Laurent - Triangulation

Monsieur Blanc, at your service. Have you ever seen a defender set off from his own penalty area with the ball at his feet, go all the way to the opposition goalkeeper, round him, and score into an empty net? Perhaps in a Japanese cartoon or two: thrilling, maybe, but not exactly renowned for their footballing accuracy. And yet, 26 years ago, Inter fans witnessed this very phenomenon.

Let's take a step back.

It was a season with an unusual start due to a Champions League play-off at the end of August, and that was just the beginning. Inter were knocked out by Swedish side Helsingborgs, a team that was virtually unknown to most. Recoba missed a penalty in the 90th minute that would have taken the tie into extra time. The opening league fixture was Reggina vs. Inter, with the Calabrians winning 2-1. Marcello Lippi was sacked, and Marco Tardelli took charge of the team. Inter’s first home game was against Napoli, newly promoted from Serie B. Their coach was Zdenek Zeman, who was known for the 4-3-3 formation. His teams all shared the same characteristics: attacking football, pressing, and an extremely high defensive line. Inter took the lead through Di Biagio before Zamorano made it 2-0. Then, just before half-time, came the goal that sealed Napoli’s fate. Blanc, as we were saying, set off from the back, played the ball to Seedorf, and surged forward. The Dutchman read the situation perfectly and picked him out, beating the opposition centre-backs’ offside trap. Blanc raced towards goal, spotted the Napoli goalkeeper coming off his line and came up with another stroke of genius: he pushed the ball to his right and went around the keeper to the left. With his socks rolled down and barely breaking stride, he slotted the ball into the empty net to the applause of the entire stadium. Blanc had arrived in Italy thanks to Napoli, dreaming of playing alongside Maradona, although the two never crossed paths. He later returned to France, apart from a spell at Barcelona. A cerebral player, he began his career as a sweeper before becoming an invaluable centre-back as zonal marking took hold. He ended his playing career at the age of 36 with Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. His two seasons at Inter brought little in the way of team success, but his individual performances were excellent. And then there was that special evening in October, when he decided to score a goal straight out of a cartoon.