The boys from Bergamo were rightly praised for their astonishing and well-deserved win at Anfield last week. But, as Giancarlo Rinaldi warns, history suggests the Serie A side should take nothing for granted.
Momentum is as precious as gold dust in football. It is a glorious feeling when the tide is in your favour – as Atalanta found when they blew away Liverpool in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. However, Italian teams have some history of sinking horribly when the wind changes direction. Here are a few occasions when that sickening feeling struck and success slipped away like that last elusive pea dancing around your plate in a dish of risi e bisi. Gianluca Scamacca and company will hope to avoid hitting the wall in such spectacular fashion.
Napoli v Chelsea (Champions League 2011-12) It was a last-16 tie which started badly in Naples for Walter Mazzarri’s side but, inspired by Ezequiel Lavezzi, they emerged in a “position of strength” with a 3-1 home triumph. Juan Mata had given the visitors the lead but a double from the Argentinian either side of an Edinson Cavani strike put the Partenopei in a commanding place. Perhaps goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis had a premonition of what was to come when he told reporters: “It is a good result but we are not fully happy because we could have added a fourth.” Didier Drogba started the comeback at Stamford Bridge before John Terry levelled things on aggregate. A Gokan Inler goal gave the Italians the upper hand once more until Frank Lampard took the tie to extra time. Branislav Ivanovic then scored for the Blues to deliver what had looked an unlikely triumph for Roberto Di Matteo’s men en route to the trophy. “We go out with our heads held high,” insisted Paolo Cannavaro.
Inter v Real Madrid (UEFA Cup 1984-85) The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was packed to the rafters for a semi-final first leg between two of the continent’s elite sides. Alessandro Altobelli was at the heart of everything as he was fouled to win a penalty which was calmly slotted away by Liam Brady before tucking away a goal himself from a Karl-Heinz Rumenigge assist. Ilario Castagner’s side looked in a strong position with a 2-0 triumph. Santillana kick-started this Remontada as he struck twice to level the tie. The Nerazzurri’s hero in Milan, Altobelli, suffered heartache this time as Uli Stielike made a goal-line clearance from his shot which – due to the away goals rule – would surely have seen the Nerazzurri progress. Instead, Michel delivered the killer blow past a despairing Walter Zenga dive and the disaster was complete. And if you want proof that lightning can strike twice – Inter blew a 3-1 lead at the same stage of the same competition against the same opponents the following year.
Juventus v Fulham (Europa League 2009-10) It should have been no-contest as La Vecchia Signora strolled to a home 3-1 triumph over the unfancied Londoners in the last 16. Nicola Legrottaglie, Jonathan Zebina and Hasan Salihamidzic struck for the Bianconeri in Turin while a heavily deflected Dickson Etuhu shot gave the English side a slim hope. At Craven Cottage, however, it was a different story as Alberto Zaccheroni’s men capitulated in spectacular fashion. An early goal for David Trezeguet should have made qualification a formality but, instead, Roy Hodgson’s team roared back. Bobby Zamora levelled the game before Fabio Cannavaro saw red and the game began to turn sour for the Serie A giants. Two Zoltan Gera goals made it 4-4 on aggregate and the stage was set for a Clint Dempsey chip to humble the mighty Juve.
Milan v Deportivo La Coruna (Champions League 2003-04) A fine Milan vintage thought the job was done in this quarter-final encounter as a Kaka double and goals from Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko gave them a seemingly unassailable 4-1 advantage at the San Siro. The reigning European champions possibly thought the job was done but things would fall apart for the Rossoneri after Walter Pandiani struck an early goal to shake their resolve. Juan Carlos Valeron and Albert Luque ensured the tie was – incredibly – level before the half-time whistle blew in Spain. Club legend Fran would seal the deal in the second half in a clash that became a byword for bottling a big lead in Europe.
Milan v Liverpool (Champions League 2004-05) Not a two-legged tie but just a year later and Milan were busy squandering another three-goal advantage – this time in a single game. A clash which will go down in legend was completely dominated by Carlo Ancelotti’s players in the first half as Paolo Maldini opened the scoring before Hernan Crespo struck twice. They appeared to be out of sight and could have had even more of an advantage as their fans were busy planning their full-time celebrations and lifting the trophy. Something snapped, though, in this brittle Rossoneri setup and Steven Gerrard planted the seeds of doubt by pulling one back. Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso made the miracle of Istanbul a real possibility and heroics from Jerzy Dudek in the penalty shootout completed the job. Revenge a couple of years later in Athens would only slightly dull the pain.