Figo brace gives the Legends victory in Georgia
Legends
— Mar 7th 2024At the Acharabet Arena, the Nerazzurri legends run out winners against a selection of former Georgian national team players
The premise was all about celebrating the beauty of football, with a pitch full of stars who have made history in this sport. And so it was. The Nerazzurri legends won 2-0 at the Acharabet Arena in Batumi against a selection of former Georgian national team players thanks to a brace from Luis Figo: the first of his two goals was a masterpiece from the wing; the second goal was duly aided by Palacio, who provided a perfect assist from deep. The Nerazzurri also put on a show, hitting two posts and a crossbar.
Greeted by loud roars upon entering the pitch, the two teams pushed each other by putting on a real spectacle. The Nerazzurri started off with the handbrake on, but with the awareness of having higher technical quality. Fabio Galante was interviewed a few minutes after kick-off and outlined the qualities of his starting eleven.
“It's an honour to coach this team, they know how to do everything, they are really strong. Meeting up here together is something really special, and some are still in very good shape.”
Fabio Galante
Words that are immediately reflected in the Nerazzurri's first fine finish of the game, thanks to Sneijjder who, inspired as always, strick a heavenly right-footed shot that was kept out by the home goalkeeper. The Nerazzurri number 10 twice tried his luck more before leaving the field of play. He hen immediately commented on the extraordinary atmosphere.
“It's a shame, because I was on fire tonight, but I'll score in the next game. Will Zanetti play 90 minutes? Certainly, and even more. This is a beautiful group, but perhaps the craziest is Karagounis.”
Wesley Sneijder
And it was the Greek himself who made a delightful assist for Figo's masterpiece that broke the deadlock: it was an unbelievable piece of play, two strokes of genius that sent the Batumi spectators into ecstasy and immediately took them back in time, as Frey underlined just after the goal.
“It's always nice to meet up at these events, it's a pleasure for us: no one here ever wants to lose, but it's a great match to watch, it feels like going back in time.”
Sebastien Frey
Halfway through the first half, the match seemed to magically follow the Nerazzurri timeline perfectly: a perfect chronological order from the Karagounis's assist, who joined the Nerazzurri in 2003, finding Figo for his goal, who wore the Nerazzurri shirt for the first time in 2005, and ending with Maicon hitting the post, who became a Nerazzurri player in 2006. The Brazilian winger dusted off his right foot in the 26th minute, giving all the Inter fans a sweet deja-vu moment. The first half didn't offer any other action, but did bring up lots of emotion for Goran Pandev.
“I knew I would have to replace Wesley soon, I'm happy to see so many of my former teammates, it's great to be here. Honestly, it's very difficult, it's my first 11-a-side game since I stopped but even if the years go by the quality of these players always remains the same. It's a fantastic group and it's a pleasure to be together after so many years, it's good for us. We also greet the other guys who aren't here today.”
Goran Pandev
The second half started off with the Prince's storybook reopening. The heartbeat stopped when Diego Milito tried to finish from the edge of the box with a powerful right-footed shot that rattled off the crossbar, but his poetic movement always nourishes the soul of every fan. Then, the time comes to replace Julio Cesar, who is replaced by Frey and indulges in some amusing anecdotes.
“Thankfully, the reflections are still there. I'm having a lot of fun, in general I always say that I don't miss playing, but today it's different, everything is beautiful. Figo scored a beautiful goal, but it's thanks to me because when we finished training we carried on playing and I taught him. He should've stopped because he was poor. Jokes aside, it was an honour to share part of my career with Luis, I followed him as a kid.”
Julio Cesar
The French goalkeeper immediately kept out two shots from the home team, giving his side security and reliability. Shortly afterwards, Palacio also came on and became a real thorn in the opponents' side, showing outstanding physicality. First, he came close to scoring, but his effort went just wide, and then he provided the assist from deep for Figo's goal, which sealed the game in the 77th minute. Also sensational was Cambiasso's volley with a back heel that hit the post: a quality play that made the whole stadium tremble. The Nerazzurri Legends then managed the game until the full-time whistle. A match that was a journey into Inter's recent successes, entering the souls of every Nerazzurri fan, who cheered and rejoiced thanks to the champions who once again underlined the winning DNA of this club.
GEO 11 0-2 INTER FOREVER | MATCH DETAILS
Scorers: 22', 72' Figo (I). GEO 11 (4-3-3): 29 Revishvili; 22 Navalovski, 3 Tskhadadze, 4 Kaladze, 13 Khizanishvili; 10 Kobiashvili, 10 Kinkladze, 19 Kobakhidze; 14 Ketsbaia, 11 Shota Arveladze, 9 Iashvili. Subs: 1 Lomaia, 5 Amisulashvili, 7 Ananidze, 7 Nemsadze, 8 Jamarauli, 16 Asatiani, 16 Kvirkvelia, 18 Ghudushauri, 21 Martsvaladze, 23 Mchedlidze, 11 Archil Arveladze, 30 Demetradze. Coach: Alexsandre Chivadze
INTER FOREVER (4-3-2-1): 12 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 23 Materazzi, 2 Cordoba; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 16 Karagounis; 10 Sneijder, 7 Figo; 22 Milito. Subs: 1 Frey, 5 Galante, 33 Colonnese, 20 Borja Valero, 14 Kharja, 8 Palacio, 27 Pandev, 29 Suazo.
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır Assistants: Sopo Tsulaia, Elene Eloshvili. Fourth official: Khatuna Maisuradze
MEETING WITH INTER ACADEMY GEORGIA
On the morning of Thursday 7 March, before the game, the Nerazzurri Legends took part in a Meet&Greet session, meeting the boys from Inter Academy Georgia. For the young Nerazzurri, it was a moment of sharing and excitement, in which they were able to meet their favourite players in person and take part in a photograph and autograph session. And not only. During the match, they were involved in various activities: from entering the pitch together with the players to the role of ball boy, finishing off with a training session with two Inter coaches during the half-time break.