MILAN – A ceremony is to be held at Palazzo Lombardia this evening to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Inter's 1964 European Cup victory. In the spectacular setting of the Sala Belvedere, on the top floor of the 39-storey skyscraper in Piazza Città di Lombardia, Milan, the event will see the president of the Lombardy Region and the councillors for Sport and Culture host the Nerazzurri stars of that glorious season.
Mario Corso will be among those attending today. Ahead of the ceremony he turned back the pages of time to review that historic year with us. Fifty years may have passed but Mario Corso still talks about it as if it were yesterday.
What was Inter's squad like in 1963/64?
"A close-knit group. A team that went on to win everything starting that year couldn't be anything but: solid, united and packed with star players. Then there was president Angelo Moratti, who managed to bring it all together. That's where it all began."
Starting with the European Cup. Let's look back at how you won that competition.
'You have to remember that back then there were only knockout ties. No group stage or anything like that. You won or you were out. We started with Everton and drew 0-0 up in Liverpool, but it was a tough match. It always was against the English sides, they made it hard for you mentally too. Then in the return we won 1-0."
And you were drawn against Monaco.
"The first leg finished 1-0 in Milan, and the return was played in Marseille because there were problems with Monaco's ground. We won it 3-0 with a brace from Mazzola and one from Suarez."
The quarter-final was in Belgrade.
'Yes, against Partizan: we edged that game 2-0 with Jair getting the first and Mazzola adding the second right at the end, but afterwards there was a pitch invasion. Everyone fled the pitch but Picchi and Guarneri stayed on to face the crowd. You always had a very heated atmosphere in Belgrade. Jair and I netted in the return."
In the semis you went to Germany and scored again.
"That's right, against Borussia. We were losing but managed to get ourselves back in it. All the goals came in the first half: Mazzola grabbed the opener then Brungs netted two and I pegged them back to 2-2. The return in Milan was no contest. We wanted to get into the final and that's what we did."
Finally, the 3-1 victory over Real Madrid.
"They were a legendary side, even if they were in decline. They had an incredible attack line: Di Stefano, Puskas and all the others. It's obviously a game I remember very fondly, a bit more special than the others. Winning the European Cup was just the start. As I said, that Inter side was truly unique."
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