So to the second leg.
With a two-goal advantage to protect, Inter needed to produce a defensive masterclass to prevent Guardiola’s men, backed by their expectant supporters, overturning the deficit.
The players emerged from the Nou Camp tunnel to be greeted by a banner printed simply with the word ‘remuntada’ — comeback in Catalan.
«I think that put the pressure on them [Barcelona] because everyone believed they could do it,» said Zanetti.
Mourinho’s style of play is synonymous with a solid defence, and it was something he relied on that night in Spain. That and a number of top, experienced players.
«At Inter, my bench was full of top players at the end of their careers. [Ivan] Cordoba, [Francesco] Toldo, [Marco] Materazzi, [Dejan] Stankovic. They were not my first choices, but they were my big allies,» Mourinho said.
He recalled a speech made before the match by defender Cordoba in the dressing room.
«He was saying ‘this is my dream, this is my last opportunity. I am not playing because of him [Mourinho]. He decided to put me on the bench and decided to play you. So you are going to play for me’,» Mourinho said.
«When you have this kind of person on the bench and in the dressing room, your work becomes much more easy. I knew that they would do anything for me and I would have done anything for them.»
Inter’s task became much harder in the 28th minute when midfielder Thiago Motta was sent off for catching Busquets in the face as he raised a hand when defending the ball.
Busquets rolled around on the ground with his hands clutching his face, stopping momentarily to move his hands in a ‘peekaboo’ gesture to ensure the referee had produced a red card.
The Brazilian’s reaction following the dismissal, man-handling Busquets in protest, only fanned the flames of a high-octane encounter.
«We went there with a strategy to try to control, to try and bite in counter-attack,» said Mourinho.
«After 20 minutes or so Motta is sent off. People are sometimes afraid to speak about it, I am never afraid to speak about it — the referee’s decisions are always crucial.»
Down to 10 men and with a 90,000-strong crowd willing their opponents on, Inter sat deep and flooded their defensive areas while the hosts’ passing game was typically brilliant but failed to find the gaps.
«During half-time he [Mourinho] was still convinced we would reach the final. His confidence was contagious,» said Zanetti.
And, having already dubbed himself The Special One, Mourinho felt confident he had his tactics spot on.
«To play with 10 players against Barcelona, it becomes epic. You need heroes. You need to have the best out of everybody,» said Mourinho.
«I think I was brilliant in the way I organised the team. We defended with everything we had. We defended with hearts, with souls. We gave absolutely everything.»
