Pazza Collezione! A look inside Ciaran Crilly’s extraordinary collection of Inter Milan memorabilia

CalcioEngland,

Ciaran Crilly’s passion for Inter Milan and Italian football runs far deeper than mere fandom. It is a long-distance love affair, marked by countless air miles, enduring relationships, rare memorabilia, and a deep connection to football history. 

In this interview, Ciaran invites us into his world, sharing stories behind the rare items he has secured, and his ongoing pursuit of the objects that bring him closer to the game he loves. 

How did your interest in Inter and Italian football begin? 

Ciaran’s passion for Italian football began in 1986, with a trip that would spark a lifelong love affair with Inter Milan. At the time, as a reward for passing his 11-plus exams, Ciaran’s father had planned to take him to the FA Cup Final. But for the young boy from Belfast, the chance to see Napoli’s Diego Maradona in the flesh was the dream. 

In an era before low-cost air travel, flights from Belfast to Italy were few and far between. The practical solution? A flight to Milan and a ticket for the match between Inter and Napoli at the iconic San Siro.  

The result – a thrilling Inter victory over the champions elect – was a catalyst, but it was the experience itself, the energy of San Siro, and the passion of the fans that captured Ciaran’s heart. From that moment, his connection to Inter Milan was sealed. 

Nearly 40 years later, Ciaran is now a dedicated season ticket holder, regularly flying from the UK to Milan to watch his beloved Nerazzurri in action. “People think it’s crazy,” he says, “but it’s no different from fans who travel from Ireland to watch Premier League games. It’s all about the love for the game and the team.” 

How did the interest in memorabilia develop? 

“I’ve always had the collector’s bug,” Ciaran admits with a smile. 

His fascination with memorabilia started early, with the humble matchday programme serving as his gateway into the world of collectibles. At first, his focus was on his local team, Crusaders, but it wasn’t long before the broader world of football memorabilia caught his eye. “The irony of supporting one team in red and black and another in blue and black isn’t lost on me!” he laughs. 

As a child, Ciaran was less concerned with the rarity or quality of items – he simply wanted to gather as much as he could. However, as he entered his teens and twenties, his collecting tastes evolved. He began to focus on memorabilia related to the now-defunct Belfast Celtic, a club dissolved in 1960. To track down rare items, he would place classified ads in local newspapers and venture out on sometimes perilous trips to meet sellers in pubs and neighborhoods across . 

“Belfast was a very different place back then,” Ciaran reflects. “Looking back, it was incredibly risky; I could have easily walked into a set-up.” 

By the mid-2000s, Ciaran’s focus shifted towards Inter Milan memorabilia, marking the beginning of new chapter in his collecting journey. 

So what’s in the Italian collection? 

“I’m less interested in modern memorabilia; items from the mid-1990s onwards hold little interest for me,” Ciaran begins.  

His true passion lies in the earlier eras of Italian football, particularly the pre-World War II period. These items, as one might expect, are the hardest to come by. Memorabilia from Inter’s scudetto years in the 1940s and 1950s, and anything relating to the Grande Inter team of the 1960s is held in high regard too. 

“The challenge of finding these rare items is a big part of the fun for me,” he notes, as his enthusiasm for the process becomes apparent. 

The core of Ciaran’s collection includes autographs, original photographs, and postcards from these key eras. “I love items that have context, that tell a story,” he explains. This focus on historical narrative extends beyond just the iconic objects – his collection also includes medals, posters, and clothing. 

One particularly prized item is a postcard sent from New York’s Grand Central Station in 1949. Signed by the entire Inter Milan squad, including Amedeo Amedei and István Nyers, it marks a historic moment from the club’s first-ever overseas tour. For Ciaran, it’s more than just a piece of memorabilia—it’s a tangible link to a bygone era in football history. 

And how do you source these rare items? 

Ciaran employs a variety of methods to build his collection, each suited to the rarity and era of the items he’s seeking. Online auctions are often the starting point for sourcing more common memorabilia from the 1980s and 1990s. For rarer pieces, traditional auction houses – particularly those in Italy – provide access to a different tier of rare memorabilia. 

But it’s Ciaran’s extensive network of personal contacts that gives him an edge in the competitive world of memorabilia collecting. Over the years, he’s cultivated long-standing relationships with antique dealers in Milan, many of whom offer him first refusal on highly desirable items. His reputation as a serious, trustworthy collector has also opened doors to more exclusive sources, including direct dealings with the families of former Inter players and other collectors. 

This network doesn’t just help him find rare items, it also underpins the authenticity and provenance of his collection. Ciaran explains that it’s generally easier to verify the authenticity of photographs and autographs, thanks to recognisable markers like the type of ink or paper used. Shirts, on the other hand, can be trickier to authenticate. 

“Things have become much harder since COVID,” Ciaran reflects. The landscape of football memorabilia has shifted in recent years, with an influx of North American collectors into the market. Although not a key component of his own collection, the prices of stickers and cards have escalated sharply in recent years. A Giuseppe Meazza cigarette card, generally regarded as his “rookie card”, recently fetched $80,000 whereas it might have sold for as little as $100 just a few years ago. 

Another notable shift in the market is the growing emphasis on individual players over teams. Ciaran offers an example: “An original photograph of Giuseppe Meazza would sell for significantly more than an equivalent photo of the entire Inter squad, even with Meazza in it. Personally, I’d much rather have the latter—a photograph of the team in context, rather than just one star.” 

Do you have a favourite item in your collection? 

Ciaran begins with a confession: “I have to admit, my favourite item probably doesn’t even relate to Italian football!” 

In 2021, when the personal estate of football legend Alfredo Di Stefano was auctioned by his family, the collecting world went into a frenzy. Among the items up for sale, Ciaran secured one of the most iconic pieces: Di Stefano’s winner’s medal from the 1960 European Cup Final. Real Madrid’s 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park marked their fifth consecutive European Cup title, with Di Stefano scoring a memorable hat-trick in the match. The historical significance of this medal transcends club allegiances, making it one of Ciaran’s most treasured pieces, so much so that it surpasses even the European Cup winners’ medals of Inter players in his collection. 

However, when it comes to Italian football, Ciaran’s favourite item is a little more unusual. It’s a unique artefact from the career of Italian international Giuseppe Moro, who played for nearly two decades, spanning the 1930s through to the 1950s. During his career, Moro diligently populated a notebook with over 500 autographs from teammates and opponents alike. This collection of signatures includes the names of Inter legends, Italian heroes, and World Cup winners; a one-of-a-kind piece that holds a special place in Ciaran’s heart. 

What’s the one item that got away? 

Ciaran is quick to put things into perspective: “Collecting isn’t an obsession for me. If I had to choose between keeping my collection and continuing to watch Inter games, I’d always choose the latter. That’s not the case for many collectors,” he reflects. “And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more relaxed about missing out on certain items.” 

Still, there’s one particular piece from earlier this year that lingers in his mind. It was a postcard sent from Lisbon to Turin, signed by the entire Grande Torino squad just hours before the team tragically perished in the Superga air disaster. The postcard was listed at auction with a guide price of 500 euros, and Ciaran felt confident that his bid would be enough to secure it. However, the item eventually sold for a staggering 15,000 euros (including fees), far beyond what he’d anticipated. 

What is the missing item that would complete your collection? 

For Ciaran, the answer is clear: “It would have to be a Giuseppe Meazza shirt,” he reveals, noting that two specific examples top his wish list. 

The first is Meazza’s iconic Ambrosiana-Inter shirt from the 1930/31 season. This particular shirt stands out for its distinctive black and white chequered collar, a design unique to that period, and for the fact that Meazza scored an impressive 24 goals that season. 

The other prized item would be Meazza’s shirt worn during the 1938 World Cup Quarter-Final. Due to a kit clash with the host nation, France, Italy donned all-black shirts for the match. Meazza, as captain, led the Azzurri on their way to their second World Cup title, a moment of great historical significance for Italian football. 

What are your future plans for the collection? 

Ciaran explains, “I’m currently between homes in Belfast, but the long-term plan is to create a dedicated room to properly display my collection.” 

While many of the more valuable items are safely stored away at the moment, Ciaran envisions a special focus on the 2010 Champions League victory, which he attended in person. At the heart of this section of his collection is a striking large-scale model of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, the venue for that memorable final. The model, which features 80,000 individual seats, was originally on display in the Real Madrid museum until 2015, when it made its way into Ciaran’s hands. 

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Published by CalcioEngland

Writing about all things Italian football ⚽️ 🇮🇹; past and present. From a little corner of England... @CalcioEngland on Twitter

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