Inter Milan, nightmare night in Bavaria: Psg wins the Champions League

Munich

It was supposed to be the Champions League of desire and redemption, to file away the night in Istanbul two years ago. Nothing to do. That of Munich was Desiré's Champions League, that is, Desiré Doué, 20 years old, who became for Inter what Jamal, by a whisker (and for Nerazzurri merits), was not. The perfect storm hits the Nerazzurri stronghold and crumbles it like sand. The Champions League goes to Paris for the first time, and lifting it to the skies is Gigio Donnarumma (who almost doesn't get his gloves dirty on the Bavarian turf) is to the many who under the Eiffel Tower have emigrated from our Serie A (Maquinhos, Fabian Ruiz, Kvaratskhelia, Hakimi, Luis Enrique himself, who in another geological era sat on the Roma bench). Inter put on the worst version of itself on the most important night, suddenly appearing tired, empty, lacking ideas and worse, desires and dreams. This Champions League could have been lost, but not like this, and now it will be Inzaghi who will have to explain how this could happen. At the gates there is a Club World Cup to be honoured, and a future that after the Allianz Arena debacle will be increasingly difficult to continue to write together with the club.

A final that Inter played with mourning on their arms, as a sign of condolence for the death, in the hours of the immediate eve, of Ernesto Pellegrini. A successful entrepreneur in the restaurant business, Pellegrini was in charge of the Nerazzurri from 1984 to 1995, shaping the Inter of Records led by Trapattoni to the triumphant 1988-89 Scudetto with two phenomenal Germans in the engine, Matthaeus and Brehme (who had been anticipated in the Nerazzurri by Rummenigge and later joined by Jurgen Klinsmann). During his presidency, he also won an Italian Super Cup and Uefa Cups.

Definitely not pleasant, for the editor of this article, to have been a direct witness (or better to say almost potential victim) of the clashes at the Universitat metro station of the U6 line that around 1730 overheated the already torrid climate in Munich. This metro line passed through the fan zone dedicated to the French (at Konigplatz) and then to that of the Inter fans (Odeonplatz). It was inevitable that the two groups of fans would mix: then a few too many words, a few nasty glances, and there was the assault, the scuffle between the two groups of supporters, the police intervening after a few moments of confusion, the line stopped for over half an hour, the tension inside the train, which only a lot of common sense on the part of most helped to defuse. But the thought of what could have been, and fortunately was not, gives one the shivers and leaves its mark.

Luis Enrique chose Doué to complete his trident; Inzaghi, as promised, deployed the recovered Pavard as a starter. The Nerazzurri willingly left Psg in control of the ball: a calculated risk to perhaps gain precious metres for their own forays, under the occult offensive direction of Lautaro. But Fabian Ruiz, the great master of ceremonies in midfield, triggered the action that led to the transalpine advantage in the 12th minute: his left-footed pass to Vitinha, who weighed in with a through ball for Doué, who in turn served the former Hakimi with the easiest of assists. The Moroccan scored and almost apologised to the Nerazzurri curve, which had fallen silent. The match immediately became a Tourmalet to climb for the Inzaghi-boys. The Pyrenean taper is completed eight minutes later: Barella goes too light on a ball that is about to end up in the corner for Inter, in an instant Kvara-Dembelé-Doué and the ball is still behind Sommer (thanks to Dimarco's deflection). Inter stunned and numb as in the worst of times. Two dunks - narrowly out of reach - from Acerbi and Thuram, on as many Chalanoglu corners, tried to wake them up. The feeling was that - paradoxically - if Psg lowered the pace, Inter might well find themselves. But Kvara, again with a header at the end of the period, even touched the Parisian hat-trick. A few minutes into the second half and Inzaghi was already changing: off came Dimarco and Pavard, anonymous, in came Zalewski and Bisseck. But that it wasn't evening was (also) made clear by the injury to the German, who was only on the pitch for about ten minutes. Just enough time to replace him with Darmian (while Carlos Augusto replaced the ghost of Mkhitaryan) and the award-winning duo of Dembelé-Vitinha-Douè made it three-nil, which started the transalpine party and the credits rolled on the night at the Allianz Arena. To turn defeat into a sporting tragedy came the goals of Kvara himself and Mayulu, who had just entered the field. In addition to the Champions League, with this (counter)performance Inter also lost part of the authoritativeness heritage built during the four-year European season under Inzaghi. It will be necessary to rebuild, aware that in Munich not petrodollars have won, but men, technique, tactics, ideas, young people, tracing a path that must be followed, in order to return to compete, to dream.