26 April 1994: Berti’s big goal in Vienna

MILAN - The 1993/94 season was an unbelievable one in Inter’s history, for a series of contradictory reasons. An extremely complicated league campaign that somehow saw the Nerazzurri wrapped up in a relegation battle until the final days of the season, but also a thrilling run in Europe, all the way to the two-legged final against Salzburg.

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26 April 1994, 26 years ago. The first leg us saw us travel to the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna with Bergkamp and Sosa up top, and our number 9 shirt on the shoulders of... Nicola Berti. He had come back in April after a horrific knee injury that kept him out for months, and having him back was a huge driving factor for an Inter side needing a big end to the Serie A season. But Berti, in that season full of difficulty and strife, would also make his mark on the UEFA Cup.

He had scored a goal and won a penalty in the second leg of the semi-final against Cagliari. But at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, he was ready to decide the final too. A well-versed routine, that exchange with Ruben Sosa. It was the 35th minute of the first half, and we had a free kick in the opposition half: Sosa took it quickly, Berti took his touch, shielded the ball from the defender and then fired a right-footed effort at goal to beat Konrad.

Such an important goal to give us the lead, and one which was protected by even stronger defending on the night. Just a taster of what was to come, with a 1-0 home win at San Siro to secure the trophy soon after on 11 May.

SALZBURG 0-1 INTER, MATCH DETAILS

Scorer: 35′ BertiSalzburg: Konrad; Lainer, Weber, Winklhofer (61' Steiner), Fürstaller, Aigner, Amerhauser (46' Muzek), Artner, Marquinho, Pfeifenberger, Stadler.Inter: Zenga, A.Paganin, Orlando, Jonk, Bergomi, Battistini, Bianchi, Manicone, Berti, Bergkamp (89' Dell’Anno), Sosa (75' Ferri).Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen.