Champions League: 'Something like a war' - Inter & AC Milan's 2005 quarter-final battle

An representation of Inter defender Marco Materazzi leaning connected the enarthrosis of Milan attacker Rui Costa has go 1 to symbolise the teams' section rivalry

There was Rui Costa and determination was Marco Materazzi. Beauty and the brawn. The elegant Portuguese shouldering the value of his grizzled opponent's elbow.

"Everyone was focused connected the flares, connected the smoke," lensman Stefano Rellandini, who captured that iconic representation 18 years ago, tells BBC Sport. "But adjacent the centre of the transportation I saw a definite moment.

"Materazzi was nicknamed thing similar a butcher; helium is not truly a gentle player. Rui Costa was the other - much gentle, much creator successful his football. For respective seconds Materazzi enactment his elbow connected the enarthrosis of Rui Costa.

"So erstwhile I saw that, I changeable it. I person conscionable 1 framework successful that sequence. That was the moment."

The representation has its ain legacy, but it besides captured the extremity of AC Milan and Inter Milan's astir caller Champions League match; a 2005 quarter-final that was abandoned aft flares and different objects rained down connected the San Siro turf from a conception of Inter fans, 1 striking and injuring Milan goalkeeper Dida.

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With 73 minutes played of the 2nd leg, the referee abandoned the lucifer and the necktie was aboriginal awarded to Milan, who were starring 3-0 connected aggregate.

"The ambiance that nighttime was similar each clip you person an AC Milan and Inter derby astatine the San Siro," says Rellandini, who was moving for Reuters astatine the time.

"It is ever strong. They don't combat a lot, but the choreography of the supporters is immense and great, truthful you tin truly consciousness it, adjacent if you're not a player.

"When you enactment your feet connected to the pitch, you tin consciousness that it's not conscionable a shot match. It is thing more.

"You are truly adjacent to the players. It was a bully atmosphere; determination was adrenaline.

"It conscionable blew up erstwhile they disallowed the extremity from Esteban Cambiasso. That wholly changed the situation.

"The Inter Milan supporters were freaking out. They started throwing down objects, flares, and did not halt for astir 15 oregon 20 minutes. It was thing similar a war."

The hostility had been brewing. Milan had knocked Inter retired of the contention 2 years earlier connected distant goals, contempt some semi-final legs ending successful a gully astatine the San Siro. Milan went connected to bushed Juventus connected penalties successful the last astatine Old Trafford.

Milan besides headed into the 2004-05 run arsenic Italian champions - a sixth Scudetto since Inter past got their hands connected the Serie A rubric successful 1988-89.

Owner Silvio Berlusconi was gathering his 2nd genuinely large Milan broadside and the entrepreneur-turned-politician had trusted Carlo Ancelotti, a subordinate of the squad that won successive European Cups successful 1989 and 1990, to present different play of occurrence arsenic manager.

For the quarter-final 2nd limb a formidable backmost 4 of Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini sat down Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini and Kaka, with Hernan Crespo - formerly of Inter - and Andriy Shevchenko up front. Rui Costa was connected the bench.

Inter, meanwhile, had spent lavishly to effort and vie with Milan and Juventus. Chairman Massimo Moratti broke the transportation satellite grounds doubly successful 3 years, archetypal to motion Ronaldo from Barcelona successful 1997 and past to get Christian Vieri from Lazio successful 1999.

Crespo and Seedorf had arrived astatine Inter connected large deals, but failed to onshore immoderate important silverware, earlier uniting crossed the disagreement astatine Milan.

Fabio Cannavaro had besides travel and gone - a misfiring two-spell ending with a determination to Juventus.

By 2005 the Inter midfield was built astir the Argentina brace of Cambiasso and Juan Sebastian Veron, portion up of them precocious Brazil guardant Adriano was enjoying his astir prolific play successful a achromatic and bluish shirt.

The squad were improving. The results weren't.

Inter carried the unwanted tag of 'August champions' among rival fans, who mocked the expectations that had been built up successful the summertime transportation marketplace and invariably fizzled retired by the clip silverware was astatine involvement successful May.

Among Inter supporters, determination was an underlying feeling that they were moving an unfair contention - betwixt them, Milan and Juventus had won 11 of the erstwhile 13 titles.

However, successful 2006 some would beryllium implicated successful the Calciopoli scandal. Juventus were relegated to Serie B for their portion and stripped of 2 titles. Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina were docked points.

In 2005 rumours were already swirling successful the stands. Criminal investigations had begun successful Naples and Turin implicit alleged bribery and corruption successful football.

As the lucifer turned against Inter, their fans' frustrations - astatine the scoreline and their inability to adjacent the spread connected Milan and Juventus teams who ever seemed 1 measurement up - spilled implicit from the stands and connected to the pitch.

Stam and Shevchenko had fixed Milan a two-goal vantage successful the archetypal leg.

Andriy Shevchenko finished the league play with 17 Serie A goals

But heading into their 'home' limb astatine the San Siro, Inter's fans were inactive buoyant and hopeful of a comeback.

Milan large Alessandro Costacurta, who came connected arsenic a substitute successful the archetypal leg, talked of the 'Derby della Madonnina' meetings arsenic the "worst" days successful his career.

He couldn't sleep. "It was the turmoil of emotions," helium said. "It was the tension." Team-mate Maldini described an "electricity" crossed the city.

Shevchenko besides said helium struggled to slumber and remembers seeing much nine colours connected amusement astir the metropolis arsenic the games grew closer.

"There was large tension, large anticipation but supra each passion, and ever with civilian attitudes," the erstwhile Ukraine guardant told Gazzetta dello Sport recently.

It was Shevchenko, Milan's fig seven, who opened the scoring fractional an hr into a fiery 2nd limb erstwhile helium bushed Francesco Toldo with a left-footed effort from extracurricular the box. That the guardant had avoided punishment aft appearing to headbutt Materazzi aboriginal connected lone added to Inter's fury, with fans besides believing they should person had a penalty.

But the existent flashpoint came with conscionable nether 20 minutes remaining.

Inter midfielder Cambiasso's bald caput met Veron's country to seemingly marque it 3-1 connected aggregate, lone for the extremity to beryllium disallowed due to the fact that striker Julio Cruz was ruled to person fouled Dida. There looked to beryllium small contact.

Flares thrown by the ultras successful the Curva Nord began to determination down connected the San Siro turf similar flaming arrows.

One struck Dida connected the shoulder, narrowly missing his head, arsenic helium attempted to wide the pyrotechnics and bottles from his punishment area.

The players gathered successful the centre of the transportation arsenic Maldini, Cambiasso and Inter skipper Javier Zanetti remonstrated with referee Markus Merk, earlier Zanetti and Veron took to helping the firefighters who were dousing the flames by trying to wide debris from the goalmouth.

AC Milan goalkeeper Dida suffered burns to his enarthrosis erstwhile helium was deed by a flare

Eventually, with objects inactive cascading down from the stands, some teams were ordered disconnected the pitch, attempting to structure arsenic they escaped via a passageway successful the aforesaid country of the crushed arsenic the ultras.

"After the archetypal fewer flares lit up, the transportation was wholly successful the fog, truthful you couldn't see. Even if you wanted to drawback a representation of idiosyncratic injured, you couldn't," explains Rellandini, though helium did negociate to drawback his masterpiece amid the chaos.

"They stopped the lucifer for astir fractional an hour, which was unusual astatine that time. You commencement to deliberation that thing atrocious has happened due to the fact that they truly threw down everything - they were getting crazy."

When the players returned, Dida - treated for first-degree burns to his enarthrosis - was replaced by Christian Abbiati, but aft 30 seconds, with the barrage continuing, Merk was forced to wantonness the fixture.

"The referee took the close decision," said Maldini. "I was amazed that helium tried to restart the crippled but it was bully due to the fact that truthful galore supporters had paid to watch."

Ancelotti, similar Inter manager Roberto Mancini, condemned the incident, calling it a "disgraceful episode".

"What happened volition not conscionable discredit Inter but each of the city," Ancelotti said. "The absorption of the Inter fans was wholly unexpected. I was truly amazed due to the fact that I person ne'er seen thing similar that successful each of the Milan derbies that I person taken portion in."

Milan constabulary main Paolo Scarpi blamed it connected "two to 3 100 hooligans… the accustomed hotheads from the Inter section", portion Berlusconi, Italian premier curate astatine the clip arsenic good arsenic Milan owner, suggested "drastic measures" were needed to stem the emergence of unit astatine stadiums.

Uefa, European football's governing body, handed Inter a £132,000 fine and ordered them to play 4 European games down closed doors.

Rui Costa and Marco Materazzi are pictured successful the foreground of this wide image, conscionable arsenic Rellandini was lining up his celebrated photo

"This is the largest good successful Uefa's history. There volition beryllium immoderate radical who deliberation it is lenient and immoderate radical who deliberation it harsh," a Uefa spokesperson told the BBC.

Milan went connected to bushed PSV Eindhoven connected distant goals successful the semi-finals - Dida acceptable a Champions League grounds of 7 successive cleanable sheets successful their 2-0 first-leg victory, earlier PSV won the instrumentality 3-1.

Milan would person clinched a seventh European rubric but for a miracle successful Istanbul successful which Liverpool scored 3 times successful six minutes successful the last earlier winning connected penalties.

Milan would get their revenge 2 years later, seeing disconnected Liverpool successful the last successful Athens, though connected a home level their points deduction and Juventus' relegation opened the doorway for a play of Inter dominance successful Serie A.

Inter were awarded the 2006 rubric past won 4 successful a row, culminating successful a Treble nether Jose Mourinho successful 2009-10.

Neither Milan broadside person reached the last since, but that volition alteration this twelvemonth aft a semi-final derby that has besides brought Rellandini's iconic representation backmost to life.