Giovanni -

It was the first home game of a season that, just a few months later, would see Inter make history as the record-breakers. Yet things got off to anything but a smooth start.

Inter dominated the game, racking up an extraordinary 22 corners, which was almost a world record in itself. It was Pisa, however, who took the lead. And if the football gods had a sense of humour, this was proof: the scorer was Daniele Bernazzani, who had made his Serie A debut for Inter and would later return as a member of the coaching staff during the historic Treble-winning season.

Half-time arrived with doubts beginning to creep in. The league season had started late because of the Seoul Olympics, Inter had already been knocked out of the Coppa Italia by Fiorentina and, despite winning their opening league fixture away to Ascoli, questions still lingered. Trailing at the break only heightened the sense of unease around San Siro.

Then Trapattoni made a change that would prove pivotal to the team's balance. Beppe Baresi made way for Matteoli, the deep-lying playmaker Inter had been missing. Baresi, meanwhile, would go on to become an invaluable option from the bench, regularly introduced to shore things up and see out games. He would make no fewer than 18 substitute appearances over the course of the 34-match league campaign.

It was Brehme who finally broke Pisa's resistance, unleashing a right-footed volley from outside the box. Inter then gave the rest of Italy a glimpse of their formidable attacking firepower, scoring three more goals in just twelve minutes to seal an emphatic 4-1 victory.Years later, several players would recall that half-time break as the turning point, the moment they realised they could compete with anyone. And for Lothar Matthäus and his teammates, the message was simple: "No fear of Milan, no fear of Napoli, no fear of Juve. We good team, good players."

And who could argue with that?