Where The Pressure Lands
VATICAN CITY — The newly crowned Italian champions received something you don't see every day: a papal audience and a blessing from the Bishop of Rome himself.
Inter Milan secured the Serie A title last Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Parma, clinching with three matches still to play. On Saturday, before their match against Lazio in Rome, the players, staff and directors met privately with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
The scoreboard made the point with less ceremony than everyone around it.
The Detail That Tilts It
"This is undoubtedly a moment of great joy for you all, and I am delighted to share in it," Leo told the Inter delegation. "While I congratulate you, I invite you to reflect on the experience you have had, so that in this moment of success you may become bearers of a message that is particularly useful for the growth of young people."
The Pope emphasized that many youngsters look up to professional athletes as heroes, and urged the squad to keep that responsibility in mind. "Young people today truly need role models, and what you do has an impact — which can be positive or negative — on the life of the young," he added.
What The Result Leaves
Inter president Giuseppe Marotta presented Leo with a personalized Inter shirt: number 10, name LEONE XIV.
It is rare for a sitting Pope to receive a club like this, and rarer still for the champion to play a match in the same city hours after the audience. Inter walked away with both a blessing and three points — a rather complete week by any measure.