Legendary wins and class goals: the history of Inter vs. Barcelona

An ongoing story, a story that repeats itself with the same colours, but with different people taking centre stage each time. Once again, the Champions League will see Inter and Barcelona play, two teams that have played twelve times since 2003 in Europe's top competition. Football aristocracy, a true classic of modern world football: this time Inter and Barcelona will face off with a place in the final on Saturday 31 May in Munich up for grabs.

It is a two-legged semi-final that promises fireworks and strong emotions, especially for Nerazzurri fans: just like in the tie in 2009/10, two unforgettable games for all Inter supporters.

How could we not start with the semi-final 15 years ago to discuss the history of Inter vs. Barcelona.

THE PERFECT MATCH

The 20 April 2010 is a date that every Interista will never forget. At San Siro, the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals got underway. Mourinho's Inter played one of the best games in the history of the club, completing the comeback, and getting themselves in a great position to make the final.

The Nerazzurri were facing an extraordinary Barcelona, reigning European champions, capable of changing the history of football. The Bluagrana got ahead through Pedro. It was a goal that could have made any team lose lope, except Inter. The game turned on its head completely with the Nerazzurri pushing and putting pressure on Barcelona's midfield, creating a variety of chances. In the 30th minute Sneijder found an equaliser, filling San Siro with joy. The joy then became ecstasy after the break. They are moments that will forever remain in the heart of every fan: Maicon's goal made it 2-1, The Colossus beat Victor Valdes, converting Milito's second assist. It was then El Príncipe, the icon himself, who headed home in the 61st minute from Sneijder's rebound: Maicon, then lost two teeth in a battle against Messi, Lucio celebrated after keeping it out, right on the line. Then, the final whistle: the return leg was still to play, but Inter won 3-1. Guardiola's Barcelona had never lost by a two goal gap until that day.

INTER 3-1 BARCELONA

Scorers: 19' Pedro, 30' Sneijder, 48' Maicon, 61' Milito

INTER: 12 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon (73’ Chivu), 6 Lucio, 25 Samuel, 4 Zanetti; 19 Cambiasso, 8 Thiago Motta; 27 Pandev (56' Stankovic), 10 Sneijder, 9 Eto'o; 22 Milito (75' Balotelli). Bench: 21 Orlandoni, 2 Cordoba, 23 Materazzi, 11 Muntari. Manager: José Mourinho.

BARCELONA: 1 Valdes; 2 Dani Alves, 5 Puyol, 3 Piqué, 19 Maxwell; 6 Xavi, 16 Busquets; 15 Keita; 10 Messi, 9 Ibrahimovic (62' Abidal), 17 Pedro. Bench: 13 Pinto, 4 Marquez, 11 Bojan, 14 Henry, 18 G.Milito, 24 Touré. Manager: Joseph Guardiola.

RESISTANCE IN BARCELONA

Eight years later, the second leg was played. These eight days were filled with one that was repeated by the whole Barcelona world: “Ens hi deixarem la pell!", "we will leave our skins behind". Remuntada: the only thought on the mind of Barcelona and their fans. Goran Pandev was ruled out last minute and Cristian Chivu then started. The game was tense, you needed nerves of steel: Inter were immensely strong, especially after Thiago Motta's sending off in the 28th minute. They were the longest 96 minute in Inter history: the match remained poised between history and myth: there are moments that come into Nerazzurri legend, like Julio Cesar's save to prevent Messi, Lucio and Samuel's defensive dominance, Samuel Eto'o's relentlessness. It was an extraordinary effort, in front of one hundred thousand fans inside Camp Nou, lit up by Piqué's goal in the 84th minute. And then, in the final minutes, an unforgettable moment in time: Bojan's ruled-out goal, that made us on edge right until the final whistle. This was the signal that finally let Inter and their fans enjoy the moment, blessed by the water from the Camp Nou sprinklers, which also became part of the Nerazzurri legend, as Inter won the Champions League final for the fifth time in its history.

BARCELONA 1-0 INTER

Scorer: 84' Piqué

Barcelona: 1 Valdes; 2 Dani Alves, 24 Tourè, 3 Piqué, 18 G. Milito (46' Maxwell); 16 Busquets (63' Jeffren), 6 Xavi, 15 Keita; 10 Messi, 9 Ibrahimovic (63' Bojan), 17 Pedro. Bench: 13 Pinto, 4 Marquez, 14 Henry, 34 Alcantara. Manager: Joseph Guardiola.

Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 25 Samuel, 4 Zanetti; 19 Cambiasso, 8 Thiago Motta; 9 Eto'o (86' Mariga) 10 Sneijder (67' Muntari), 26 Chivu; 22 Milito (81' Cordoba). Bench: 1 Toldo, 23 Materazzi, 45 Balotelli, 89 Arnautovic. Manager: José Mourinho

CALHA'S STUNNER AND A SPECTACULAR DRAW

The last two Champions League games between Inter and Barcelona date back to the 2022/23 season. The Nerazzurri and the Bluagrana met in Group C, which was a particularly tough group made up of Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzen. The whole group was concluded in the space of two months to allow time for the Qatar World Cup between November and December. Both games between Inter and Barcelona were played within the space of eight days and given Bayern's form, it seemed as if these games were going to decide who would qualify for the Round of 16. The first leg of the game was played on 4 October at San Siro: a match for Inter, a match in an extraordinary atmosphere where the Nerazzurri faced the endless ball possession of the Blaugrana. Calha scored the deciding goal in injury time in the first half: his stunner was unstoppable, after the whole Meazza encouraged him to have an effort.

INTER 1-0 BARCELONA

Scorer: 46' pt Calhanoglu (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij (15 Acerbi 77'), 95 Bastoni; 36 Darmian (2 Dumfries 77'), 23 Barella, 20 Calhanoglu (14 Asllani 85'), 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco (8 Gosens 77'); 10 Lautaro, 11 Correa (9 Dzeko 56'). Bench: 1 Handanovic, 40 Botis, 5 Gagliardini, 12 Bellanova, 33 D'Ambrosio, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti. Manager: Simone Inzaghi.

BARCELONA (4-3-3): 1 Ter Stegen; 20 Sergi Roberto, 15 Christensen (3 Piqué 58'), 24 Eric Garcia, 17 Marcos Alonso (28 Balde 64'); 30 Gavi (19 Kessie 83'), 5 Busquets, 8 Pedri; 7 Dembélé, 9 Lewandowski, 22 Raphinha (10 Fati 64'). Bench: 26 Inaki Pena, 36 Tenas, 11 Ferran Torres, 18 Jordi Alba, 29 Casado, 32 Torre. Manager: Xavi.

The return leg was a different sort of game, it was up and down like a rollercoaster. Camp Nou was bedlam, the Barcelona fans knew they needed to win to hope to make it into the Round of 16. Despite the hostile climate, Inter looked dangerous in a few chances, with Dzeko hitting the bar. In the 40th minute, Barcelona got in front through Dembelé: a goal that swung the game's momentum and it could have been lethal for Inter. And yet, the game changed in the second half: Bastoni assisted Barella with a throw-in, making it 1-1 and stunning Camp Nou. Lautaro's right-footed strike then put the Nerazzuri ahead after his effort went in off of both posts. But in the 82nd minute, Lewandowski found the equaliser. And yet, Inter weren't done there and they got back ahead through Gosens in the 89th minute, a goal that led to the whole bench flooding the pitch. However, the home side then responded again through Lewandowski, making it 3-3, but that wasn't it. Inter could've won through Asllani and Gosens chances in the final minutes. It was enough though: four points in two matches so Inter progressed through, and right until the final that year.

BARCELONA 3-3 INTER

Scoreres: 40' Dembélé (B), 50' Barella (I), 63' Lautaro (I), 82' Lewandowski (B), 89' Gosens (I), 92' Lewandowski (B)

BARCELONA (4-3-3): 1 Ter Stegen; 20 Sergi Roberto (19 Kessie 73'), 3 Piqué, 24 Eric Garcia, 17 Marcos Alonso (28 Balde 73'); 8 Pedri, 5 Busquets (21 de Jong 64'), 30 Gavi (11 Ferran Torres 83'); 22 Raphinha (10 Fati 64'), 9 Lewandowski, 7 Dembélé. Bench: 26 Inaki Pena, 36 Tenas, 18 Jordi Alba, 29 Casado, 32 Torre. Manager: Xavi.

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij, 95 Bastoni (15 Acerbi 85'); 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella (14 Asllani 85'), 20 Calhanoglu (8 Gosens 76'), 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco (36 Darmian 67'); 9 Dzeko (12 Bellanova 76'), 10 Lautaro. Bench: 1 Handanovic, 40 Botis, 5 Gagliardini, 33 D'Ambrosio, 42 Curatolo, 45 Carboni, 50 Stankovic. Manager: Simone Inzaghi.

OTHER GAMES IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE

EXTRA: THE EUROPEAN FAIRS CUP MATCHES

Between 1955 and 1971, there was an intercontinental competition dedicated to teams from cities hosting international fairs, a criterion which was then abandoned after the first editions and replaced by standings in national championships. The European Fairs Cup, later considered by UEFA as the ancestor of the Europa League, had 13 years of competition: Inter competed in the cup six times, with their furthest progress being the semi-finals in 1960/61 and in 1969/70. The first games between Inter and Barcelona were played in the European Fairs Cup: the first two matches date back to the quarter-finals in the 1958/59 season. The two-legged tie was won by Barcelona under Helenio Herrera, before they went on to win the cup: the Bluagrana won 4-0 at home before winning 4-2 at San Siro.

BARCELONA 4-0 INTER

Goals: 11’ and 33’ Ribelles, 77’ Villaverde, 81’ Segarra

Barcelona: Rammallets, Olivella, Rodri, Gracia, Verges, Segarra, Tejada, Ribelles, Martinez, Suarez, Villaverde. Manager: Helenio Herrera

Inter: Matteucci, Fongaro, Valadè, Invernizzi, Cardarelli, Venturi, Bicicli, Firmani, Angelillo, Lindskog, L. Skoglund. Manager: Campatelli

INTER 2-4 BARCELONA

Goals: 10’ Martinez, 49’ Firmani, 50’ Kubala, 60’ Mereghetti, 75’ Martinez, 88’ Kubala

Inter: Matteucci, Guarneri, Fongaro, Masiero, Cardarelli, Invernizzi, Rizzolini, Firmani, Angelillo, Venturi, Mereghetti. Manager: Campatelli

Barcelona: Rammallets, Olivella, Rodri, Gracia, Gensana, Segarra, Tejada, Kubala, Martinez, Suarez, Czibor. Manager: Helenio Herrera

It was a different story in 1969/70, when the two times played in the Round of 16: in the two-legged tie, Inter won in Spain and drew at San Siro, qualifying the Nerazzurri into the next round. The standout player over both games was Roberto Boninsegna: Bonimba broke the deadlock, followed by Bertini's important goal to double it. At San Siro on 9 April, it was once again the Inter number 9 who scored first: Rexach's equaliser was not enough for Barcelona, who were eliminated from the competition.

BARCELONA 1-2 INTER

Goals: 7’ Boninsegna, 20’ Fustè, 32’ Bertini

Barcelona: Reina, Rifè, Eladio, Torres, Gallego, Jaun Carlos, Rexach, Castro, Marti Filosia, Fustè (20’ Garcia Castany, 56’ Romea), Pujol. Manager: Buckingham

Inter: L. Vieri, Burgnich, Facchetti, Bellugi, Landini, Cella, Suarez, A. Mazzola, Boninsegna, Bertini, Corso. Manager: Heriberto Herrera

INTER 1-1 BARCELONA

Reti: 18’ Boninsegna, 29’ Rexach

Inter: L. Vieri, Burgnich, Facchetti, Bellugi, Landini, Cella, Jair (42’ Reif), A. Mazzola, Boninsegna, Bertini, Suarez (36’ Corso). Manager: Heriberto Herrera

Barcelona: Reina, Rifè, Eladio, Torres, Gallego, Jaun Carlos, Rexach, Alfonseda, Marti Filosia, Fustè, Pujol (46’ Castro). Manager: Buckingham