Fenomenal Oscar: European Cup 1964 1965 Inter Milan Benfica

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

European Cup 1964 1965 Inter Milan Benfica

Final

27 May 1965

San Siro, Milan
Attendance: 85,000
Referee: Gottfried Dienst

Before the final, Herrera spoke confidently of his teams chances: ‘We are now more conscious of our strength. Last year we were not so sure of ourselves. Now, with so much in our favour we know we can win well and win attractively. We hope to lead Europe for many many years.’ With eight of the side that had so brilliantly defeated the great Real Madrid just three years earlier still in their line-up, however, Benfica had enough experience to know that they had every chance of spoiling the San Siro party.

Playing the mighty Internazionale in front of 89,000 of their fanatical supporters in a wet San Siro stadium, however, was to prove too much, even for a team as good as Benfica. The Portugese club had complained to UEFA beforehand at having to play Inter on their own pitch and had even threatened to send their youth team, but UEFA were never going to change the venue. Despite an inspirational performance from their captain Coluna in midfield, Benfica were undone by a single goal from Jair just before half-time when his tame shot slipped through the arms of Costa Pereira. Only one team had managed to score a European Cup goal against Inter at the San Siro that season, and that had come for Rangers when they were already three goals behind, so a solitary goal was always likely to be enough for the holders on their home ground. As expected, the door bolt was fixed firmly in place throughout the second half and, with Benfica further hampered by injury to their goalkeeper

Costa Pereira which saw Germano having to take over in goal, the game petered out with the familiar score line of 1-0 to Inter. The European Cup stayed in Milan for another year and it looked as though it would take something remarkable to prise it away. Catenaccio now ruled Europe and, despite what the football world may have said about its ugliness and negativity, it was proving impossible to overcome, with Inter now holding the championships of both Europe and Italy. For many it was as though a dark cloud was hanging over the continent, but for those in and around Internazionale this was a glorious era that had no end in sight. Now they were out to collect a hat-trick of European titles, and there was no reason to think that Herrera and catenaccio would fail in their quest.