THE VITALS:

Team: Internazionale

Brand: Nike

Era: 2009-10 (Used for the 2009-10 Serie A season)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: GOOD

This particular article does sadly bear the hallmarks of time and wear, as the discolouring and staining in parts do suggest.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Large

Pit to Pit Measurement: 23 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches 

Made by Nike in their ‘NikeFit’ series of shirts that they introduced in 2009; the dimensions of this shirt go on to suggest that this would make an ideal size large fit.

DESCRIPTION:

To compliment the fabulous home shirt; Nike would craft an equally fantastic away shirt to enhance the legend that was Internazionale’s 2009-10 season! Nike re-introduced the black and blue accents to the classic white body, and with the addition of the collar; created one of the finest ever Internazionale away shirts, truly fitting given the brilliance of the home shirt, and the story of the season itself. Most memorably, this strip was worn during the infamous ‘Siege of the Camp Nou’ on April 28^th 2010 when Inter Milan were reduced to 10 men in the space of 28 minutes as with their lives, they defended a 3-1 lead against Barcelona in 2^nd Leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final to reach the final! This shirt was also worn at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the 2^nd Leg of their Last 16 clash when Samuel Eto’o scored to ensure Inter’s passage to the quarter final!

THE SEASON:

Jose Mourinho’s debut season at the helm was solid but not spectacular as Inter retained the Scudetto and added the Supercoppa Italiana to their trophy cabinet in 2008-09, however, another tepid showing in the UEFA Champions League saw them again deposed in the Round of 16 for a third season running; this time to Manchester United.

Inter would see their most prized asset – Zlatan Ibrahimovic move to Barcelona in a sensational deal that saw Samuel Eto’o arrive at San Siro, meanwhile, the plug was pulled on Adriano; the mythical Brazilian was released from his contract, while veterans: Luis Figo, Hernan Crespo, Julio Cruz and Olivier Dacourt also either retired or departed, while Maxwell joined his friend Ibrahimovic at Barcelona, and Nicolas Burdisso would join Roma on loan. Joining Eto’o ahead of the new season would see a dream team assembled as: Lucio, Thiago Motta, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito were all added to the roster!

The title defence would begin with a tepid 1-1 draw at home against Bari on August 23^rd, however, in their next outing, they would embarrass AC Milan 4-0 in the first Milan Derby of the season and that would begin a run of 4 straight wins, before Sampdoria upset Internazionale 1-0 on September 26^th. That result proved to be nothing more than an aberration as they rebounded from that result with a 5-0 win over Genoa! That result would send Inter back to the top of the table, and they would assume 1^st place for each of the next 26 rounds!

That would only tell part of the story however, especially in the 2010 segment of the season, where draws seemed to derail any momentum the team would generate, in addition, there was a seemingly possessed Roma side that were hell-bent on pursuing the champions to the bitter end. Roma’s fantastic form saw them overtake Inter in 1^st place after they won the clash between the two sides on March 27^th 2-1, however, Roma were unable to maintain the initiative and Inter would win 6 of their last 7 league games to eventually secure the 2009-10 Serie A title; albeit by just 2 points!

The season would begin on a disappointing note on August 9^th in Beijing, China, as Lazio prevailed 2-1 in the Supercoppa Italiana showcase. That mattered not by the end of the season however, as Inter won their first Coppa Italia since the 2005-06 season! After back to back runners up medals in 2006-07 and 2007-08; Jose Mourinho’s side would defeat Juventus and Fiorentina en route to the May 5^th Finale versus Roma, where once again they got the last laugh over Claudio Ranieri and his charges following the 1-0 win in the Stadio Olimpico!

In spite of Inter’s recent domestic dominance; it was perennial disappointment on the European front with the team failing to breach the Last 16 in each of the last 3 seasons after reaching the quarter final in 2006. In a sign of things to come, they would meet the reigning champions – Barcelona in the Group Stage, and while their only defeat in the Group Stage was in the away fixture versus Barcelona; Inter would make hard work out of qualification as they needed to defeat Rubin Kazan on Match-Day 6 to finish 2^nd in the group.

Jose Mourinho would take on Chelsea for the first time since being sacked by the club in 2007, and he would get his revenge as his Internazionale side prevailed 3-1 on aggregate, before they saw off CSKA Moscow in the quarter final to set up a mouth watering semi final against Barcelona. An epic showing in the 1^st Leg at San Siro would end with Inter prevailing 3-1, however, in the 2^nd Leg; Jose Mourinho’s side would endure the ultimate test of their resilience, however, they would escape Catalunya losing 1-0, but reaching the Madrid Final on May 22^nd. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Inter would defeat Bayern Munich 2-0 to become European Champions for a 3^rd time and become just the 3^rd European team in history to complete the treble!

The contest would be the last game that Jose Mourinho would manage for the club as he tearfully bid his charges farewell as he became Real Madrid’s manager ahead of the 2010-11 season. 

The notable players that season were:

Goran Pandev, David Suazo, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Mario Balotelli, Wesley Sneijder, Ricardo Quaresma, Sulley Muntari, Patrick Vieira, Dejan Stankovic, Esteban Cambiasso, Thiago Motta, Javier Zanetti, Christian Chivu, Walter Samuel, Luico, Maicon, Ivan Cordoba, Davide Santon. Julio Cesar, Francesco Toldo