Massimo Moratti

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Massimo Moratti

Born	May 16, 1946 (1946-05-16) (age 62) Bosco Chiesanuova, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Oil businessman
Spouse	Emilia Bossi
Children	5

Massimo Moratti (born May 16, 1945 in Bosco Chiesanuova) is an Italian oil tycoon. He is the owner and president of the Serie A football club Internazionale .

[edit] Life and career

He is the son of the beloved Angelo Moratti, who was owner and president during Inter's golden age in the 1960s. He has one child, born 1970. It has long been the younger Moratti's ambition to restore Inter to the heights they once knew under his father. He has to date fallen short of that goal, winning 1 UEFA Cup (1998), 3 Scudetto/Serie A (2006, 2007, 2008), 2 Coppa Italia (2005, 2006) and 2 Supercoppa Italiana (2005, 2006). The Scudetto victory of 2005/6 was, itself, controversial. Inter finished third in Serie A, but were awarded the title following the punishment of Juventus F.C. and A.C. Milan for their involvement in Italy's high profile match-fixing scandal. However, Inter has since clinched the 2007 Serie A title, with an impressive run of 17 consecutive victories, a record that stand among other top european league competition.

Moratti has been criticized among Inter fans for his mixed success in the transfer market. He released Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf to hated rivals A.C. Milan, and the two players have since been integral to the latter's success. Fans have also criticized Moratti for allowing some of the recent signings at Inter, such as Cesar, and his continued retention of Alvaro Recoba. The Inter fanbase was also divided at the end of the 2006 summer transfer window when persistent rumours of an Adriano-Ronaldo swap persisted, with no denial from Moratti nor the coach Mancini about them. The release of Obafemi Martins has also caused the Inter fans to express some dismay, leaving the club with three strikers over the age of 30 for the start of the 06/07 Serie A season.

Moratti has spent around $400 million in the transfer market, exceeded only by Roman Abramovich of Chelsea F.C.. There have been nine coaches under his ownership, the last coach being Roberto Mancini, who was fired from his post in late May 2008 after winning three consecutive domestic championships. [1] In July 1999, Moratti sanctioned a then world-record €48m purchase of striker Christian Vieri and has since purchased numerous superstars including Ronaldo, Adriano, Hernán Crespo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Julio Cruz, Patrick Vieira and Juan Verón.