Twenty-two years ago Inter committed metaphorical suicide by losing 4-2 in the capital against Lazio and giving the scudetto to Juventus on a day that went down in football history. At the Olimpico the Biancocelesti fans were clearly rooting for the twinned Nerazzurri to prevent the title from being won by Roma. So we played at the Olimpico, but it was as if we were at San Siro. The problem is that the players were not of the same opinion and wanted to play everything on the pitch.
Vieri’s goal in the 18th minute seemed like the prelude to a celebration for the guests. The Italian striker took advantage of Peruzzi’s indecision and gave Cuper’s team the lead. In Piazza Duomo in Milan they were already starting to rejoice, before however asking Karel Poborsky, the same one who in ’96 with the Czech Republic had eliminated Italy in the European Championship which was played in England. The 1-1 goal, however, seemed like a simple hiccup, also because Di Biagio’s goal following a corner didn’t give any sense of what was about to happen shortly thereafter. Juventus was rampant in Udine, but it mattered little, because Inter wasn’t doing anything wrong. At the end of the first half, however, Gresko grossly misread a high ball and Poborsky again sealed the 2-2. Nerazzurri in a doll, Olimpico speechless. In the second half Diego Simeone and Simone Inzaghi rounded off the score, inflicting even greater pain on all the Inter people. The rest is known with Ronaldo in tears and the desperation of all the Nerazzurri. Below are the lineups for that match:
Lazio (4-4-1-1): Peruzzi; Stam, Nesta, Couto, Favalli, Poborsky, Giannichedda, Simeone (33’st Baggio), Stankovic (16’st Cesar); Flower; Inzaghi. Trainer: Zaccheroni.
Inter (4-4-2): Toldo; J. Zanetti, Cordoba, Materazzi, Gresko; Conceicao (15’st Dalmat), Di Biagio, C. Zanetti (27’st Emre), Recoba; Ronaldo (33’st Kallon), Vieri. Trainer: Cuper.
