“Final whistle, I lower my headphones, the noise at San Siro is incredible. My eyes wide, I look at Fabio and say: `What did we just see?`. My experience of this Inter-Barcelona match starts from that question. And honestly: I put this game on the podium of those I`ve commentated.”
The day after Inter`s victory against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final return leg, Beppe Bergomi, speaking on Sky Sport Insider – a premium section of skysport.it – in the reading room at Sky`s Casa dello Sport, reflects on the emotions that brought him close to tears during his commentary alongside Fabio Caressa.
While there was criticism on social media regarding the emotional participation, Bergomi commented: “Fabio and I have done countless commentaries, we`ve seen it all. But,” adds the 1982 World Cup winner, “this was truly incredible. You can prepare for a match as much as you want, but when it`s about to start, you never know for sure how you`ll experience it. You get swept away. And I was certainly swept away: the emotion everyone felt, we felt it too. And you can`t hold it back. Literally: you can`t.”
“My Inter-Barcelona is made up of key moments: Acerbi`s goal, Sommer`s saves, Frattesi`s celebration…` `Inzaghi`s team isn`t the strongest in the Champions League – I`ve always said that and I repeat it – but it`s the best at staying in the game, never giving up. Their strength lies in a group that manages to recompose itself in moments of extreme difficulty.”
“Also because we will be talking about this Barcelona for years to come. Maybe at home, on the sofa, it wasn`t fully perceived, but San Siro was impressive, and as a commentator, you get carried away by the atmosphere. This is one of my most emotional commentaries: this match could only be commented on like this.”
Undeniably, the memory also goes back to 2010 and that double Inter-Barcelona header that made Mourinho`s team history. “Comparisons across 15 years are practically impossible: football,” recalls Bergomi, “has changed completely. It seems to me that Inzaghi`s Inter doesn`t have an absolute champion, whereas Mou`s team had some players capable of reaching incredible peaks. But in terms of the emotions they provided, they are on the same level.”
Bergomi feels “Acerbi deserves the cover story: he`s 20 years older than Yamal but refused to give up an inch. It shows the full strength of this Inter: Sommer is 36, he`s 37. For these players, maybe this is the last chance to win something again, and they are fighting to make it happen. If we were emotional, I can`t imagine how much he was. How much the whole team was. A match like this lasts. Forever.”