28/04/2013 he tore his Achilles tendon, tonight 09/11/2013 the man with the straight back, perfect hair and those magical runs on the right wing returned to grace the pitch. They say he turned 40 this year, I don’t believe it.
I could write details about the game, about how Inter struggled in the first (dull) half where Livorno closed the space for the nerazzurri who were struggling to gain momentum in passing. But honestly the highlights were few and far apart, and Inter needed help from Bardi to score a goal. The young keeper on loan to Livorno from Inter dropped in a low cross from Jonathan to 1-0.
What stays with me from this game is the tribute from the Curva Nord to Massimo Moratti and of course the cheer from the crowd when #4 was about to be subbed in in minute 82. It took him seven months to return and it was impossible to see he has been injured the minutes he played. In stoppage time he pulled one of those trademark runs with the ball glued to his feet, flowed past his adversaries, passed Kovacic who filtered the ball beautifully between the Livorno defenders to find an open Nagatomo who slotted it behind Bardi in the net. The pass from Kovacic was a thing of beauty.
Now the highlight reel from this game might not be too long, but one important thing is starting to look good. The defending, Handanovic was never really tested during the game, and he kept the second clean sheet in a row. Rolando, Samuel and Ranocchia played a solid game in the back three. And Cambiasso is still a genius on form. This year might be year zero but slowly we are starting to see the Inter of Mazzarri. Like when Palacio goes back to play right back in the final minutes because Jonathan had cramps. Or when the players struggled to get into the game but they just kept at it, never losing their heads. Just following the mister’s orders and tactics. Who knew we would get to call this team calm? But that was how it felt tonight.
Now if I could make a wish on this magical night that was marked by il Capitano’s return then it would be this; can we please clone Palacio? He looks tired (deservedly so), playing every game, and yet he creates chances, plays defense and takes all the right runs. Clone him now!
With this game we go into an international break with World Cup qualifications coming up. But there is the image of president Moratti standing up applauding Javier Zanetti’s return on the pitch to keep us warm until our beloved Inter and Serie A return to us. This was the last Inter owned by Moratti, a bittersweet feeling due to the win.