Inter vs. Barcelona: Mourinho Scores a Massive Win But It's Hardly Over

Not even Mario Balotelli’s childish -and perhaps career threatening- gesture towards his own fans could put a dent on Inter’s brilliant win against Barcelona.

When the young forward threw his jersey on the floor after being booed by some Inter supporters, Jose Mourinho’s men were still in full ecstasy:  they had shown us their finest performance under the Special One’s reign.

The irony in this is that this massive win was built on the very fundament Balotelli went against: team spirit. Jose’s men and the San Siro were a single unit, wholly committed to this enormous, impossible, beautiful cause.

Let the next paragraph be for this complex and fantastic product of Portugal: Jose Mourinho. He has made an art out of absorbing pressure and filtering it out of the locker room. He fights the media, the establishment, perhaps even the church so that his players won’t have to: you just play, but play how I want you to.

And how is that, Jose? With nonnegotiable discipline, with strength and intelligence. All those were at display in Tuesday’s win: can someone remember a Barca team being beaten so empathically? Probably not: Inter is the first team in two years to defeat the catalans by a margin wider than a goal. Not small stuff.

A lot of this is owed to the unlikeliest of heroes: Thiago Motta and Esteban Cambiasso were simply omnipresent. Their constant pressure deprived Xavi and Messi of time and space. Barca’s intricate network of passing and fantasy could only find its feet at the last quarter of an hour, when Inter was already contemplating its work well done.   

Before that, it was all for the italians: even after an erratic start that allowed Maxwell to find yards of space for Pedro to score.

Mourinho’s team then took over and never let go. Its infernal pressure in midfield was joined by an attacking third that has lots of punch: Milito was fantastic; Sneijder’s tournament and season are glorious. When they are joined by Pandev, it’s all trouble.

What about Barcelona? Is the tie over then? Hardly. Inter has showed an unmatched discipline to stop the Catalan’s carrousel but I am reluctant to call that formula fool-proof. Can you stop the Xavi-Messi-Pedro explosion or just delay it?

Guardiola’s men have a massive task ahead and they will need the very same conjunction of team spirit, supporters and talent that was with Inter at the San Siro.

It will also help if Ibrahimovic decides to show up. Guardiola’s bizarre tactic experiments of late should also be curbed: sometimes there is nothing wrong with putting the fridge in the kitchen (what on earth was Pique doing as a forward while Henry was watching from the bench?).

The ingredients are there for another absorbing battle. Let the best team go to the May 22^nd final:  football has won already.