Former Inter sporting director Marco Branca said Austria striker Marko Arnautovic ‘could have aspired to something more’, but said ‘everyone loved him’ at the Nerazzurri.
The 32-year-old centre-forward scored in the opener of Euro 2020 against North Macedonia and has played in two of three group stage games to help Austria reach the last 16 of the competition.
Arnautovic spent 2009-10 at Inter, when Jose Mourinho’s men picked up a historic Treble, and Branca revealed he was one of the players who celebrated the most, despite playing only three competitive games with the Nerazzurri.
“He almost never played with us, but he was the one who celebrated the Champions League win the most,” Branca told Tuttospor. “Until six in the morning at San Siro.
“He was perfectly integrated in the group. Everyone loved him. I think that year helped him understand many things.
“It made his career. I think he can’t complain. Probably, due to his technical and physical qualities, he could have aspired to something more, but in any case, he did his best.”
Arnautovic moved to FC Twente the following year, before travelling to Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga.
Stints at Stoke City and West Ham United followed, before he moved to Shanghai Port in China, where his current deal expires in December 2022.
Arnautovic has recently been linked with a return to Serie A and Bologna.