A European semi-final, the first 'Mundialito': previous meetings between Inter and Feyenoord | OneFootball

Today, Inter learned their next opponents in Europe. The draw in Nyon saw the Nerazzurri pitted against Feyenoord in their two-legged Champions League Round of 16 tie. Simone Inzaghi's men are away at De Kuip for the first leg, with the return fixture set to take place at San Siro on Tuesday 11 March.

It won't be the first time the two sides have faced off, although previous meetings are few and far between. The Nerazzurri have played against the Dutch side just four times: twice in competitive football and twice in friendlies.

2001/2002

The only competitive meeting between Inter and Feyenoord came in 2001/02, when the two sides met twice in their two-legged UEFA Cup semi-final. The Nerazurri went into the fixture following a hard-fought quarter-final against Valencia, which ended with Javier Farinos going in goal for the final stages - after Francesco Toldo had been sent off - to defend the lead given to Inter by Nicola Ventola's early goal. The final hurdle standing between Inter and a place in the final in Rotterdam were Feyenoord, who were desperate to contend the trophy at their home ground.

The first leg of the semi took place at San Siro on 4 April 2002. It was a tricky tie for Inter, who were - through injury and suspension - without Toldo, Javier Zanetti and Christian Vieri. The hosts created a host of chances in the first half, most noticeably through Kallon, who saw his efforts saved by goalkeeper Zoetebier. Inter even ever hit the back of the net in the 29th minute but Ventola's goal was ruled out for a push on one of the Feyenoord defenders. The Dutch side appeared fragile at the back and yet, they took the lead early in the second half from an own-goal by Ivan Ramiro Cordoba - a very unfortunate deflection and in. Late into proceedings, Inter created many opportunities but failed to score but, above all, they got Ronaldo back on the pitch for the first time in 102 days.

La gara di ritorno si gioca a Rotterdam la settimana successiva: l’Inter ha bisogno di rimontare il risultato dell’andata in una partita difficile. I nerazzurri spingono fin da subito, ma subiscono due gol in contropiede con Van Hooijdonk e Tomasson, ispirati anche dalla verve di un giovanissimo Robin Van Persie. L’Inter però non molla mai e continua a credere nell’impresa: all’83’ il gol di Cristiano Zanetti regala nuove energie ai nerazzurri, in un finale incandescente. In pieno recupero Kallon trova il gol del pareggio su rigore, assegnato dall’arbitro spagnolo Lopez Nieto per un fallo ai danni di Emre. L’assalto finale però non è abbastanza: gli olandesi si qualificano alla finale della Coppa UEFA, successivamente vinta nel proprio stadio contro i tedeschi del Borussia Dortmund.

The return fixture was played in Rotterdam the following week, with Inter in need of a fight-back in order to overturn the first-leg defeat. The Nerazzurri were on the front foot from the outset but conceded two goals on the break to Van Hooijdonk and Tomasson. A young Robin van Persie was on song for the hosts that night too. Inter, however, didn't give up and continued to up the ante. In the 83rd minute, they scored through Cristiano Zanetti, which ignited the Nerazzurri's efforts for the final assault. Deep into stoppage time, Kallon equalised from the spot after Spanish referee Lopez Nieto had awarded them a penalty for a foul on Emre. It wasn't to be, though. Feyenoord went through and won the UEFA Cup, beating German giants Borussia Dortmund on home turf in the final.

INTER 0-1 FEYENOORD, 4 April 2002

Goal: 51’ og. Cordoba (I).

INTER (4-4-2): Fontana; Simic, Cordoba, Materazzi, Gresko; Conceiçao, Di Biagio, Emre (56’ Seedorf), Guglielminpietro (78’ Recoba); Ventola, Kallon (70’ Ronaldo). Subs.: Moreau, C. Zanetti, Dalmat, Ferraro. Coach: Cuper

FEYENOORD (4-4-2): Zoetebier; Emerton, Wan Vonderen, Paauwe, Rzasa; Kalou (86’ Aros), Bosvelt, Ono, Van Persie (84’ Elmander); Tomasson, Van Hooijdonk. Subs.: Timmer, Gyan, Leonardo, Korneev, Loovens. Coach: Van Marwijk

FEYENOORD 2-2 INTER, 11 April 2002

Goals: 17’ Van Hooijdonk (F), 34’ Tomasson (F), 83’ C. Zanetti (I), 89’ pen. Kallon (I).

FEYENOORD (4-4-2): Zoetebier; Gyan, Van Wonderen, Paauwe, Aros; Kalou (73’ Dos Santos), Bosvelt, Emerton, Van Persie (35’ Leonardo); Tomasson, Van Hooijdonk. Subs.: Timmer, Elmander, Korneev, Collen, Sprockel. Coach: Van Marwijk

INTER (4-4-2): Toldo; Ferraro, Di Biagio, Materazzi, J. Zanetti; Seedorf (57’ Conceiçao), C. Zanetti, Emre, Dalmat; Ronaldo (68’ Kallon), Ventola. Subs.: Moreau, Guglielminpietro, Recoba, Vieri, Okan. Coach: Cuper

1981

In 1981, the first attempt was made to form a sort of Club World Cup at a tournament in Italy, to which only past winners of the Intercontinental Cup were invited. Thus, the Cup Super Clubs was born, though it was better known by the fans as the Mundialito. The first edition of the tournament in Milano featured five clubs: Inter, Milan, Peñarol, Santos and Feyenoord.

Inter won the first-ever Mundialito, finishing on 7 points thanks to three wins and one draw, which came in the opening game against Peñarol. Their next match was against Feyenoord on 19 June 1981 and Eugenio Bersellini's Nerazzurri ran out 2-1 winners. The Dutch side came to Milano with two Dutch greats, who, in fact, didn't play for Feyenoord: Ruud Krol and Arie Haan, "loaned" to them by Napoli and Anderlecht respectively. Inter took a 39th-minute lead through an Evaristo Beccalossi header (Beccalossi was subsequently named player of the tournament for a string of stunning performances). De Stadionclub equalised through Van Deinsen in the 56th minute. That was, however, a truly special Inter side: the Nerazzurri had won the Scudetto the year before (1979/80) and reached the European Cup semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Real Madrid, in the season just gone. Captain Graziano Bini scored the winner in the 73rd minute, heading home from an inch-perfect corner, taken by Pasinato.

It was an important win that set Inter on their way to the trophy as they beat Santos 4-1 and won 3-1 against AC Milan.

INTER 2-1 FEYENOORD, 19 June 1981

Goals: 32' Beccalossi (I), 56' Van Deinsen (F), 73' Bini (I).

INTER: Cipollini, Bergomi, Baresi, Pasinato, Canuti, Bini, Oriali, Prohaska (73' Caso), Altobelli, Beccalossi (60' Muraro), Marini. Coach: Bersellini.

FEYENOORD: Hiele, Nielsen, Krol, Wijnstekers, Buowens, Haans, Van Deinsen, Stafleu, Jacobson, Trost (60' Brard), De Leeyw. Coach: Ježek.

1985

Four years after that game in the Mundialito, Inter and Feyenoord met in a different friendly tournament, one which was held on another continent. In the summer of 1985, the Nerazzurri travelled to the Caribbean island of Curaçao, which is a constituent country of the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the Netherlands Antilles Tournament. Inter, with Zenga, Ferri, Rummenigge and plenty more stars, played against Feyenoord in the Curaçaoan capital of Willemstad on 5 June 1985. The Nerazurri, with Ilario Castagner at the helm, drew 2-2 against the team from Rotterdam. Inter twice equalised as Franco Causio scored a brace near to the the end of his only season with the Club. Two days later, Causio again scored Inter's only goal in their game against Union Deportivo Banda Abou, one of the biggest clubs on the island.

INTER 2-2 FEYENOORD, 5 June 1985

Goals: 6' Hoekstra (F), 27' Causio (I), 42' og. Podavini (I), 87' pen. Causio (I).

INTER: Zenga, Ferri, Podavini, Marini (46' Vinazzani), Filisetti, Bini, Causio, Sabato (46' Muller), Cantarutti (76' Vincenzi), Cucchi, Rummenigge. Coach: Castagner

FEYENOORD: Formannoy, Wjnstekers, Stafleu, Duut, Brard, Hoekstra, Troost, Rep, Been (72' Steur), Roos, Tahamata. Coach: Fafian