The last 3 visits to the Mario Rigamonti have been nothing short of dramatic.
In 2001/2002, Ronaldo & Vieri made us believe that Inter will dominate the world football when they ran riot in Brescia's defence. I remember crying when Ronaldo scored his first goal after years of injuries after playing a 1-2 with Vieri. It was a truly dream goal for me. Those 2 were the first reason why I supported Inter in the first place. I clearly remember dominating the Winning Eleven game over my cousins & friends using that duo. Vieri himself scored 2 absolutely Vieri-esque goals. To see them doing it in real life would be awesome but alas...
In 2002/2003, 3 red card were flashed by the referee but 9-men Inter managed to escaped with 3 points thanks to Hernan Crespo's goal with the last kick of the game. Cristiano Zanetti was first to be harshly sent-off as he protested for a foul he comitted. I can't recall who was
Il Martello's victim. Vieri retaliated to a Bilica slap or punch and the both of them head for early showers. It is also worth nothing that Inter went into this game on the disappointment of another Derby defeat by city rivals Milan and that Brescia came into this game on the back of an incredible 16 game unbeaten streak, the longest in Serie A that season. Ironically, Inter was the last team to beat them when Vieri scored a poker in November/December 2002.
In 2003/2004, the match finished 2-2 and it resulted with Cuper getting the sack. Arguably, it was the match before, a 3-1 Derby loss, that cost his job but his failure to deliver the victory in this match ultimately caused Moratti to lost his patience.
What will happen when we visit them this season? Brescia's last match was a 2-2 draw with Roma and they were lucky to escape the Olimpico with a point as Montella missed a last minute penalty. Let's hope that we can continue our good form and a victory would be a moral boost ahead of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Cagliari in the mid-week!
Of course, we should rest some players in this match. Cambiasso is the first name that comes to mind for me. Obafemi Martins is another. Although Oba was a nightmare in the last game, he has scored in every round of the Coppa Italia so far, raking 4 goals and he has also scored 3 times against Cagliari this season.
Handyo