Mourinho has done it before with a not-so-starry Porto team. It was the unthinkable but he achieved it. Now the man takes his Inter Milan team to the Santiago Bernabeau, which ironically could be his home ground next year. iSporter Pulasta Dhar maps out Inter’s road to Madrid 2010.
GROUP STAGE
When the Group Stages are drawn every year, Inter Milan fear it most because they are not 1st seeds. That means they will be paired against Europe’s top 8 teams every year. If they win the title this time, they might be considered as 1st seeds next season. The neutral’s dream came true when Inter were grouped with Barcelona, Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev. Comparatively less dicey if you leave out Barcelona.
Two games against the reigning champions and the prospect of Ibrahimovic and Eto’O facing their old clubs with a point to prove was a relishing prospect. Inter made hard work for themselves by not being convincing enough in the group stages, drawing 0-0 with Barca and then losing to the same team 2-0 in the return leg. They had to win against a resilient Kazan in the final game to proceed to the knock-out stages
LAST 16 KNOCKOUT
It couldn’t get better. Mourinho against Chelsea….a team which he still considers his and will continue to do so until the likes of Lampard, Terry, Drogba, Essien, Cech- his 5 untouchables retire. There was a lot of respect and touchy quotes in press conferences. To top it all, ex-rival coach Carlo Ancelotti was in the hot seat at Stamford Bridge, where winning the Champions League is considered greater than anything else. At the Giuseppe Meazza, a 2-1 victory put them in firm position to visit Stamford Bridge, where though tricky, Mourinho was confident he would continue his record of never losing.
The return leg was end-to-end with Inter Milan’s brilliant defense not letting anybody through and then Eto’O scoring a goal on the 78th minute to end all hopes of a comeback from Chelsea.
QUARTER FINAL
Diego Milito and Wesley Sneijder scored a goal apiece in each of the fixtures to make it to the semi finals against Barcelona. All in all, there would be 4 games against the Spanish champions in this season. If you look at the teams Inter have come across, then they deserve to win the Champions League. But if things were calculated that way, then it would become a heated argument. Personally, I think if you beat Chelsea and Barcelona, two of the most potent attacking teams in Europe, then you deserve accolade. It must be a welcome break for Mourinho to see off a much simpler CSKA Moscow.
SEMI FINAL
Not surprisingly in the Champions League this year, Inter got drawn against Barcelona and the first leg at the Giuseppe Meazza. The match was intense with Jose waiting to prove that his team has what it takes to score goals. An early lead through Pedro was secured by Barca and people thought this one will be one of those matches where Barca keep going from strength to strength and end up humiliating opponents. Instead, it was Inter who showed tremendous determination to come back with 3 goals through Maicon, Sneijder and Milito. Some of the attacks were swift and sublime, taking Barca by surprise.
The return leg at the Nou Camp was what Jose was waiting for. He wanted to show that he had grown from ‘The Translator’ and a junior coach to the self proclaimed Special One. As he himself said, he did not park the bus at the Nou Camp, but parked an airplane! Some unbelievable defending with just 10 men after a Sergio Busquets award winning injury feign was the hallmark of Inter’s victory. A Gerard Pique goal made it an exciting end but at the final whistle, Jose celebrated like a player in front of the away fans and said, “It was the best defeat ever.”
FINAL
The attacking grit and nimble toes of Bayern will take on the brick walls of Inter in an exhilarating tie at Madrid. The winner of the match will go home as treble winners. Do not miss the first European final being played on a Saturday….
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
