Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will have the chance to join an elite club of coaches who have guided the Nerazzurri to a semifinal in either the European Cup or the Champions League if the team progress against Benfica this evening.
This is highlighted in today’s print edition of Tutin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, who note that five coaches have so far taken Inter to the penultimate round of Europe’s top club competition, and Inzaghi could be the sixth.
The first coach to have taken Inter to a European Cup semifinal was the legendary Helenio Herrera.
Under the iconic Argentine-French coach’s stewardship, the Nerazzurri reached three finals in the competition in the 1960s, winning two of them.
The Nerazzurri overcame Borussia Dortmund in 1964 and Liverpool in 1965 to reach the finals of those seasons’ European Cup tournaments, where they beat Real Madrid and Benfica respectively.
In 1967 the Nerazzurri beat Bulgarian side CSKA Red Flag (Now CSKA Sofia) in the semifinals but lost 1-2 to Celtic in the final.
The second Nerazzurri coach to guide the team to a European Cup semifinal was Giovanni Invernizzi, who guided the team past Celtic in 1972 to reach a final against the Ajax team of Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, which they lost.
Then, Eugenio Bersellini managed to reach the semifinals of the 1981-82 edition of the competition, although on that occasion they lost out to Real Madrid.
It would be more than two decades before Inter were back in the final four of Europe’s top club competition, now rebranded as the Champions league.
It was Hector Cuper on the bench as the Nerazzurri got as far as the semifinals against city rivals AC Milan, the same team that they would face should they get past Benfica this evening, during the 2002-03 campaign.
On that occasion it was the Rossoneri who prevailed in the two-legged Milan derby, on the way to beating Juventus on penalties in the final.
Finally, Jose Mourinho was the coach during the 2009-10 campaign, in which Inter won the European treble culminating with a 2-0 Champions League final triumph over Bayern Munich.
Along the way, the Nerazzurri had to get past a dramatic two-legged semifinal tie against Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona side.
That makes five coaches who have been on the bench whilst Inter played in a semifinal tie in Europe’s biggest club competition.
It is formidable array of coaches, and if Inzaghi can get the team over the line against Benfica this evening it would be a big step forwards in terms of his reputation and legacy.
