MILAN – On match days in Milan, the traffic in the city is truly unforgiving. And there was seemingly no reprieve within the San Siro on 9 January 2005, as Inter hosted Sampdoria. When Alvaro Recoba struck the post with his trusty left boot, there was a feeling that it was one of those days where the ball just doesn’t ‘want’ to go in.
With less than five minutes left to play, hope was fading fast, as quickly as the seconds ticked away on the clock. But there are many reasons to stay glued to your seat at the San Siro, because Inter have – on so many occasions – produced moments which defy logic. Inter Channel’s commentator Roberto Scarpini, who has seen his fair share of such moments, called on the Nerazzurri support to keep believing.
It’s a sentiment that fans should hold dear, even when it flies in the face of hard truth, of what the scoreboard is telling you. In this case, Inter were 2-0 down in a match that showed, once again, that in the beautiful game of football, predictions and reasonable calculations are there to be disproved. While having the upper hand from start to finish, the Nerazzurri found themselves constantly denied by a well-organised Samp rear-guard and the superb Francesco Antonioli. They kept the visitors in the game, and Sampdoria certainly deserve credit for taking their chances when they came.
Doria’s goals came against the run of play, and left Inter stunned. But the home side did not allow their heads to drop and perhaps realised that their ability to overturn this kind of situation was in the Nerazzurri DNA. At the very heart of the comeback was Recoba’s outrageous talent and the iron will of Obafemi Martins, the two players who – along with Giorgios Karagounis – were thrown on by Roberto Mancini to change the outcome of the match. When the Uruguayan struck the post, it was a moment which raised spirits rather than dampening them. Seconds later ‘El Chino’ played in the Nigerian, who quickly cut inside his marker, into the centre of the area, and beat the goalkeeper with a clever finish using the outside of his foot. This time the woodwork was Inter’s friend, as the ball rebounded off the inside of the post and into the net. Even on the toughest of days, when you keep believing, the wind can always change.
While in Madrid it’s said that 90 minutes at the Bernabeu "is a very long time", at the San Siro six minutes can seem like an eternity. Martins’ goal came on 88 minutes, and it absolutely shook the stadium. Those thinking about leaving sat back down and those who already believed became sure. It was as if the spell that was protecting the Blucerchiati goal had vanished. In the first of four minutes of stoppage time, Martins was involved again, showing great strength to protect the ball before playing an acrobatic cross into the area. There was Christian Vieri to volley home and make it 2-2. They were two beautiful bits of technical play, made even more impressive by the simplicity with which they were executed. All eyes were now on completing a comeback for the ages.
The final roar came in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Having breathed new life into his team just minutes before, Recoba received the ball from Dejan Stankovic. The Uruguayan fired a shot with pin point accuracy and this time there was nothing the woodwork, nor the forest of defenders could do to stop it. The ball was arrowed into the bottom corner, giving Inter a 3-2 lead. Those already on the square outside the stadium, which was named after Angelo Moratti in 2007, will have been stopped in their tracks on hearing the explosion of noise. It was clear Roberto Scarpini’s suspicions just minutes previously had been confirmed. The commentator at this point was screaming at the top of his voice: "Nothing is impossible for this Inter team."
By Alessandro Bai for MondoFutbol.
