INTER legend Sandro Mazzola believes that his side’s defeat to Celtic in the 1967 European Cup final prompted a psychological crisis at the Italian side that lasted for decades.
The ‘Grande Inter’ of the 1960s won back-to-back European Cups, three Serie A titles and two Intercontinental Cups under the tutelage of legendary coach Helenio Herrera before falling to a 2-1 defeat against Jock Stein’s side in the Portuguese capital 50 years ago this Thursday.
Herrera left a year later and the club had to wait another 43 years before Jose Mourinho claimed their next European title in 2010. Having won a trio of Scudetti in the 60s, it took them the best part of three decades to win another three.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Herald, Mazzola revealed that he believed the Lisbon Lions were responsible for ending a glorious period for the Nerazzurri, a side he considers the best Italian team of all time.
“During those years we were definitely the best,” he said. “After there were others, but I think that was the best Italian team ever because we knew how to win in Europe, in Italy, across the world.
“But this match represented the end of a cycle. After the defeat we had to start over again. In the meantime, football was changing and consequently we had to adapt as well.
“They surprised us. We had already won cups; we were convinced we could win and instead we found ourselves up against a very strong side. Unfortunately I don’t remember the names, but they had wide players in defence and midfield who were exceptional.
“We were really sad after the game as we understood that we had come to the end of an era. We were also angry with the manager because he had watched them play and hadn’t told us they were so good. He did that because he didn’t want to alarm us and he understood that we were coming to the end of our cycle.”
Mazzola had opened the scoring for Inter from the penalty spot after only seven minutes, but goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers completed Celtic’s comeback and made them the first British side to be crowned European champions.
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