Legendary Inter defender Marco Materazzi, who spent ten years at the Giuseppe Meazza manning the Nerazzurri defence, believes Liverpool will ‘not be an easy undertaking’ but backed his former club to go through.
Speaking on Inter’s official matchday programme (via SempreInter), the World Cup winner drew comparisons between this year’s Champions League Round of 16 tie and the one in 2009/10, when Mourinho-led Nerazzurri triumphed against English opponents Chelsea in the same stage of the tournament back then.
Chelsea were ousted 3-1 on aggregate by one of the best-ever Inter outfits, as they secured a place in the quarter-final in that treble-winning year.
He said: “Maybe Liverpool are the worst possible opponent, but I can’t forget Chelsea in the round of 16 in 2010. I remember that, when we met them in a friendly match in Pasadena, I thought to myself: ‘How can we possibly beat this team?’.
“They were on another level. However, we moved on to the next round. This won’t an easy undertaking, but if it goes well, they can surely do it,” he backed the Nerazzurri.
Simone Inzaghi has seamlessly transitioned in the club’s ranks, taking over the Scudetto winning team and bolstering them up a notch. Materazzi reflects on his time at Inter where he was ‘lucky enough’ to be around talented players in a well-gelled team.
“I remember the cohesion of the Nerazzurri locker room well. Sometimes, when there are so many top players, not everyone is necessarily going out to dinner together. But on the pitch we were all friends and brothers. And everyone ran for their teammates. I was lucky enough to play with so many talented players,” he ended.
Inter face Liverpool in the blockbuster first leg clash in Milan tonight, as the Nerazzurri seek to progress to the quarter-final stage for the first time since their tie-up against Chelsea back in 2009/10.