Legendary former Inter defender Beppe Bergomi feels that the Nerazzurri have always shown their best on the biggest stage this season.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, via FCInterNews, the former defender noted how this Inter have always seemed to rise to the occasions where it has been “do or die” in the Champions League.
The Champions League is already a competition where the margins tend to be razor-thin, but for Inter this season the circumstances have seemed to amplify this aspect.
In the group stage, the fact that the Nerazzurri found themselves drawn in a “group of death” with Barcelona and Bayern Munich made every point all the more precious, and the four that they took off of the Blaugranas proved to be absolutely vital.
Then, there is the fact that throughout the season Inter’s league form has been erratic, meaning that in both the group phase and the knockout rounds, the team have always seemed to put the pressure on themselves to deliver and regain their momentum.
Through all of this drama and pressure, Inter have always seemed to respond, and they have followed this path all the way to the semifinal stage of Europe’s top club competition, where they will meet city rivals AC Milan in a two-legged tie next month.
“Milan and Inter have both surprised me in the Champions League this season,” Bergomi said of the two semifinalists and Milan derby rivals.
Of the Nerazzurri, he said that “Inter are the ‘oldest’ of the teams we have in European football right now [referring to teams from Serie A], but they’ve always managed to rise to the occasion in the big nights in Europe.”
“They’ve always shone when it has been do or die,” the former defender noted.