The duel between Inter and Porto this Wednesday at San Siro, the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, is marked by the reunion of Simone Inzaghi and Sergio Conceiçao, now on the respective benches but two old acquaintances who played and won together with Lazio.
In their first game as teammates, played at the end of 1999, they lifted the European Super Cup with the Romans after beating Manchester United. And in the year 2000, the Italian and the Portuguese entered lazial history by winning the double with Serie A and the Italian Cup.
Inzaghi began a long history that would last 20 years as a Lazio player, until he finished his career, and later as a coach, first in charge of the youngsters and then in charge of the first team between 2016 and 2021. Conceiçao, who arrived a the year before to the ‘biancocelesti’ club and was able to participate in the final of the continental Cup Winners’ Cup won in May 1999, he left in the summer of 2000 for Parma, as part of the agreement for the signing of the Argentine Hernán Crespo.
A course later, Conceiçao arrived at Inter Milan, the club he is now challenging. Despite playing in the ‘Nerazzurri’ shirt alongside stars like Ronaldo, Vieri, Zanetti and Seedorf, the Portuguese international winger was unable to expand his record with Inter. He met Inzaghi again briefly, for a few months in the 2003-2004 campaign, before returning to Porto, his usual club.
The Dragons coach recognizes the importance that Serie A had in his formation. The way he conveys his players is reminiscent of Cholo Simeone, also a former teammate at Lazio and whom he beat in the group stage of this Champions League.
italian spanking
He has been a scourge of Italian clubs since he began managing Porto in 2017, with successes in the round of 16 knockouts against Roma and Juventus and finishing ahead of Milan in the last Champions League, before beating Lazio in the previous round to the eighth of the Europa League.
A great challenge for Inzaghi, who is seeking to overcome the round of 16 barrier for the first time after losing two years ago with Bayern Munich and, already with Inter Milan, against Liverpool in the previous year. “I am happy to meet Sergio again, we share important victories,” Inzaghi said at a press conference on Tuesday.
At no less than 15 points behind Napoli in the race for Serie A, Inzaghi relies on the talent of his players to save the season in the KO tournaments. In January he already won the Italian Super Cup against Milan and could do the same with the Italian Cup, whose semifinal he will play against Juventus in April.
probable lineups
Inter: Onana, Škriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, Barella, Brozović, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Dimarco, Lautaro Martinez and Lukaku.
Porto: Diogo Costa; Joao Mario, Pepe, Marcano, Wendell; Grujic, Eustáquio, André Franco, Pepê; Taremi, Toni Martinez.
Referee: Srdjan Jovanovic (Serbia).
Time: 9:00 p.m. San Siro.
TV: Movistar Champions League.
