The 1965 final, previous meetings, and more: everything about Inter vs. Benfica

Inter face Benfica in the Champions League quarter-finals. It's a fixture that brings back memories of the 1965 European Cup final, won by the Nerazzurri at San Siro. The 2.legged affair (1st leg on 11 April in Lisbon, 2nd leg on 19 at San Siro) will decide who goes on to face a semi-final showdown with either AC Milan or Napoli.

BENFICA'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RUN

Benfica topped Group H on 14 points, ahead of PSG, Juventus and Maccabi Haifa. The Portuguese side remained unbeaten, winning four and drawing twice, before thrashing Club Brugge over two legs (0-2 and 5-1). In total, Benfica have scored 23 goals and conceded eight, with two players in the squad among the competition's leading scorers: Joao Mario with six, and Rafa Silva with 5.

Also in their domestic league campaign, Benfica are dominating: after 27 games, Schmidt's side have 23 wins, two draws and two defeats to their name. Leading scorer so far is Gonçalo Ramos (25 goals), ahead of Joao Mario (23) and the pairing David Neres-Rafa Silva, both with twleve.

Head coach is German Roger Schimdt, who arrived at Estadio da Luz last summer following two years with PSV. Previously, Schmidt has led Salzburg, Bayer Leverkusen (where he had a certain Hakan Calhanoglu in his squad) and Beijing Guoan.

INTER VS. BENFICA, PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Inter and Benfica face each other in European action for the fourth time. One was the historic and unforgettable 1965 European Cup final, with Inter winning 1-0 at San Siro thanks to a winning goal by Jair. Plus, there were two meetings in the UEFA Cup in the 2003/2004 season.

27.05.1965 Inter-Benfica 1-0 42' Jair 11.03.2004 Benfica-Inter 0-0 25.03.2004 Inter-Benfica 4-3 36' Nuno Gomez, 46' Martins, 61' Recoba, 65' Vieri, 68' Nuno Gomes, 71' Martins, 78' Tiago

THE SAN SIRO FINAL: JAIR AND THE SECOND EUROPEAN CUP

Look at the photo below. Isn't it the most cruel yet sweet moment for any football fan: a wet and muddy football pitch, a stadium packed to the rafters, full of stars on the pitch and cloudy skies a rainy Milan night. This photo was taken on 27 May 1965. Jair da Costa was still to turn 25 years old. And that young guy lying on the wet pitch at San Siro had just hit a right-footed shot before ending up on the ground. His head rose slightly so as to watch the flight of the ball, which was seemingly easily saved by Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira. But the ball slipped from his hands, fell between his legs, and ended up in the net. Jair da Costa, on 27 May 1965, gave Inter their second consecutive EuropeanCup. The first had arrived exactly a year prior, in Vienna, after beating Real Madrid. Now in Milan, at San Siro, in front of Eusebio's Benfica, it the period of the 'Great Inter' of 'Mago' (wizard) Herrera. The team was: Sarti, Burgnich, Facchetti, Bedin, Guarneri, Picchi, Jair, Peirò, Mazzola, Suarez, Corso.

This was the only ever game between Inter and Benfica in the European Cup.

San Siro, Milan, 27 May 1965 INTER 1-0 BENFICA Scorer: 42′ Jair INTER: Sarti; Burgnich, Guarneri, Facchetti; Bedin, Picchi; Jair, Mazzola, Peiro, Suarez, Corso. Head Coach: Helenio Herrera. BENFICA: Costa Pereira; Cavem, Cruz, Germano, Raul; Neto, Coluna; Augusto, Eusebio, Torres, Simoes. Head Coach: Elek Schwartz.

2003/2004 UEFA CUP: A BREATHTAKING 2ND LEG

In the 2003/04 season, Inter and Benfica came back to meet each other in the UEFA Cup Round of 16. The first leg in Lisbon ended 0-0, leaving the second leg at San Siro wide open and all to play for. It was a breathtaking game, full of twists and turns and some spectacular play (most of all the one from Karagounis for one of the two goals by Martins). Inter were behind, then led 3-1 and 4-2, before it became 4-3 at the end.

BENFICA 0-0 INTER BENFICA: Moreira, Armando (69' Cristiano), Luisao, Petit, Zahovic (80' Manuel Fernandez), Geovanni (67' Joao Pereira), Simao, Miguel, Sokota, Tiago, Ricardo Rocha. Coach: Camacho. INTER: Toldo, Cordoba, Adani, Cannavaro, Helveg, C. Zanetti, Farinos (46' Okan), Karagounis, J. Zanetti, Martins, Recoba (57' Cruz). Coach: Zaccheroni.

INTER 4-3 BENFICA INTER: Toldo; Cordoba, Adani, Gamarra; J. Zanetti, Okan( 59' Recoba), Lamouchi, K. Gonzalez; Karagounis( 71' Brechet); Vieri, Martins (85' Almeyda).Unused subs: Cordaz, Farinos, Almeyda, Van Der Meyde, Cruz. Coach: Zaccheroni. BENFICA: Moreira; Miguel, Luisao, Ricardo Rocha, Armando; Joao Pereira (65' Manuel Fernandes), Petit (85' Geovanni), Tiago, Simao; Nuno Gomes, Zahovic (65' Sokota). Unused subs: Bossio, Helder, Cristiano, Fernando Aguiar. Coach: Camacho.

INTER AND BENFICA, FORMER PLAYERS

Several players have played for both clubs. Joao Mario, who made 69 appearances and scored four goals wearing the shirt of Inter between 2016 and 2019, currently plays for Benfica.

Regarding Head Coaches, Giovanni Trapattoni won league titles for both Inter (1988/89) and Benfica (2004/05). Before him, José Mourinho led the Portuguese side for nine games in 2000, and was in charge of the Nerazzurri from 2008.

Players who have donned the jerseys of both sides are: Joao Mario, Julio Cesar, David Suazo, Lisandro Lopez, Giorgios Karagounis, Maniche, Valentino Lazaro, Cancelo, Paulo Sousa, Gabriel Barbosa.