23/07/2007 10:49
Last time we met: Inter Milan

*As it is these days, the talk then was all about David Beckham. The
previous summer, United's no.7 – what is it about our no.7s? – had received
a lifetime's worth of opprobrium after his World Cup dismissal with England
for aiming a 'kick' at Argentina's Diego Simeone, the hard man with a
penchant for the melodramatic. An easy angle for pressmen with column inches
to fill – would Becks blow up again? Would he 'eckerslike...
*
Ronaldo – the one who used to be more famous than our Cristiano – was
another name figuring heavily in the tabloids over breakfast in March 1999 –
although perhaps not quite as heavily as the man himself eight years on. The
Brazilian striker's appetite then was a tad sharper for football. And,
provided his knee problems would clear up swiftly enough, he was arguably
the prime obstacle to United's path past Serie A giants Internazionale to a
semi-final berth in the Champions League. In the event, an unfit Ronaldo
didn't even make it on to the plane to Manchester for the first leg – though
Pele had apparently prayed for him. However, with Inter still as
star-studded as a clear night sky – Gianluca Pagliuca, Giuseppe Bergomi,
Roberto Baggio, Javier Zanetti, Youri Djorkaeff – and a young Andrea Pirlo
on the bench – any small mercy was gratefully received. Whichever way the
tie went, the victors would consider it some scalp.

As United prepared to face down Inter, there was the sense of gathering
momentum. Clashes of footballing titans can go either way. As with boxing,
these are cagey affairs, neither side giving an inch, holding the opponent
at arm's length, all the while waiting for the haymaker – an approach that
has so often suited Italian sides down the years. United are not about that.
Not at home. Going from the off.

This was to be no different. The Beckham backlash, when all the talking was
done, was to be feared only by Inter. Just six minutes had elapsed when
Inter failed to clear their defensive lines; Beckham collecting from Yorke
to whip in a trademark delivery from the right, the Tobagan stealing in
unmarked to power the ball past Gianluca Pagliuca with his forehead for his
sixth *As it is these days, the talk then was all about David Beckham. The
previous summer, United's no.7 – what is it about our no.7s? – had received
a lifetime's worth of opprobrium after his World Cup dismissal with England
for aiming a 'kick' at Argentina's Diego Simeone, the hard man with a
penchant for the melodramatic. An easy angle for pressmen with column inches
to fill – would Becks blow up again? Would he 'eckerslike...
*
Ronaldo – the one who used to be more famous than our Cristiano – was
another name figuring heavily in the tabloids over breakfast in March 1999 –
although perhaps not quite as heavily as the man himself eight years on. The
Brazilian striker's appetite then was a tad sharper for football. And,
provided his knee problems would clear up swiftly enough, he was arguably
the prime obstacle to United's path past Serie A giants Internazionale to a
semi-final berth in the Champions League. In the event, an unfit Ronaldo
didn't even make it on to the plane to Manchester for the first leg – though
Pele had apparently prayed for him. However, with Inter still as
star-studded as a clear night sky – Gianluca Pagliuca, Giuseppe Bergomi,
Roberto Baggio, Javier Zanetti, Youri Djorkaeff – and a young Andrea Pirlo
on the bench – any small mercy was gratefully received. Whichever way the
tie went, the victors would consider it some scalp.

As United prepared to face down Inter, there was the sense of gathering
momentum. Clashes of footballing titans can go either way. As with boxing,
these are cagey affairs, neither side giving an inch, holding the opponent
at arm's length, all the while waiting for the haymaker – an approach that
has so often suited Italian sides down the years. United are not about that.
Not at home. Going from the off.

This was to be no different. The Beckham backlash, when all the talking was
done, was to be feared only by Inter. Just six minutes had elapsed when
Inter failed to clear their defensive lines; Beckham collecting from Yorke
to whip in a trademark delivery from the right, the Tobagan stealing in
unmarked to power the ball past Gianluca Pagliuca with his forehead for his
sixth

'great flourish of inspiration and redemption'. All very kind, we're sure.
But the job was far from done. On the domestic front, Chelsea, hot on our
heels in the league – another similarity with today's Treble-chasing
scenario – were seen off 2-0 in an FA Cup replay at Stamford Bridge. Having
parked the team bus across the goal at Old Trafford in a 0-0 snorefest,
United – Yorkie with another brace – were too hot in the rematch.

And so to Milan, where the team's hotel was so close to the San Siro,
Beckham could probably have arced a free-kick there from his room.
Confidence brimming, the travelling Red Army sported banners proclaiming
United 'too sexy for Milan'. The boss was also on the attack, suggesting the
appointment of 'good referee' Frenchman Gilles Veissiere would curb the less
savoury aspects of the Italian game. Sir Alex said: "If that's the case, we
can see a good match, a fair match. Then everyone is pleased."

Milan were not so pleased. Although bolstered by news of Ronaldo's fitness,
if not match fitness, coach Mircea Lucescu reacted badly to Ferguson's
words. "I always believed in the English sense of fair play," he countered.
"But then Alex Ferguson is from Scotland. And they don't have fair play
there, apparently… It is a sad thing and a bad thing, but maybe nice to see
you, to see you nice: Diego Simeone Ferguson has done it because he is
afraid – surely there can be no other explanation." Round one to the Reds…

That said, maybe fear was a factor, of sorts. Six Italian jaunts all told,
six defeats, just one goal. Hardly a record to inspire chest-beating
rhetoric. But Ferguson, the arch media manipulator with the shop steward's
tongue, chose his words with a message calculated to deflect the pressure
from his team. He knew better than anyone that the pot was coming to the
boil: this was a Manchester United with supreme confidence, a confidence
bred from success. "We come in good heart. We're in good form," he enthused.
"It is a real test for my players, but it's one I know we'll handle well –
if we get one goal that will win it."

Inter themselves were not particularly hot: no win in six, Ronaldo, fresh
from a papal blessing but still complaining of headaches. But my it was
tough, even tougher than anyone expected. Zamorano had a penalty shout
turned down after tussling with Schmeichel early on, and United's custodian
was far from idle. Zanetti's looping drive hit a post, and when Ventola – on
just three minutes earlier for Ronaldo – finally opened the scoring on 63
minutes, cashing in on a rare slip by Roy Keane following Benoit Cauet's
cheeky chip over the defence, our audible sighs of relief at the Brazilian's
early exit looked horribly premature.

Suddenly the thought of 27 minutes to hold on felt like a stretch in
Strangeways. But hold on we did, and as the seconds ticked by 10,000
travelling fans watched through fingers. Berg and Stam stood strong, twin
peaks of United's resolve. Chances came and went. Zanetti went close once
more and substitute Ze Elias, on for the hobbling Simeone (how we laughed),
missed a golden opportunity to level the aggregate score with seven minutes
remaining, dragging his shot horribly wide. There were only two minutes left
to play when United launched a rare attacking foray – and in doing so
plunged a dagger into Inter's heart. It was a touch of genius from Cole that
made it possible. Buoyed by two goals on his old Newcastle patch at the
weekend, Cole deftly cushioned Gary Neville's high-arching cross perfectly
into Paul Scholes' path. Like the class act he remains, Scholes made his
sidefoot finish look like shelling peas. Rarely has he celebrated with such
passion, though – and it comes as no surprise that he recently rated that
goal his most vital in a Red shirt.

The boss was ecstatic. "I may need a triple bypass after that. I don't care
who we get now. I'm just so happy to be in the semi-finals. We could get
Melchester Rovers and I wouldn't mind," he purred. "I see the Italian big
guns as a barometer of our progress and I think we are entitled to feel
that, with Inter out of the way, we can go all the way."


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