THIS DAY IN Ipswich Town: What is the current status of the Blues team, who defeated Inter Milan?

This day in 2001 saw the Blues defeat Inter Milan, one of the biggest teams in Italy, 1-0 at Portman Road in the UEFA Cup. Ross Halls examines the current whereabouts of the team from that evening.

The Blues, who had previously won the competition in 1981, had already eliminated Torpedo Moscow and Helsingborg to advance to the third round.

With the help of Alun Armstrong’s game-winning goal, Town defeated a team that included players such as Javier Zanetti and Clarence Seedorf in the first leg of the match.

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Town would lose the second leg, though, as the Italians fielded a formidable squad that featured Christian Vieri, who scored a hat-trick in the 4-1 loss at San Siro, and Ronaldo.

MATTEO SERENI

The Italian goalkeeper, who paid £4.5 million to join the Blues from Sampdoria, remains the club’s record signing, but his career didn’t quite pan out.

During his one season at Portman Road, he made a total of 33 appearances. However, he left the team after the Premier League relegated them, initially joining Brescia on loan before signing a permanent contract with Lazio in July 2003.

Sereni retired from football in 2011 after playing for four years at Lazio, a brief stint at Torino, and Brescia.

Chris Makin

Before departing the Blues in the summer of 2004 to sign with Leicester City, the defender made 92 appearances for the team.

Before retiring from football in 2008, he had stints at Derby, Reading, and Southampton. In 2010, he made a brief return to the game by joining Radcliffe Borough.

Makin, who has been a pundit covering the English-language local leagues for the past 12 years while residing in Qatar, recently spoke with us about his time at Town.

TITU SMITH

After the Blues were relegated, the defender, who was born in Ipswich, left the team and signed a £6 million contract with Bobby Robson’s Newcastle United.

After playing in the top division for five years at Newcastle United, he also had stints at Wigan and Sunderland. He retired from professional football in 2013.

At the moment, Bramble primarily resides in Dubai, where he works as a soccer school coach and represents Akwaaba Volunteers in Ghana.

MARVEL VENUS

During his six-year tenure, the defender made just under 200 appearances for the team.

In order to spend some time at Cambridge United in the summer of 2003, he left the Blues and entered the coaching profession. For numerous clubs, he was Tony Mowbray’s backup defender when he was a Town player.

Venus and Mowbray have collaborated on projects at Sunderland, Hibernian, West Brom, Celtic, Middlesbrough, Coventry City, and Blackburn Rovers.

HERMAN HREIDARSSON

The popular Icelandic player, who made over 100 appearances while at Portman Road and was another high-profile signing, left the team when Town entered administration.

After being acquired by Charlton Athletic, he played for a while at Portsmouth and Coventry before ending his career back in his home country of Iceland.

Since then, Hreidarrson has entered the management field. He most recently worked as Sol Cambpell’s assistant manager at Southend United. Currently, Hreidarrson is the manager of IBV, the Finnish team he grew up playing for.

JAMIE CLAPHAM

After leaving Spurs in 1998 to join Town, the full-back made over 250 appearances for the team while he was at Portman Road. Armstrong’s game-winning header was set up by him crossing the ball in.

After leaving the team in January 2003 to play for Birmingham City, he went on to play for Wolves, Leeds, Leicester, Notts County, Lincoln City, and Kettering Town before calling it a day.

At Loughborough University, Clapham is the men’s head coach at the moment.

JEREMAIN WRIGHT

After replacing Kieron Dyer in July 1999, the midfielder moved from Crewe to the team, where he played for more than 200 games.

The summer of 2006 saw him depart Town for Leeds United, following stints at Southampton and Blackpool. 2011 saw him retire from football following a brief stint with non-league team Lewes.

Wright has two sons who went on to play football: Diaz, who left Colchester in 2021 and is currently without a club, and Drey, who plays for St Johnstone in Scotland.

SIXTO PERALTA

The Argentine’s performances while on loan were a bright spot amidst the darkness of relegation, even though he was playing against his parent club.

He would never be a long-term member of the Town team; instead, he relocated to Argentina and then to Mexico before joining CFR Cluj in Romania.

After having stints in Chile, Peralta ended his career there in 2014 and has since moved back to his home country of Argentina with his family.

HOLLAND, MATT

 

During his six years at Portman Road, Captain Fantastic played in over 300 games. He is the last player to have led the team to the Premier League.

In the summer of 2003, he left the team to play in the top division with Charlton Athletic. He played more than 200 games for the Addicks before giving up football in 2009.

Holland can currently be seen on Town TV covering Championship games this season. He also works as a pundit for a number of platforms.

PABLO COUNAGO

After joining the team that summer, the Spaniard scored 61 goals in his two stints at Town, quickly becoming another fan favorite.

Following a loan stint at Crystal Palace, he left the team in the summer of 2011 and went on to play in Finland, Vietnam, and Hong Kong before concluding his career in Spain.

After spending a few games at Portman Road during the previous season, Counago is currently searching for his next coaching opportunity while spending time with his family in Spain.

RICARD NAYLOR

Throughout his lengthy tenure at Town, the defender or forward made over 300 appearances after rising through the youth academy.

He left the team in the summer of 2009 to play for Leeds United, and he would later have stints at Rotherham United and Doncaster Rovers to round out his career.

Naylor is Hull City’s academy chief at the moment.

THE GOALSCORER

After moving from Middlesbrough to the club in December 2000, Alun Armstrong played 94 games at Portman Road and scored 19 goals.

After just four minutes on the field as Richard Naylor’s replacement in the 77th minute, he brilliantly headed home the game-winning goal against the Italian powerhouses.

After leading Darlington for four years as manager of the National League North, Armstrong departed the team in 2004 and was fired in September.