MILAN – 28 April 2010, Camp Nou, Barcelona v Inter, minute 28. Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere waves the red card in Thiago Motta's direction after the midfielder raised his hand to Sergio Busquets' face. Motta's eyes are a combination of sorrow and disbelief, feelings which quickly turn to anger as he leaves the field. These are the same sentiments felt by every Inter fan watching. Disbelief at the red card, sorrow because his Champions League semi-final has ended early and anger over what is seen as unfair punishment.
Moments later, the anger starts to turn to worry. 100,000 people are urging on the reigning European champions as they bid to overturn the first-leg result. Inter have to see out the game with 10 men and their Champions League dream risks going up in smoke, just one step away from the final.
That return leg at Camp Nou saw Thiago Motta come full circle as it was at Barcelona where he began his European career. He joined the club in 1999 from Clube Atletico Juventus as a 17-year-old, after impressing for Brazil U17s in a tournament in Uruguay. It was Llorenc Serra Ferrer, Barca's technical director at the time, who brought him to Catalunya, thus offering the youngster an opportunity to observe his idol Rivaldo up close.
He would spend eight seasons at Barca, clocking up 142 appearances, winning the Champions League, two league titles and two Spanish Super Cups, and most importantly receiving a pair of boots from the great Rivaldo himself.
He suffered his fair share of injuries too. On 11 September 2004, in a match against Sevilla, he ruptured the ligaments in his left knee and would spend much of the next two seasons on the sidelines.
In the summer of 2007 he joined Atletico Madrid on a one-year deal. It wasn't renewed because while there he sustained an injury to his other knee, restricting him to just 10 appearances for the Colchoneros.
Genoa took a punt on him and were rewarded on 29 October 2008, when, against Cagliari, he made a perfectly timed run into the box to beat Federico Marchetti on the way to a 2-1 victory.
It was his first goal in Italy, a country he had always felt ties with despite never living there. A century earlier, his great granddad, Fortunato Fogagnolo, had left Polesella to move to Brazil. And in making the return journey Thiago had experienced something of a rebirth.
In the summer of 2009 he and Diego Milito travelled from Genoa to Jose Mourinho's Inter. And together, along with Samuel Eto'o, they helped orchestrate the move that well and truly set out Inter's stall at the start of what would become a legendary season.
It was the 29th minute of the derby in the second league match of the season. Motta received the ball from Javier Zanetti and played a first-time pass with the outside of his boot to the Cameroonian. He in turn laid off for Milito, who trapped the ball, spotted Thiago Motta's run and slid through for the midfielder to finish past Marco Storari.
What happened afterwards is of course history. From the 4-0 drubbing Inter handed out to their Rossoneri cousins to that agonising night at Camp Nou. The dream didn't end in the 28th minute of Barcelona v Inter. Not for Thiago and not for Inter. Because there was no match for that Inter side. They held on and capped off a remarkable season on that unforgettable night in Madrid - the night a historic treble became reality and Thiago, along with Nerazzurri fans around the world, saw Inter crowned champions of Europe again.
Davide Zanelli
