Inter Milan enjoyed the greatest season in their 100-plus year history in 2009/10, when manager Jose Mourinho led the Nerazzurri to the club’s first-ever treble.
The achievement was secured when Inter saw off Bayern Munich 2-0 thanks to a Diego Milito brace in the Champions League final, but the chance to seal their place in the history books only came after an epic semi-final battle against a star-packed Barcelona side.
Mourinho’s men, led by skipper and club legend Javier Zanetti, were able to come back from a goal down at the San Siro to claim a 3-1 first-leg advantage, but were well aware of the task facing them at Camp Nou in the return fixture.
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Zanetti details how ten-man Inter held off Barcelona
Zanetti – who made more than 850 appearances for Inter and was ranked at no.96 in FourFourTwo’s list of the sport’s best-ever players – picks up the story.
“A week later came the ultimate test: the Camp Nou,” he tells FourFourTwo. “You could feel that Barcelona were going to try to turn the tie around, that every home fan that night was convinced they could beat us. The tifo display that their supporters unveiled before kick-off was beautiful.
“But just like against Chelsea, Jose Mourinho kept us all calm. He was convinced, 3-1 down after the first match, that Barça needed a magical night to beat us – if it happened, we would accept it. Maybe our opponents were under additional pressure because the final was at the Bernabeu, but we didn’t think about that. We just focused on doing our job.
“In the 28th minute, our challenge became huge – Thiago Motta was sent off. I told the referee that a red card was way too much – Motta didn’t want to harm Sergio Busquets, he simply put his arm out to protect the ball.
“When we saw Busquets exaggerating with his reaction, we felt a great injustice had been done. Suddenly, it was like climbing Everest: at the Camp Nou, with 10 men, and against a team full of legendary players. We had to give more than just football – we needed character, personality and pride. That red card made us mentally strong. We gave everything, we left our souls on the pitch.”
Zanetti credits this Herculean effort to his manager and the preparation that Mourinho instilled in his squad.
“It was the best defensive performance of our careers, but we were prepared for it,” he continues. “That season, Mourinho made us train multiple times with 10 men against 11, to get used to suffering if that situation occurred. He knew that at some stage we’d have to face this challenge, and it happened in a Champions League semi-finals.
“We’d repeat exercises with four defenders and two midfielders being tormented by eight or nine players. It wasn’t easy to surprise us. Do you know why? Because all of the pressure is on the attacker. When you come up against an organised block, it’s difficult to find space. That’s what we did in Barcelona.”
