For the past couple of weeks SempreInter.com’s new editorialist, Richard Hall, has taken a look back at the glorious history of Inter by highlighting a certain match, hero or any other event in Inter’s history worthy of being labelled Nerazzurri Classic’s. Ahead of Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina, Richard looks back at a fixture between the two teams which some argue to be the most important Derby win of recent years.
The Milan Derby is a fixture with many memorable games, sublime goals and ultimately a seething rivalry between two great teams of European Football. The choreography and the passion of the fans goes hand in hand theatre that takes place on the pitch. In 2005 all of these elements were in place and the game that followed will go down in history.
Roberto Mancini’s Inter were awarded the title this year despite finishing third. This was due to the Calciopoli scandal that saw Juventus stripped of the accolade and also saw Milan fall foul. The Nerazzurri had an array of talent including Luis Figo, Adriano, Dejan Stankovic and the ever present Javier Zanetti.
Inter went into the game unbeaten in five games with Adriano and Luis Figo in impressive form as well as Esteban Cambiasso who had collected three goals in the same period. The last match (a 1-0 home win against Ascoli) had seen the Brazilian Adriano get on the score sheet.
The cauldron that is the San Siro welcomed the two sides and the game kicked off at breath taking speed. Both sides were intent on dealing an early blow but it was Inter who started stronger and created more chances. On 24 minutes Obafemi Martins was pushed in the box and a penalty was awarded to Inter. Adriano stepped up and slotted it to the right of a despairing Dida.
Milan did not lie down and six minutes before the break they had a penalty of their own after a handball was given. Francesco Toldo had the daunting task of facing Andriy Shevchenko and was promptly beaten by the Ukranian.
In the second half both teams continued to play an unusually expansive game and created chances. However, it was not until the hour mark when Inter struck again. This time a powerful free kick from Adriano, was only parried by Dida, and Martins was there to finish it off. It was an opportunistic goal followed by his customary set of somersaults.
Inter then pressed to kill of the game and this left them open. Milan had chance after chance and nearly equalised but were denied by the post. The Nerazzurri could see the inevitable coming and it was five minutes from time when Jaap Stam leapt above all around him to head in from six yards. A good free kick was met by an even better header.
The game looked like it would be an entertaining and highly engaging draw with both sides abandoning caution for the sake of the Derby, but then Inter won a corner in the 93rd minute. The ball was whipped in perfectly by Figo and Adriano managed to beat all comers in thought and deed to head the ball beyond Dida. 3-2 was the score and now the stadium erupted.
The next few seconds encapsulated everything that is the Milan Derby as the passion, fury, joy and despair of the game all flambéed out of the San Siro like an explosion of human emotion.
