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For the past couple of weeks SempreInter.com’s new editorialist, Richard Hall, has taken a look back at the glorious history of Inter by highlighting a certain match, hero or any other event in Inter’s history worthy of being labelled Nerazzurri Classic’s. Ahead of tomorrow’s away fixture against Parma, Richard looks back at a fixture between the two teams which saw Inter win the Scudetto in the last round of the league thanks to the phenomenom Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Polar opposites and Zlatan

Parma and Inter go head to head this weekend in a game dubbed ‘The battle for the Europa League’. Momentum is key in football and with not many games to go between now and the end of the season; it is incredibly tight between the two.

When Parma faced Inter on the last day of the 2007/08 campaign their seasons had been very different. This was at a time when Roberto Mancini had accumulated a multi talented and multi cultural squad and was doing his best to destroy all comers on the domestic front. Parma were still reeling from the 2004 insolvency caused by the disappearance of the Parmalat money and were in dire straits.

It was under this back drop that Inter travelled to the Stadio Ennio Tardini, knowing that a win would see them crowned Champions. Parma on the other hand desperately needed a win as they sat in the relegation zone. This really was a ‘do or die’ game for both parties and what was at stake was as opposite as heaven and hell.

The match kicked off with a few misplaced passes and a certain amount of nerves showing through. This did not take Inter long to shake off and before long they started to attack in droves. Only 15 minutes were on the clock when Dejan Stankovic received the ball 30 yards from goal, his clever flick found Zlatan Ibrahimovic who eluded one defender before smashing the ball past Nicola Pavarini in the Parma goal. The celebrations that followed were worthy of the final whistle.

The rain continued to fall heavily and the mood for the home fans soon became as damp as the pitch. The Nerazzurri were not going to give the title to Roma under any circumstances and there persistence showed that. With just over half an hour on the clock Maicon found himself hurtling down the right hand side. He provided the perfect cross, that bent around the panicked Parma defence, their fear was only confounded when who else but Ibrahimovic was there to finish it off. His touch was deadly as he slotted it in on the near post. 0-2 to Inter and Serie B was starring Parma in the face.

The second half saw the rain come down even heavier and due to their lead and the pace of the game Inter sat back. Parma had a few half chances but even though their dogged determination was admirable, it found them little in result.

The final whistle went to an eruption on the Inter bench. A sodden Mancini was embraced by his players as Massimo Moratti high in the stands raised his arms to the heavens with a wide smile on his face. Inter won the Scudetto on the last day and had been pushed hard by Roma, for Parma however it was a bleak day and thoughts of their glory years were now a distant memory.

As the teams face each other this weekend they are no longer polar opposites. In fact they are very much equals in terms of points and even though Inter have a slight advantage and perhaps the form, Parma may just have this result in the back of their minds.

By Richard Hall

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