Plenty of M's mark Inter's European triumph (News Feature)

By Alberto Cagliano May 23, 2010, 14:34 GMT

Rome - The letter M could be taken as symbol for Inter Milan's Champions League triumph that began in Madrid and culminated in Milan, where exhausted fans and players closed the celebrations early Sunday morning at the Meazza stadium.

Possibly the most crucial M was that of striker Diego Milito, whose brace late Saturday sank Bayern Munich in the Spanish capital and brought his season goal tally to 30.

World champion coach Marcello Lippi, as he took off for a training camp with the Italian national team, said Sunday that 'the victory of Inter in the Champions League was extraordinary.'

He added: 'I'm impressed by Milito. He should be the first candidate to the Golden Ball award. This year he made incredible things, and always decisive.'

The Argentinian's goals widely rewarded president Massimo Moratti - a double M - who last summer bought him from Genoa.

After 45 years, the heir of the Moratti oil-business family was able to lift a continental trophy last won by his late father, Angelo, while lining up a fifth straight Serie A title.

Local media agreed in praising another famed M, that of coach Jose Mourinho, with la Repubblica noting that 'the growth of Inter, their maturation, owe much to Mourinho.'

The controversial coach took the stage amid the celebrations as he seemed to confirm a departure for Real Madrid that Spanish media have long regarded as certain.

After the game, his emotion was evident before the cameras, but what meant even more was his absence from the flight that at 5 am brought the team back in Milan.

Fans have long begun a campaign to convince him to stay, but it appears that it had no effect on the Portuguese's decision to take new challenges in the Spanish Liga.

His claim that he was never at ease in Italy and didn't feel respected by football people and local media has split commentators.

Some claim that he feared he would not be able to keep winning with Inter, while others, and of course Inter fans, agree with his criticism of Italian football, both as it is played and discussed.

Money - possibly the king of all M's - seems to be no issue for Mourinho, who will earn just about as his current 5 million euros (6.3 million dollars) per season wherever he goes.

But money may have had a role in the successes of Inter, as Moratti is said to have spent around 800 million euros since he bought the club in 1995.