Federico - From the Halfway Line

Some goals come from a rehearsed move. Others come from a moment of inspiration. And then there are those that, for a split second, make you wonder if the player has completely lost his mind.

12 November 2023. San Siro. Federico Dimarco picks up the ball on the left, just beyond the halfway line. He looks up and decides to shoot. From 56 metres out. Fifty-six. Before you can even think, “What on earth is he doing?”, the ball is already in the back of the net.

As we were saying, on Sunday 12 November 2023, Simone Inzaghi’s Inter take on Frosinone at San Siro. The Nerazzurri are top of the table with a five-match winning streak and looking to claim another three points before the international break.

On paper, it looks straightforward. On the pitch, it’s anything but. Frosinone are young, energetic, and play good football. Soulé provides the creativity, Oyono pushes forward, and Inter create chances but cannot find a breakthrough. Turati produces a superb save to deny Barella, while Darmian and Acerbi have plenty of defending to do.

Then comes the 43rd minute. Mkhitaryan finds Dimarco on the left. Federico takes a few steps and looks up. Ahead of him lie 56 metres of pitch. And a goal, a very distant goal. Most players would look for a teammate. Someone feeling particularly adventurous might try a long pass. Dimarco instinctively goes for goal. For a couple of seconds, nobody quite knows what is happening. The ball rises, soars through the San Siro sky and seems to hang in the air forever. Turati backpedals, then launches himself into a desperate dive. It’s too late.

56 metres and eight centimetres, to be precise. San Siro erupts, but this is no ordinary celebration. First comes disbelief, then hands on heads, and finally a deafening roar. In his post-match interviews, Dimarco makes it sound remarkably simple: “At first I looked for Denzel, then I saw the goalkeeper off his line and luckily it went in.”

The goal instantly earns its place among the greatest moments. Like Recoba’s goal against Empoli, or Stankovic’s against Schalke and Genoa. Goals you never need to watch again to remember. Although, of course, we all do. Over and over again.

The match goes on. Early in the second half, Thuram wins a penalty with a brilliant piece of skill, and Calhanoglu converts from the spot to make it 2-0. Inter secure their sixth consecutive win and stay top of the table.

The Nerazzurri number 32’s wonder goal also earns him a nomination for the FIFA Puskás Award. But for Inter fans, the award had already been decided that night. It belonged to a boy who grew up supporting Inter and had decided to do something seemingly impossible at San Siro. Score from his own home, which isn't even that far from the stadium. And he'd pretty much pulled it off.

His teammates will never let him hear the end of it: “He was trying to cross!” But Fede knows what really happened.