Inter The Lions Den... My Homecoming....

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI FINAL - SECOND LEG



A fantastic performance from the lads put us to where no one had thought was possible - the Champions League final.

It was to be my first as a manager and I couldn't wait.

We were playing Barcelona. They had hammered Chelsea 7-0 on aggregate in the semi's and were in unbelievable form with the mercurial Leo Messi, Neymar and Stephan El Shaarawy their driving force.

I had a score to settle… The hammering we took against them with Villa almost ruined my life.

Although before then, there was an unbeaten run to protect and an Italian Cup to win.

MAY RESULTS



We did it!!

TWO FULL SEASONS UNBEATEN…. INTERVINCIBLES ONCE MORE!!!

The 100 points tally was a Serie A record and the dominance we had shown throughout the season was evident at the end of season awards ceremony, where we cleaned up!

LEAGUE TABLE



SERIE A PLAYER OF THE SEASON: Eduardo Salvio (FC Internazionale)
SERIE A YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON: Gino Peruzzi (FC Internazionale)
SERIE A MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Jason Connolly (FC Internazionale)

NEXT UPDATE: Italian Cup Final v Sampdoria

Gino Peruzzi <3

He's an absolute tank, defends well, assists, scores, best £18m I ever spent!!

Who would have known Eric would have done that?! EPIC storyline there

FC INTERNAZIONALE v AC SAMPDORIA

Line Ups

Inter



Sampdoria



Vasquez gave Samp an 8th minute lead and after Juan Jesus' dismissal, we had our backs firmly against the wall.

Samp failed to take their chances and Kovacic levelled for us just before the hour.

The match ended 1-1 after 90mins and went to extra time and 3 minutes in, Christian Benteke was carried off.

I introduced Alessio Cuccu, our 17 year old youth team prodigy and all credit to him, he got stuck in and nicked us the winner on 114' after he latched on to Kovacic's through ball, rounded the keeper and slotted home.

FINAL SCORE

FC Internazionale 2-1 AC Sampdoria (AET)



Next Update: Champions League Final v Barcelona…. Can we complete a historic treble??

You're cuckoo for putting on Cuccu but at least he scored

Cuccu looks like a very talented youngster!

Neal & AAN: He's not played much but came up trumps when it mattered.. On loan to Pescara in Serie B next season!

This was it, after 3 and a half seasons with Villa and now 2 at Inter, I finally had a crack at winning the big one. The daddy of club competitions.

Unbeaten in 78 Serie A games, we still went in to the fixture against Barcelona as underdogs.

My last match in charge of Villa was at the Nou Camp and I hadn't forgotten the hammering we took that night - I had a score to settle.

THE LINE UPS









The Champions League anthem boomed around the ground, the stage was set.

Here we go.

We started off brightly, Salvio in particular looking very dangerous.

No one gave us a prayer in this game, which in my opinion was unfair and I used it to fire the players up.

I told Christian to get stuck in against makeshift centre half, Busquets.

I told Gino to stick to Neymar like glue.

Juan Jesus was instructed to never let Messi out of his sight.

They all did their bit and we deservedly took the lead on 29' when Peruzzi sprinted down the right and whipped a ball in to the box, Benteke got a flick on and Verratti arrived at the back post to give us the lead.

The Catalans didn't create much, Messi whipping a volley wide being their only real chance of any note in the first half.

HALF TIME - FC BARCELONA 0-1 FC INTERNAZIONALE

An injury to Alex Sandro meant Silva came off the bench on the hour and his first involvement was to win us a free kick from 35 yards out on the left hand side.

Kovacic delivered and Benteke rose above Busquets to make it 2-0.

Half an hour left and the great Barcelona hadn't bothered Samir in our goal all night.

FC BARCELONA 0-2 FC INTERNAZIONALE

Messi went on a darting run and played Neymar in behind the defence on 82' and the Brazilian side stepped Handanovic and squared for Iniesta to roll home. 2-1.

Shit.

No sooner has Barca started to celebrate when a flash of fluorescent yellow was being waved frantically… Iniesta moved too soon, he was offside!!

Our opponents surrounded the assistant referee to no avail.

We had 7 minutes plus injury time to hold on and hold on we did.

A late Barca onslaught was thwarted by my back four, they stood solid, throwing themselves at everything and crossing the threshold of pain by putting their bodies on the line.

Then the whistle went...

We did it.

FC Internazionale - Champions of Europe.



Mourinho complimented us all, particularly me. It felt good.



We have a new Special One. ME.

Brilliant read, just finished right from the first post. Well done!

2013-12-16 15:25#149801 Bilko89 : Brilliant read, just finished right from the first post. Well done!

Cheers mate and welcome!

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

My stock had risen.

Two unbeaten seasons in two Championship winning Serie A campaigns alongside the treble exploits meant clubs were clamouring over themselves to snap me up...





Should I stay or should I go…..?

Jason Conolly does it again!

http://www.ndpsvg.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PRESS-CONFERENCE.jpg

START OF SEASON PRESS CONFERENCE

Key

Journalist

Jason Connolly

The San Siro Press Room...

Jason, how do you feel about your former club, Aston Villa starting the season in the second tier of English football following their relegation?

Obviously, I'm gutted. I'm not only a former employee of the club but first and foremost, a fan but I think Paul Lambert will bounce them straight back.

He was sacked this morning….

Oh. I didn't know that. Well, I'm sure a suitable successor will be found.

You've spent a lot of money adding to the Inter squad, are you excited about working with your new signings?

Yes, El Shaarawy and ter Stegen are two of the hottest youngsters in world football, Erik Lamela won the Premier League Player of the Season two years running with Spurs and Tiago Alcantara has been out of this world for Bayern Munich during his time there. They've improved Inter, no end.

Inter…. Why not say us?

Because… Inter and myself are no longer 'us.'

I said it like I'd just split with my missus… I got up and left. The journalists started chattering amongst themselves and asking questions as I exited.

My phone rang… Massimo.

I cut him off.