Apr 29, 2010
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
10-men Inter stun Barca
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Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal soccer match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain. -- PHOTO: AP
<!-- story content : start --> BARCELONA - INTER Milan reached the Champions League final on Wednesday, beating Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in their semi-final despite losing the second leg 1-0 and playing an hour of the game with 10 men. Jose Mourinho's Inter, who won the first game 3-1 last week, will face Bayern Munich in the final on May 22 in Madrid. Despite Gerard Pique's 84th-minute goal, defending champions Barcelona were unable to find the crucial second goal as 10-man Inter held on, breathing a sigh of relief when Bojan Krkic had a stoppage-time effort chalked off for handball.
Inter will be playing in their first European Cup final since 1972 while Mourinho will attempt to lead the Italian giants to Europe's most prestigious prize for the first time since 1965. 'It's the greatest moment of my career,' said Mourinho. 'For the players, me, the fans, it's the greatest. It's been 38 years since Inter played in the final. This is not a team of young players who can wait 15 years to make the final - they will not have another 10 opportunities to play in one.' 'Against Barcelona, it's difficult with 11 players but with 10, it's an historic achievement to win like this. It's the most beautiful defeat of my life.'
Mourinho once again out-thought his counterpart Pep Guardiola in a tense, tactical battle with the Italians having to survive an hour one player down following the first half dismissal of Thiago Motta. 'The coach was screaming in the dressing room, it was very emotional,' said Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder. 'We defended with 10 men for so long. We were compact, fought for every metre and gave everything. Mourinho always gets his tactics right to destroy the opponents. We did it in Milan and we did it again tonight but in a different way.' -- AFP
