GUESS THE PLAYER - Obafemi Martins

MILAN – He was a strong runner who left opponents in his wake. And he scored goals in many different ways: headers (just a few), with his left foot (a lot), with his right foot. We discovered his celebration on 19 March 2003 in Leverkusen when he hadn’t even reached the age of 19.  His somersaults ended up being used in advertising and, in particular, remained in the hearts of all Interisti. From 2001 to 2006, Obafemi Martins lit up the Nerazzurri’s attack with his scintillating pace and some incredible goals. One, two, three steps was all he needed to find himself in front of the goalkeeper. Uncatchable.

Today, Oba-Oba Marins, who was born in Lagos on 28 October 1984, is celebrating his 35th birthday. He came to Italy in 2000, starting out in Reggiana’s youth ranks. He caught Inter’s attention and became part of the Nerazzurri’s Primavera side. After winning the Viareggio Cup and league with the Under-19s, it was time to make the jump – literally, in his case – to the First Team. He made 134 appearances and scored 49 goals, some of which were very important. He won one Scudetto title (2005/2006), two Coppa Italia trophies (2004/2005 and 2005/2006) and one Supercoppa Italiana. After his Inter adventure, he played for Newcastle, Rubin Kazan, Birmingham, Levante, Seattle Saunders and Shanghai Shenua. Only a bad injury prevented him from taking part in the 2018 World Cup with Nigeria, for whom he scored 18 goals in 42 games.

Inter’s next match is against Brescia on Tuesday, and this gives us the opportunity to look back at the Nerazzurri’s last victory at Rigamonti. We have to go back to 8 May 2005, when Inter won 3-0 with all three goals coming in the second half. That day, Martins scored two and provided the assist for Vieri to score. Inter made the first goal look easy: Adriano and Veron combined to set Martins free and the Nigerian was clinical in front of goal. Goal number two came courtesy of Giorgios Karagounis’s drive forward. The ball bounced off Di Biagio and fell to Martins, who subsequently scored his second.  Vieri grabbed Inter’s third after Oba-Oba added an assist to his two-goal haul.

BRESCIA 0-3 INTER on 8 May 2005

Brescia: 1 Castellazzi, 2 Martinez, 3 Stankevicius (55' 9 Sculli), 6 Zoboli, 7 Milanetto, 18 Schopp (62' 40 Mannini), 20 Domizzi, 24 Berretta (46' 17 Vonlanthen), 29 Caracciolo, 32 Di Biagio, 33 Wome

Coach: Dolcetti

Inter: 1 Toldo, 2 Cordoba, 4 J.Zanetti, 10 Adriano (69' 32 Vieri), 14 Veron, 16 Favalli (46' 25 Stankovic), 18 Kily Gonzalez, 19 Cambiasso, 21 Karagounis (86' 24 Gamarra), 23 Materazzi, 30 Martins

Coach: Mancini

Goalscorers: 55' and 67' Martins, 90'+2 Vieri

Referee: Paparesta di Bari

Booked: Veron, Sculli