The Giuseppe Meazza stadium is preparing to say its final farewell to the Italian champions, fresh winners of the Italian Cup, in the festive atmosphere that will be the setting for Inter Verona. The fans' last embrace of their heroes, 90 minutes of spectacle, and then the well-deserved celebrations of a people, the Nerazzurri, who have never abandoned their pupils, and of a team, the one coached by Cristian Chivu, who has demonstrated with facts that they are the strongest in the country, winning a well-deserved double, can begin.
Against Verona, then, a match will be staged with little, if anything, at stake, but which will pave the way for Inter's city parade on the open-top bus.
Inter - Verona, l'ultimo atto prima della festa
Sunday at 3pm the last home act of a year full of successes. We started with the scudetto, arithmetically won two weeks ago in the match against Parma. Then, the Italian Cup, lifted in an Olympic stadium invaded by Nerazzurri love. Now the celebration of a season worth remembering can begin.
The appetizer will be offered by the spectacle of Inter - Verona, first against second to last, in a match that has no impact on the diametrically opposed fates of the two teams. On the one hand, the Nerazzurri jubilation is ready to lift Chivu's team into the Olympus of the few who have succeeded in the feat of the double; on the other, the Scala players find themselves forced to face the disastrous descent into the abyss represented by Serie B.
L'ultimo abbraccio di San Siro ai suoi beniamini
The enthusiasm for the victory against Lazio will be the engine in the legs of the Nerazzurri, who, after the triumph in the Italian Cup, enjoyed the well-deserved two days of rest granted by Chivu. With only the finishing touches in his legs, it should be Pepo Martinez's turn on the pitch, who with his great performances is making a strong bid for a starting role next season. Rest for Akanji; in his place, Acerbi, ready for the last dance. The performers on the wings change: Luis Henrique and Carlos Augusto will give Dimarco and Dumfries a breather, exhausted at the end of a season covered at high speed. For the role of left midfielder, Mkhitaryan should lace up his boots, as he too is probably in his last season at the Meazza. Up front, alongside the Bull of Bahia Blanca, Bonny will have minutes.
Be careful, however, about possible changes: Chivu, in fact, could grant one last runway to the many Nerazzurri players who honorably defended the shirt but who have now said goodbye. In addition to the aforementioned Acerbi and Mkhitaryan, Darmian, Sommer and De Vrij could also take the last embrace of the Meazza before leaving, headed for other shores. In addition to Calhanoglu, Thuram will also not be on the pitch against Verona due to some physical problems.
Verona, il penultimo scalino prima della discesa in Serie B
Verona is preparing to say goodbye to the category and return to Serie B after having achieved safety for six consecutive seasons. A failure signed by Zanetti and Sammarco, but also by a corporate management that has failed to build a lasting project, selling the most important players, without however managing to adequately replace them each time. In any case, the Scala team can take away the small satisfaction of not finishing last by defending their two-point lead over Pisa.
Against Inter, it will probably be a real feat, even if in the first leg the match was more balanced than expected, with Frese's own goal at the end giving the Nerazzurri a last-gasp victory. On Sunday, then, the Scaligeri will try to ruin the San Siro celebration, before the parade begins that will take the open-top bus through the streets of Milan to the Madonnina, once again colored black and blue.
Le probabili formazioni di Inter - Verona
INTER (3-5-2): J. Martinez; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Luis Henrique, Barella, Zielinski, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro, Bonny. All.Chivu
Disqualified: None
Injured: Calhanoglu, Thuram.
VERONA (3-5-2): Montipò; Edmundsson, Nelsson, Valentini; Belghali, Akpa Akpro, Gagliardini, Bernede, Bradaric; Bowie, Suslov. All. Sammarco
Disqualified: None
Unavailable: Mosquera, Serdar, Orban | To be evaluated: Niasse, Bella-Kotchap