Inter triumph

Manager Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan to their first European Cup final since 1972 Wednesday with a trademark display of resolute defending and tactical prowess against one of the most dynamic attacking forces in the game.

Having lost the vital controlling midfielder Thiago Motta in the first half, Inter played over an hour with only 10 men against what many consider to be the best soccer team in the world. But despite keeping almost all possession of the ball throughout the game, a sluggish Barcelona could not create many goal-scoring chances.

An 84th minute strike by Gerard Pique - a defender playing as an emergency extra striker as Barcelona grew more desperate - won the Catalans the game, but was not enough to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg in Milan.

Wild celebrations

There were frenzied scenes after the game as Portuguese Mourinho, a former assistant trainer at Barca, ran on to the pitch to celebrate with his players at the final whistle and clashed with Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes while a hail of objects rained down from the stands.

"It's an incredible joy, I've won the Champions League (with Porto in 2004) but I must say today was better than winning the Champions League," Mourinho told Rai TV.

"It's the greatest moment of my career," Mourinho continued. "For the players, me, the fans, it's the greatest. It's been 38 years since Inter played in the final. This is not a team of young players who can wait 15 years to make the final - they will not have another 10 opportunities to play in one."

"Against Barcelona, it's difficult with 11 players but with 10, it's an historic achievement to win like this. It's the most beautiful defeat of my life."

Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder gave some idea of the post-match excitement in the away team's dressing room: "The coach was screaming in the dressing room, it was very emotional," he said.

Tense tactics

Mourinho once again out-thought his counterpart Pep Guardiola in a tense, tactical battle in which Barcelona's lightning passing and relentless possession of the ball was effectively neutralized by Inter's disciplined players.

Guardiola made two changes to his side from the first-leg, with Yaya Toure and Gabriel Milito replacing Maxwell and suspended captain Carles Puyol, while Mourinho kept faith with the line-up that defeated Barca a week ago, except for the last-minute replacement of the injured Goran Pandev with Romanian Cristian Chivu on the left wing.

The Italians did their best to take the intensity out of the match from the beginning, delaying at set-plays and keeper Julio Cesar was shown a yellow card for repeatedly taking his time with goal kicks, but this only served to further raise the already electric atmosphere with the 90,000 Catalan fans whistling in frustration.

The Catalans thought they had won when Bojan found the net in stoppage-time but the effort was ruled for a handball against Yaya Toure.

Following the match, Barcelona president Joan Laporta appealed to the fans to get behind the team in one of their darkest hours. "Today, it was our turn to suffer the cruel side of football," said Laporta.

The most difficult opponents?

Inter will make the toughest of opponents for Bayern in the final in Madrid on May 22, and many will favor the Italian team over the Bavarians, who had the relatively straightforward task of getting past a harmless Lyon in the semi-final. But at least Bayern coach Louis van Gaal will know his opponent well - Mourinho was his assistant during his three-season tenure at Barcelona in the late nineties.

Like Mourinho, van Gaal already has one Champions League title to his name, having won the trophy with Ajax Amsterdam in 1995, and is optimistic he can defeat his former protégé. "We have better chances against Inter than against Barcelona," van Gaal said after Tuesday's 3-0 victory. "Inter do not play as attacking as Barcelona."

Despite being consistently underestimated, Bayern have played beyond expectations this season, and could still win an unprecedented three competitions.

bk/Reuters/AFP/dpa
Editor: Catherine Bolsover