Champions League: 'Something like a war' - Inter & AC Milan's 2005 quarter-final battle
An image of Inter defender Marco Materazzi leaning on the shoulder of Milan attacker Rui Costa has become one to symbolise the teams' local rivalry
"Materazzi was nicknamed something like a butcher; he is not really a gentle player. Rui Costa was the opposite - more gentle, more artistic in his football. For several seconds Materazzi put his elbow on the shoulder of Rui Costa.
"The Inter Milan supporters were freaking out. They started throwing down objects, flares, and did not stop for about 15 or 20 minutes. It was something like a war." For the quarter-final second leg a formidable back four of Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini sat behind Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini and Kaka, with Hernan Crespo - formerly of Inter - and Andriy Shevchenko up front. Rui Costa was on the bench.
In 2005 rumours were already swirling in the stands. Criminal investigations had begun in Naples and Turin over alleged bribery and corruption in football. He couldn't sleep. "It was the turmoil of emotions," he said. "It was the tension." Team-mate Maldini described an "electricity" across the city. Flares thrown by the ultras in the Curva Nord began to pour down on the San Siro turf like flaming arrows.
"They stopped the match for almost half an hour, which was strange at that time. You start to think that something bad has happened because they really threw down everything - they were getting crazy." "What happened will not just discredit Inter but all of the city," Ancelotti said. "The reaction of the Inter fans was completely unexpected. I was really surprised because I have never seen something like that in all of the Milan derbies that I have taken part in."
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