During the 1971–72 season Football Club Internazionale competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and 1971–72 European Cup.

An ageing squad collapsed in League to the 5th position clinching a UEFA spot for the next year.

In European Cup the club after 4 years returned to the highest continental tournament. In eightfinals the team played against German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, the first leg of the series was a bizarre event. In the seventh minute the Germans score the first thanks to Jupp Heynckes. Twelve minutes later Forward Roberto Boninsegna scored the draw, however few minutes later Ulrik le Fevre made the 2–1.^[1]

At minute 29, Boninsegna on the field side was hit by a Coca-Cola can and felt down over the grass. The squad included head coach Invernizzi, asked the Dutch referee Jef Dorpmans the suspension of the match.^[2][3]

Invernizzi replaced Boninsegna, according to the Inter medical staff.^[4] The Dutch referee ordered the match to be played and in the next 60 minutes the Germans score 5 times thanks to the permisssivness by Inter;.^[5]

Few days later, UEFA annulled the match, rescheduling on 1 December 1971 at Berlin, a neutral venue. Finally, Inter advanced to the quarterfinals after a 4-2 won at San Siro, and a 0–0 score on the replay. The Neroazzurro clinched the 1972 European Cup Final only to be defeated by Johan Cruijff's Ajax with a 0–2 score.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ITA Ivano Bordon — GK  ITA Lido Vieri — DF  ITA Mauro Bellugi — DF  ITA Tarcisio Burgnich — DF  ITA Bernardino Fabbian — DF  ITA Giacinto Facchetti — DF  ITA Mario Giubertoni — DF  ITA Graziano Bini — MF  ITA Gianfranco Bedin — MF  ITA Mario Bertini

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Mario Corso — MF  ITA Mario Frustalupi — MF  ITA Sandro Mazzola — MF  ITA Gabriele Oriali — MF  ITA Evert Skoglund — FW  ITA Roberto Boninsegna — FW  BRA Jair da Costa — FW  ITA Sergio Pellizzaro — FW  ITA Roberto Dioni — FW  ITA Giampiero Ghio

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Torino	30	17	8	5	39	25	+14	42	Qualification to UEFA Cup
4	Cagliari	30	15	9	6	39	23	+16	39
5	Internazionale	30	13	10	7	49	28	+21	36
6	Fiorentina	30	12	12	6	28	20	+8	36
7	Roma	30	13	9	8	37	31	+6	35

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Internazionale	4	2	2	0	9	2	+7	6
2	Varese	4	2	2	0	4	1	+3	6
3	Como	4	2	1	1	4	2	+2	5
4	Brescia	4	1	1	2	4	4	0	3
5	Reggina	4	0	0	4	2	14	−12	0

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		ACM	TOR	INT	JUV
1	Milan	6	4	2	0	7	3	+4	10		—	1–1	1–0	3–2
2	Torino	6	2	2	2	5	7	−2	6		0–0	—	1–0	2–1
3	Internazionale	6	2	0	4	7	6	+1	4		0–1	3–0	—	3–1
4	Juventus	6	2	0	4	8	11	−3	4		0–1	2–1	2–1	—

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Serie A		Coppa		European Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ITA	Lido Vieri	16	-15	16	-15
	DF	ITA	Mauro Bellugi	20	0	20	0
	DF	ITA	Tarcisio Burgnich	27	0	27	0
	DF	ITA	Mario Giubertoni	27	1	27	1
	DF	ITA	Giacinto Facchetti	27	4	27	4
	MF	ITA	Gabriele Oriali	20	0	20	0
	MF	ITA	Gianfranco Bedin	26	3	26	3
	MF	ITA	Mario Bertini	24	4	23+1	4
	MF	ITA	Mario Corso	29	2	29	2
	MF	ITA	Sandro Mazzola	28	7	28	7
	FW	ITA	Roberto Boninsegna	28	22	28	22
	GK	ITA	Ivano Bordon	16	-13	14+2	-13
	FW	BRA	Jair da Costa	17	1	17	1
	FW	ITA	Sergio Pellizzaro	15	2	11+4	2
	MF	ITA	Mario Frustalupi	20	1	9+11	1
	FW	ITA	Giampiero Ghio	9	1	6+3	1
	DF	ITA	Bernardino Fabbian	5	0	2+3	0
	DF	ITA	Graziano Bini	1	0	0+1	0
	MF	ITA	Evert Skoglund
	FW	ITA	Roberto Dioni