If there’s such a thing as a heroic defeat, Inter achieved it with their 1-0 loss to Barcelona on April 28, 2010.

The Nerazzurri had beaten Pep Guardiola’s side 3-1 at San Siro, but Pedro’s 19th-minute away goal meant the Blaugrana were confident of progressing.

Barça had swept all before them the previous season, winning the treble in Guardiola’s first season as a Coach.

If there’s such a thing as a heroic defeat, Inter achieved it with their 1-0 loss to Barcelona on April 28, 2010.

The Nerazzurri had beaten Pep Guardiola’s side 3-1 at San Siro, but Pedro’s 19th-minute away goal meant the Blaugrana were confident of progressing.

Barça had swept all before them the previous season, winning the treble in Guardiola’s first season as a Coach.

Their form had been equally impressive going into the tie with Inter, finishing above the Beneamata in the group stage, before sticking four past both Stuttgart and Arsenal at Camp Nou on their way to the semis.

An ageing Nerazzurri side could never hope to compete on terms with Pep’s juggernaut, something Coach Jose Mourinho admitted ahead of the match.

“Do you really want me to compete for possession with them and lose?” asked the Portuguese. “If you have a Ferrari and I have some small car, I have to puncture your tires. Or put sugar in your petrol tank.”

If Inter were never intending to be free-flowing in Catalonia, it became clear just before the half hour mark that this would be a backs to the wall job.

Thiago Motta raised an arm to shield the ball from Sergio Busquets, and the Spaniard threw himself to the ground clutching his face, peeking out from behind his fingers as referee Frank de Bleekere brandished the red card.

The Italian champions had no choice but to defend for their lives, sitting deep and narrow and daring Barça to play through them.

Despite facing the likes of Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Yaya Toure, the Inter backline looked comfortable.

Indeed, Maicon, Christian Chivu, Walter Samuel and Lucio seemed to positively enjoy the challenge of holding the Blaugrana off.

Barça did finally break the deadlock on 84 minutes – though Gerard Pique was arguably offside – but they couldn’t break the Nerazzurro wall a second time.

The match ended with the hosts having enjoyed 76 per cent of possession, while Inter didn’t have a single shot. It didn’t matter, Barcelona’s tyres had been flattened and Inter were through.

Mourinho ran onto the pitch, pointing to the Inter fans high up in the stands in triumph. The Camp Nou staff turned on the sprinklers, but nothing could dampen Inter spirits as they progressed to the Champions League final.

Bygaby

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector