FCBARCELONA.CAT

08.08.2007 11:40

A classic encounter

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Internazionale and FC Barcelona have met one seven occasions since their first meeting 48 years ago. The two teams first played on May 7, 1959 and will meet once more in this year's Trofeo Joan Gamper.

That meeting in 1959 was in the quarter finals of the Fairs' Cup and took place in Camp Nou. There was great expectation ahead of the encounter, but Inter were disappointing and Helenio Herrera's Barça side cruised to victory thanks to goals from Ribelles, Villaverde and Segarra. Five months later the Blaugrana travelled to Milan for the return leg and again they were superior and won 4-3 thanks to two goals each from Eulogio Martínez and Kubala.

Only Inter triumph

The next meeting between the two clubs came in 1968 in the Fairs' Cup again. The first leg of the final 16 encounter saw Inter come away from Camp Nou with a 2-1 victory as Barça failed to impose themselves on their opponents. The return game, played two weeks later, ended in a draw leaving FC Barcelona out of the competition. Roberto Boninsegna scored for Inter while Carles Rexach netted for the Blaugrana.

Just champion

It was not until over 30 years later that Barça and Inter were to meet once more. This time it was in the Champions League on February 18, 2003 and Raddy Antic's Blaugrana side were in rampant former as they defeated the Italian outfit, 3-0, thanks to goals from Javier Saviola, Philip Cocu and Patrick Kluivert. The return leg ended goalless, although Cocu picked up a serious injury during the game.

On August 29, FC Barcelona will attempt to win the Trofeo Joan Gamper for the 13th consecutive time, while Inter will be looking to add the trophy to their collection for the second time in the club's history.