With Argentine captain and goalscorer: Inter and the historic classification to the Champions League final with the inspiration of 2010 | CHRONICLE

“That is my dream now (to win the Champions League”Lautaro Martínez commented after Diego Milito challenged him: “Raise the Champions League”. The talk between Argentines, the past and present of Inter, took place in February of this year and “Toro” wants to match his idol. If Milito gave Inter the last ‘Orejona’ in 2010 with two goals against Bayern, Lautaro has just given him the pass to the final after 13 long years with a bit (The global was 3-0 after the 2-0 in the first leg) before a submitted AC Milan.

Incredibly the rossoneros did not put their seven Champions on the table. They didn’t even take them out of the display case. Despite some insinuations at the start of the game, they played the second leg knowing they were defeated in advance after the 2-0 first leg. And that was fabulous for Inter: it didn’t have any major shocks and when it could, it attacked, although at times it became extremely passive.

After 74 minutes, Romelu entered the area without any objection and he assisted Lautaro so that he defined at will before the null reaction of the rival defense. A goal that increased the advantage on the scoreboard, but that meant much more to the Argentine: with his score, Martínez turned AC Milan, his longtime rival, into his favorite victim. If they played any other tournament, he would score them again.

On balance it was a low game in terms of emotions. “It looks more like a Serie A match than a Champions League semifinal”Diego LaTorre, a commentator for the ESPN network, criticized during the broadcast. Milan’s zero reaction made it so: five shots in the entire game, only one on goal, and an innumerable number of wasted centers looking for a lone Giroud absorbed by the central defenders. Rafael Leao, who has recovered from a muscle injury, appeared only once with a great individual move but could not open the scoring.

The neroazurris are the first finalists in the Champions League -waiting for what happens this Wednesday between Manchester City and Real Madrid, which in the first leg tied 1-, marking an unprecedented milestone.

In fact, the Bavarian cast is the only club that has been able to beat Inter in the European competition. And twice: 2-0 also in the second game played in Germany. Later, the 3-5-2 has worked perfectly for Simone Inzaghi to get seven wins and three draws so far. Although, nobility obliges, their rivals in direct crosses have not been among the best in Europe: Porto in the round of 16, Benfica in the quarterfinals and Milan in the semifinals. All of the same level or lower.

Argentina, the flag of Inter

As in 2010, an Argentine captain commands Inter Milan’s qualification for the Champions League final. that time was Javier Zanetti, historical right-back who is an idol in the Italian team. This time it was the turn of Lautaro Martinezthe tank that is on its way to being idolized, if it isn’t already after winning a Serie A, an Italian Cup and two Italian Super Cups.

But the coincidence penetrates more into the bond forged between the Italian team and the Argentine country. In that historic squad from 2010, led by José Mourinho and that year eliminated Pep’s Barcelona in the semifinals, they were Nicolás Burdisso, Walter Samuel, Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso and Diego Milito as albiceleste representatives.

In fact, if we go back further, much further back. The first two European Cups -now the Champions League- won by the Neroazzurro team (1964 and 1965) were with elecampane herreraan Argentine coach remembered for being one of the forerunners of Catenaccio, the defensive system that marked the history of Italian football.