I’m a 100-year-old Inter superfan… I’d give up my pension to see them beat AC Milan
A 100-YEAR-OLD Inter Milan fan says he would give up his pension to see them beat rivals AC tonight – despite only recently watching his beloved team live for the first time.
Both sides are also battling it out in Serie A this season with just two points separate Inter in fourth and Stefano Pioli’s side in fifth.
But they take their domestic rivalry onto the continent later in what promises to be a tasty Champions League semi-final first leg at the San Siro.
Inter supporter Enrico Vanzini only went to the club’s iconic stadium to watch them play for the first time last year at the age of 99.
But the Holocaust survivor is preparing to watch this evening’s huge showdown with Milan from the nursing home he lives at in the northern city of Padua.
Speaking to Reuters, Vanzini said: “My passion began when I was seven… I was never able to go, and I had no money.
“I prayed to God to give me the joy of Inter winning, and hopefully he will agree.
“I would do anything (for a win), including (giving up) my small pension.”
Vanzini was a soldier in the Italian army during World War Two and was captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war after Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943.
He managed to survive for the final few months of war in the Dachau Nazi concentration camp and would later work as a bus and truck driver after finally returning home.
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Vanzini received his signed Inter shirt from the club to mark his 100th birthday and has now learned how to use an iPad to follow his favourite team.
He said: “In the past, I used to visit friends who had a television … and if I was driving the bus I used to tell people: ‘Don’t shout please, I have to listen to something’.”
Vanzini is also a huge admirer of manager Simone Inzaghi and had one last message for his heroes: “In the first half, we must not get too tired, everyone must be in their place.”