto the street. Inside, Jose Mourinho, Maicon, Julio Cesar, and Inter captain Javier Zanetti held a short press conference and then signed autographs for the hundreds of fans waiting. The press conference was dull in all honesty, with the only major announcement coming from Mourinho. The “special one” stated his desire to manage in the USA one day.

While my Premiership Talk colleague Zain Alvi, PT photographer Faraaz Naqvi, and myself were basking in our football glory outside of Niketown getting a feel for the atmosphere, we were excited that people were all approaching the store eager to get a glimpse of the superstars that were inside.

“Who is inside here?” asked an innocent looking American mother. You could tell this woman didn’t want to miss out on anything spectacular, and the crowd outside suggested inside was some spectacle.

“Jose Mourinho, Julio Cesar, Maicon…” was immediately blurted out by Zain. Before he finished his sentence, though, the blank stare on this woman’s face was there for all to see.

Sensing her frustration, Faraaz, in his thick British accent, tried to alleviate the problem. “Football players,” he explained to the befuddled tourist. After a brief spell of further confusion, I couldn’t help myself. “It’s just soccer players,” I retorted.

Ahhh, only soccer players. Problem solved. Nothing to see here, and the mother and her family moved on. After all, it’s only the special one and co.

From there, we proceeded to downtown Boston and the financial district. We figured that on a day full of football, a nice outdoor lunch at an Irish pub in Boston would suit the mood well. When we arrived at the pub, the autograph session on Newbury Street was just wrapping up, so we were almost the first patrons there.

An excellent meal was topped off with constant football conversation as we debated the effectiveness of Nicklas Bendtner, the surprise (still) of Newcastle’s relegation, and Michael Owen’s potential to bag loads of goals for Manchester United.

Towards of the end of the meal we were delighted to see even more football fans wandering the streets of Boston, with Inter Milan and AC Milan jerseys becoming the norm in the city for the day.

With the conclusion of Inter’s appearance at Niketown and our stomachs filled, Faraaz and I headed back to the car to head south to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, where only hours later both teams would be taking the pitch in front of the media for a training session and some interviews.

Stay tuned to Premiership Talk for more stories about a Jose Mourinho training session, AC Milan’s scrimmage, and interactions with the players and staff of both teams.