José Mourinho’s treble with Internazionale in the 2009-10 season remains one of the Portuguese coach’s greatest achievements. On Wednesday 28th April 2010 Inter produced perhaps the defining moment of the campaign when they reached the Champions League final at the expense of holders Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Inter arrived in Catalonia having taken great strides towards a domestic double, after recovering from a mid-season slump in Serie A to record back-to-back victories over Juventus and Atalanta as well as booking their place in the Coppa Italia final by seeing off Fiorentina in the semis.
The European Cup remained the big target, however, and despite an impressive 3-1 first-leg win over Pep Guardiola’s Barca at San Siro, Mourinho knew much work would be needed to secure their passage to the final at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid the follow month. The Nerazurri had come from behind to storm to victory in Italy thanks to goals from Wesley Sneijder, Maicon and Diego Milito, but a 2-0 home win would be enough for Barca to progress from the second meeting.
During his pre-match press conference, Mourinho spoke of the difference between Inter’s “dream” of winning the European Cup and the “obsession” of Barcelona. “We want to follow a dream. One thing is to follow a dream, another is to follow an obsession. We have the dream to play the final. For Barcelona it’s not a dream; it’s an obsession.”
Inter’s dream vs Barcelona’s obsession
— S Gillen ?? Portuguese Abroad (@SeanGillen9) April 28, 2020
Mou’s vintage psychology ahead of the Nerazurri’s big night at Camp Nou pic.twitter.com/3cIEdEd22e
For the Nerazurri, the 45-year wait to return to the European Cup final took an unexpected early blow when midfielder Thiago Motta was sent off with less than half an hour played. Although the match was still goalless, the prospect of avoiding the feared 2-0 defeat with over an hour to play was a daunting one for Mourinho’s side, who would have to battle for their lives in front of 96,000 at Camp Nou.
The visitors held out for 83 minutes, before Gerrard Pique’s brilliantly-taken goal put Barca on the brink of turning the tie around. But Inter held out to advance 3-2 on aggregate, leading to a legendary Mourinho celebration at the final whistle – undeterred by an objecting Victor Valdes - as he charged onto the pitch and directed his joy towards the travelling Interisti in the stands.
"It's the greatest moment of my career,” he said. "For the players, me, the fans, it's the greatest. We were a team of heroes. It is a style of blood not skill. When the moment of leaving everything on the pitch arrives, you don't leave the skill you leave the blood.
"We were a team of heroes. We sweated blood. It's a pity I could not play because I have got the same blood. I have already won a Champions League but today was even better.”
By Sean Gillen
