Like a schoolkid exceptional in inter-school competitions but unable to crack the nut in inter-school events, like a nutty professor appearing an invincible intellectual to his students but having his aura ripped apart among his colleagues, like a brave mouse too chicken-hearted to tie the bell round the cat’s neck, Inter Milan have once again demonstrated that they have a large, vicious monkey of European ineptitude hanging on their back like a parasite clinging onto its host.

All this in spite of being the all-consuming grand team in Italy. In spite of the fact that with 15 games remaining in the Italian Serie A this season, they have virtually assured themselves of another scudetto triumph.

And in spite of possessing one of the largest and squads in European football and their manager, Roberto Mancini being one of the best coaches in Europe. In spite of their president, Massimo Moratti, being one of the wealthiest men on the continent.

'This season, Inter are the only club among the ones in the Big Five European leagues not to have lost in the league so far'


Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Anfield on Tuesday night in the Champions League last 16 first leg tie was more than just an extension of Inter’s abject record in Europe in recent years. It was the definitive revelation of a large and boisterously pampered team lacking in self-conviction and ability to flight up to the next level.

It revealed an inferiority complex that they simply aren’t good enough in Europe. The Nerazzurri fanatics would certainly point to  the sending off of Marco Materazzi inside the first 30 minutes of the match for two bookable offences. Indeed, the Italian international defender’s first yellow card wasn’t even a white!

Yet no one can deny that Mancini trooped his side to Merseyside to play a sit-back, defensive style of football with a hawk’s eye open for a swift counter-attack. For much of the game, admittedly with a numerical disadvantage, Inter were a bunch of factory workers pretending to be footballers; or a pack of coal-miners masquerading as diamond experts.

They had a measly fofur shots at goal and just one corner and played with a tempo that didn’t reach even a 50 mile radius of the pace displayed by a Championship side. And as far as class is concerned, Inter on the night, were absolutely classless, just as they were last season in the Champions League.

Inter bowed out to Spanish powerhouse Valencia after conceding two home goals in the first leg of the last 16 stage after months of rampaging through Italian defences. This season, Inter are unbeaten in the league. In fact, they are the only club among the ones in the Big Five European leagues not to have lost in the league so far.

But once again they’ve failed to pull the rabbit marked with the Champions League stamp out of the hat. Inter’s ruthless success in the Serie A is ironically a strong reason for their incompetence in the Champions League. Their squad, brimming with strength and depth, is far too strong for any club in the Serie A.

Even with their summer signings, AS Roma are as good as second and 11 points off the pace, Juventus are constructing a new FIAT-like force, AC Milan are struggling for a fourth spot yet again and the rest are ambition-wise stunted and very much under par.

This dearth of competition confronted by Mancini’s side dilutes them and when they stumble across quality opposition in Europe, they appear untried and are often taken by surprise. At Anfield, Liverpool came out of the traps right from the first whistle and with a typical English spirit and enthusiasm founded on a confidence sparked by hunger and fear, firmly settled (or unsettled) Inter on the back foot.

All night long the Inter players were back-pedalling from the midfield to the defence with only occasional glimpses at goal. And when the Reds rallied in the last 10 minutes of the match and scored first through Dirk Kuyt, who broke his 13 game duck, and then through a Steven Gerrard’s long drive that somehow didn’t seem threatening until the ball slotted home off the post, Inter were clearly undone by their own inefficiency to raise their game.

This Inter Milan side has been consistently likened to the Grande Inter legacy of the 1960s and the compatibility in playing style between the two generations has actually augmented the cheer-leading campaign. Yet while that generation of Inter stars were taking everyone inside out in Europe, this bunch is continuously failing to peak among the continent’s elite.

And until they lift the Champions League trophy, their supposed greatness shall remain a hollow myth. Maybe this ringing of the death knell for Inter Milan at the half-way point of the last 16 stage is an exaggeration and Inter do possess as good a chance as anyone to drive themselves back into contention at the San Siro in three weeks’ time.

But Liverpool, with their two goal cushion, just need to score once in Milan and then the Italians would have to strike four times. Not an easy task by any means, and Mancini has to infuse an attacking venom right from the starting whistle in the second leg and also sustain a tight back four.

Can Inter overhaul their 2-0 deficit and exhibit their mettle? We shall know in three weeks’ time.