Milan, the meteor of the Contra derby: Me, Terim, Sheva and that goal of mine against Inter”

What a night, that night. The highest point of Fatih Terim’s visionary Milan, the Emperor, four championships won in his home country, Turkey, with Galatasaray and the call from Milan in 2001. Terim had time to make a comeback in the derby before being sacked in November of the same year: Carletto Ancelotti took his place and the beginning of a memorable cycle. But that’s another story. The one that interests us here is linked to the evening of October 21st, to that derby won 4-2 after the first half had ended 1-0 for Inter, goal by Ventola. Milan gasps, in the interval the volcanic Fatih shuffles the cards: Albertini out, Cosmin Contra in, Romanian, playing right back, in fact an attacking winger. Contra changes the match: he scores the 2-1 after Shevchenko’s equalizer, he delivers the cross for Pippo Inzaghi’s header to make it 3-1. Three goals in 6 minutes. Afterwards Sheva will score again before Inter player Kallon’s goal which will set the score at 4-2 for the Rossoneri. Today Contra, 48 years old, sits on the bench of Damac, the Saudi team that he has been coaching since last year, but his heart remains in Milan. He left it there that evening, he will come to collect it, at least ideally, next Monday, again in the evening. The evening of the derby which could give the Scudetto to Inter or, instead, change the course of the recent history of the derby, won by the cousins ​​in the last five matches, in favor of his former team. “That time, after the draw, we started to fly. Four goals arrived, all under the South. I played one of the best matches of my entire career”.