Goalkeeper Andre Onana gave a final interview as an Inter player and explained why the Nerazzurri have come to mean so much to him. The Cameroon international is expected to join Manchester United later today, but speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he explained why he’ll always cheer for Inter and why he has chosen to leave this summer.
How are you before you leave, Onana?
“I am very well, I recharged at home, in Cameroon, and then I saw my teammates again in Appiano. Now I really want to start this new experience, which is exciting and with a coach who is a master for me. I am going to a great league and a great club, which has a huge history just like Inter: I am starting from scratch and I will give everything every day to show the new fans who I am. But…”
But… What?
“But a part of my heart is sad, I must admit: leaving Inter means leaving a family, not a normal team. I realised that being Inter is really a way of being in the world, of living life…’.
If Inter is really a family, why make this decision and leave?
“The important thing is to be honest and always tell people the truth. I am a person who always wants new challenges. Playing in the Premier League and for a club like United is irresistible. All parties wanted this to happen…. But what matters is that, even if I had stayed, I would have been equally happy because at Inter I never had any problems. On the contrary, a magic was born in Milan that is almost difficult to explain’.
What do you mean exactly?
“I’m really talking about magic, a spark with the environment. I know I can travel the world, but it will be difficult to find fans like that and a curva like the one at Inter. San Siro and the Nerazzurri fans gave me unique emotions that I won’t forget for the rest of my life. In some matches we were one: I had the feeling that I wasn’t playing in a team of 11, but in 80,000. Being able to experience it from the inside was a privilege that football and life have given me”.
The last time in the Nerazzurri was in Istanbul: after more than a month, what remains of that night?
“Pride and sadness. You don’t know how much I would have liked to bring the cup to Milan, to celebrate it with our people. We came close to touching it, we would have deserved it: we played against City with our heads held high, only details were missing, but that’s football… Personally I hope to win the Champions League with United, but I hope Inter will also play a final and win it. All the fans deserve it, both those who came to Istanbul and made us play as if we were at home, and those who pushed and will continue to push from outside.
What moment remains for you from last season?
“So many images: the debut, the first saves in the Champions League. Perhaps the most exciting week was the Champions League semi-finals, for what it meant for the city and the fans: there I really felt the stadium shake. It was also nice to celebrate the Coppa Italia with my teammates by singing and dancing.
Is Inter really the thing you expected when you arrived?
‘I knew I was going to a big club, with great players, but I found more. Even if the league didn’t go our way, the Champions League brought us together. They call it ‘crazy Inter’: maybe because I’m a bit crazy myself, but it’s the most beautiful definition in the world…’.
Which teammates have you remained closest to?
“I have a great relationship with everyone, I can name real friends like Calhanoglu, Cordaz, Romelu and Dumfries. But I want to mention another one, Samir Handanovic: his task was not easy, but he was always correct with me. His advice and teachings made me better and I will keep them with me, they will help me in this new adventure in Manchester’.
By the way, there is a great tradition of goalkeepers there, from Schmeichel to Van der Sar to De Gea…
“Yes, being chosen to continue this tradition makes me proud and responsible: I want to win trophies with my new teammates”.
A last message to leave to the Inter world?
“‘Thank you’ is the word I want to use: I say it to all the workers at the Pinetina and the club, the directors, the president, the coach, my teammates. But above all to the fans: I felt they really loved me. I played in Milan one year, but I’ll be an Inter fan forever: now I’ll be cheering in front of the TV. I wish Inter to immediately win the Scudetto that we have been missing: I know how much everyone wants the second star, I hope the time has come to put it on my chest!”
But you know those who leave Inter often want to return…?
“Who knows, life is unpredictable, maybe one day I’ll come back too…. And, if it ever happens, I’m sure people will embrace me as they do now because they have got to know me. In the meantime, I will not stop singing that chorus that I like so much: “For all those kilometres I have travelled with you, International you must win…” (he is also quite in tune, ed).
