Inter - How they got there.

At the start of the season, the Champions League final seemed a distant prospect for Internazionale.

Four successive Serie A titles had been accumulated against the disappointment of premature elimination from Europe’s premiere club competition. Not since 2002/03 - when Inter reached the semi finals of the competition, only to be ousted by city rivals Milan – had the Nerazzurri made significant in-roads, their last few efforts when they entered as Italian champions were poor fare. Inter couldn’t venture past the quarter finals in any of the next six campaigns as the club desperately sought to end the five decade drought since the side managed by the legendary Helenio Herrera were last crowned kings of Europe.

Jose Mourinho - a champion with unfancied Porto in 2004 - was brought in by President Moratti to rectify the failings of Roberto Mancini, but when the Special One’s collective bowed out meekly to Manchester United last term, pertinent questions were raised about the actual strength of Inter, and in many respects, Italian football itself. The peninsula’s teams, once so dominant in European competition, were struggling to cope in the face of the strong and dominant English and Spanish contingent, and even for large parts of this year’s run, those questions remained unanswered.

Inter were dealt a tricky but ultimately negotiable group containing defending European champions Barcelona, unpredictable Ukrainians Dynamo Kyiv and unknown Russian package Rubin Kazan. La Benemeata kicked off proceedings by hosting Barca at the San Siro and held the Spaniards to a goalless draw in a drab encounter. Next up was a trip to chilly Kazan, 850km east of Moscow to square off against newly crowned Russian champions Rubin. The Ruby, who later went onto win at Barcelona, took an early lead before Wesley Sneijder equalised but the Nerazzurri had to be satisfied with a second successive draw.

Matchday three saw Kyiv arrive in Milan, and surprisingly twice took the lead only to be pegged back from goals by Dejan Stankovic and Walter Samuel. Three games, three draws. It was fairly uninspiring stuff and with two of the remaining three games to come away from home, including a hazardous trip to the Camp Nou, qualification was looking increasingly suspect.

Increasingly suspect became alarmingly bleak with five minutes to play of the return fixture in Kyiv, when Mourinho’s men found themselves trailing by a goal from their old foe Andrei Shevchenko’s first half strike. As things stood approaching time at the Lobanovsky Stadium, Inter were at the foot of Group F with just three points, and would more than likely require a win away to Barca. However, a late equaliser from Diego Milito followed by an even later winner from that man Sneijder swung the table around and left Inter top of the group with two to play.

The picture was further muddied after Matchday five when Inter crumbled to two early Barca goals in Spain. The Catalans comprehensively outplayed their visitors in a tie which, following a disjointed qualification period, once again raised concerns towards the Nerazzurri’s calibre against Europe’s elite. After faltering in previous years and proving no match for the holders of the cup, Mourinho was not only facing a battle to win the thing, but to actually get out of the group. However, a comfortable win over Rubin at home ended any palpitations the Interisti had about appearing in the Europa League, but they did have to settle for second place and theoretically a tougher draw in the last 16.

Those fears were raised when the Italian champions were dealt a stern test at Mourinho’s former club and Premier League leaders, Chelsea. Having gone close in the seasons when Inter had done anything such, the Londoners looked well equipped for another shot at the trophy which had proved so elusive for Roman Abramovich’s billions. As it proved, they would have to wait another year after Mourinho returned to haunt the oligarch with a tactical masterclass over two legs.

First-up, Chelsea came to the Giuseppe Meazza and the close to 80,000 crowd were rocking after three minutes when the dangerous Milito evaded a John Terry challenge to put the hosts ahead. Salomon Kalou squared things in the second half only for Esteban Cambiasso to rattle home the decisive first-leg strike a few minutes later. Inter were afforded a priceless goal lead heading to Stamford Bridge, but the whole complexion of the game, the tie and indeed Inter’s march towards the Bernabeu could have changed dramatically just before half-time when Kalou, clean through on goal was bundled to the dancefloor by Walter Samuel. Had either the referee or the linesman spotted the offence, it would have given the Blues a penalty to equalise and Samuel would have had first use of the shower. As it was, the foul was missed and Inter remained in front, with player parity and took a slender advantage to Mourinho’s old stomping ground.

Given Kalou’s away goal, holding off the soon-to-be Premier League champions – who had scored in all bar one game during the season – looked a tough ask, so it came as a timely boost for Mourinho and the Nerazzurri to deliver their finest European performance in years. Mourinho surprised his detractors who suggested he may ‘park the bus’ by deploying a bold three-man strike force with Sneijder pulling the strings from an advanced midfield role. The affront took Chelsea by surprise and Carlo Ancelotti’s team never found their stride. Their attacks rebuffed by the colossal Lucio and Samuel, and regularly cut apart by the Sneijder infused counters, Chelsea were well outdone on their own patch and the result was put beyond them when yet another incisive Sneijder through ball found Samuel Eto’o to race away and lash home. 3-1 on aggregate and deserved. It was a performance which exorcised the demons which had gathered around Inter’s European challenges of previous campaigns.

After doing for Chelsea, CSKA Moscow lay in wait in the quarters and were swatted aside with 1-0 wins in either tie. Milito again notched in the first leg and Sneijder finished the job off in Moscow to set up an intriguing clash of styles with Barcelona in the semi final. Inter had come under fire following the group games between the two for their lack of forward intent in either game, but buoyed by the confidence boosting dismantling of Chelsea, il Biscione were a different proposition this time around.

Mourinho, ‘el tradutor’, or ‘the translator’ as he was unaffectionately known after his time in Catalonia, wove another tactical spell in the first-leg to inflict Pep Guardiola’s heaviest defeat of his Barcelona tenure. Despite going ahead with a Pedro strike, inter seized the game thereafter, nullified the mischief of Lionel Messi and plundered three goals themselves to take a healthy lead back to Barcelona. Firstly, Sneijder found space to rifle home in the Barca box shortly before the interval and soon after the restart Douglas Maicon made strides forward to put the Nerazzurri in front. With Barca pushing at every opportunity, Inter exploited the vast expanse behind the Blaugrana’s rickety backline to increase their lead further thanks to the tireless Milito with his fourth goal of the competition.

Inter turned up at the Camp Nou knowing Barca had to score twice to progress and didn’t so much park the bus but land the plane across their goalmouth. Any vague attacking intentions they did have were ended when Thiago Motta was harshly sent-off for sending a stray arm at Sergio Busquets. Down to ten men, Inter produced a fine rearguard action to stave off the Barca advances, relinquishing possession to the tune of almost 80% in Barcelona’s favour. Gerard pique’s cool spin and finish with five minutes to go made things tense and inter again relied on some favourable officiating to rule out a Bojan strike in injury time to put the Nerazzurri through. Their ultra-defensive tactics came in from widespread condemnation from the puritans but it mattered little to Mourinho and his men as they celebrated a date at the Santiago Bernabeu.

At times Inter have been ordinary, at times exceptional. From being on the cusp of elimination, to the verge of immortality. It has been a strange and varied run for La Benemeata, but few can deny they deserve to be where they have gotten. The struggles in Kazan and at home to Kyiv have been superseded by the humblings of Chelsea and Barcelona. It is a marathon not a sprint and the tortoises of the group stage have morphed into the thoroughbreds of the knockout stages. Only Bayern Munich can stop them now.