Exciting wins and unforgettable players: Inter in the UCL round of 16

Time is nearing ever closer for Inter's return to action in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. The Nerazzurri will face Atletico Madrid in a very fascinating two-legged tie, pitting two great teams from European football against each other. For the first time ever, the two teams will meet each other in the Champions League: the only official meeting between Inter and Atletico was in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup, won by the Spaniards.

Inter are participating in the Champions League round of 16 for the third consecutive season: in total, including also the original European Cup, the Nerazzurri have reached this stage of the competition for the 17th time in the Club's history. On eleven occasions, Inter have gone through to the quarter-finals.

INTER IN THE ROUND OF 16

1963/64 Inter 1-0 Monaco (Ciccolo) Monaco 1-3 Inter (Mazzola, Mazzola, Skudlapski (M), Suarez) 1964/65 Inter 6-0 Dinamo Bucharest (Jair, Mazzola, Jair, Suarez, Mazzola, Milani) Dinamo Bucharest 0-1 Inter (Domenghini) 1965/66 Dinamo Bucharest 2-1 Inter (Peirò, Fratila (D), Haidu (D)) Inter 2-0 Dinamo Bucharest (Mazzola, Facchetti) 1966/67 Inter 2-1 Vasas (Soldo, Puskas (V), Corso) Vasas 0-2 Inter (Mazzola, Mazzola) 1971/72 Inter 4-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bellugi, Boninsegna, le Fevre (B), Jair, Wittkamp (B), Ghio) Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0 Inter 1980/81 Nantes 1-2 Inter (Altobelli, Rio (N), Prohaska) Inter 1-1 Nantes (Altobelli, Amisse (N)) 2004/05 Porto 1-1 Inter (Martins, Ricardo Costa (P)) Inter 3-1 Porto (Adriano, Adriano, Jorge Costa (P), Adriano) 2005/06 Ajax 2-2 Inter (Stankovic, Huntelaar (A), Rosales, Cruz) Inter 1-0 Ajax (Stankovic) 2006/07 Inter 2-2 Valencia (Cambiasso, Villa (V), Maicon, Silva (V)) Valencia 0-0 Inter 2007/08 Liverpool 0-2 Inter (Kuyt, Gerrard) Inter 0-1 Liverpool (Torres) 2008/09 Inter 0-0 Manchester United Manchester United 2-0 Inter (Vidic, Ronaldo) 2009/10 Inter 2-1 Chelsea (Milito, Kalou, Cambiasso) Chelsea 0-1 Inter (Eto'o) 2010/11 Inter 0-1 Bayern Munich (Gomez) Bayern Munich 2-3 Inter (Eto'o, Gomez (B), Muller (B), Sneijder, Pandev) 2011/12 O. Marseille 1-0 Inter (A.Ayew) Inter 2-1 O. Marseille (Milito, Brandao (OM), Pazzini) 2021/22 Inter 2-0 Liverpool (Firmino, Salah) Liverpool 0-1 Inter (Lautaro) 2022/23 Inter 1-0 Porto (Lukaku) Porto 0-0 Inter

THE EUROPEAN CUP

In the 1960s, Helenio Herrera's Grande Inter dominated across Europe and the world. The Nerazzurri participated in the European Cup for the first time in the 1963/64 season and won the competition, a feat that was repeated the following season. Between the 1963/64 and 1966/67 seasons, Inter won the trophy twice, reached the final another time and were knocked out in the semi-final in another. For four consecutive years, the Nerazzurri went through to the round of 16 by eliminating Monaco, Dinamo Bucharest (twice) and Vasas. Inter then returned to play in the European Cup in the 1971/72 season, finishing runners-up after losing the final against Johan Cruijff's Ajax. In that season's edition, the round of 16 saw the Nerazzurri face Borussia Mönchengladbach, a two-legged affair that became famous after Boninsegna was hit by a can therefore the match in Germany had to be replayed. Nine years later and Inter were back in the European Cup: in the 1980/81 season, the Nerazzurri were knocked our at the semi-final stage by Real Madrid. In the round of 16, Bersellini's team beat French side Nantes, after winning the first leg in France.

ROUND OF 16 IN THE NEW MILLENIUM

In the Champions League era, Europe's top competition changed its format several times. The round of 16 was reintroduced from the 2004/05 season, the year in which Inter knocked Porto out following an outstanding performance at San Siro by Adriano, who netted a hat-trick. Philippians 4:13: the t-shirt that the Emperor showed to the San Siro crowd that night referred to a passage from the Bible. "I can do all things through him who gives me strength." The following year, the Nerazzurri faced Ajax: the man who gave the team passage through to the quarter-finals in 2005/06 was Dejan Stankovic, who scored both goals in Amsterdam and at San Siro. In Milano, the Serbian's strike booked Inter's place in the next round after a 2-2 draw in Holland.

In the following three seasons, Inter were eliminated by Valencia, Liverpool and Manchester United, before returning to qualify for the quarter-finals in the unforgettable 2009/10 Champions League. The two-legged match against English champions Chelsea saw two victories for the Nerazzurri: in the first leg in Milano, goals from Milito and Cambiasso gave Inter an initial advantage ahead of the return game match, which was finished off by Eto'o. The following year, the Nerazzurri faced Bayern Munich in a remake of the previous season's final: Mario Gomez decided the match at San Siro, but in the return game in Germany Inter carried out an extraordinary comeback by overcoming the Bavarians in the closing stages to seal qualification thanks to goals from Eto'o, Sneijder and Pandev.

After being eliminated by Olympique Marseille in the 2011/12 season, the Nerazzurri returned to the round of 16 ten years later: in 2021/22, Inter took on Liverpool, earning a historic victory at Anfield thanks to Lautaro Martinez, but the Reds eventually went through thanks to a 2-0 win at San Siro. Finally, last season saw Inter face Porto in the round of 16: one goal sealed the two-legged tie, with Lukaku's finish enough to knock out the Portuguese side and give Inter a place in the quarter-finals. At the Dragão stadium, Inzaghi's men showed great character and solidity, managing to defend the lead earned at San Siro in the first leg: it was a win that kicked off the Nerazzurri's road to the final in Istanbul.