Galante, the goal at Napoli and the phone calls that lasted twenty-three years

For Fabio Galante, every Inter trip to Napoli had come to mean an interview request too. His goal in 1997 had become the memory to revisit ahead of the fixture, as the Nerazzurri continued to go without a league win there. Twenty-nine years on, the 18 October episode of Internazionale Morning Club, the club’s podcast, revisits that match and the phone calls that followed for twenty-three years.

Inter arrived top of the table under Gigi Simoni, who had managed Napoli the previous season. Carlo Mazzone was now in charge of the hosts. It was the defender who broke the deadlock: after the goalkeeper parried a free-kick, Simeone headed the ball back into the middle rather than going for goal. Galante headed into an empty net from on the line.

It was his second goal in the opening six league matches: they would remain his only two Serie A goals for Inter. On a day when Ronaldo was not his usual starring self, the second came from a Winter shot that deflected off Turrini and was recorded as an own goal. That 2-0 victory would remain the Nerazzurri’s last league win at Napoli’s San Paolo stadium until 2020, making Galante a regular interviewee for those previewing the fixture.

The run ended on 6 January 2020 with a 3-1 win for Antonio Conte’s Inter, thanks to a Romelu Lukaku brace and a goal from Lautaro Martínez. That victory ended the wait that had begun in 1997, and with it the reason to call Galante every year.