Inter Milan vs Southampton preview: Seven years ago, Saints were on -10 in League One while Italian giants won Treble
SOUTHAMPTON travel to Inter Milan tonight for their Europa League Group K fixture.
While the Italian giants have lost both of their matches so far and sit bottom of the group, the Saints are joint first on four points coming into this match.
It’s a remarkable turnaround given where the clubs were seven years ago.
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While Jose Mourinho was leading Inter Milan to a glorious Treble, Alan Pardew was facing the arduous task of attempting to lead Southampton out of League One — with the handicap of a ten point deduction.
Let’s go back to 2009-10.
Southampton were on the brink of extinction after the finishing 23rd in the Championship, when their holding company went into administration.
Italian banker Nicola Cortese swooped in to save the day, but it was still a tough task ahead for the newly-appointed Pardew.
Pre-season draws against Eastleigh, Totton and Cheltenham Town were a sign of things to come as they had to wait until their eighth match of the season before registering a victory — which came against Yeovil.
The FA Cup seemed to offered some hope as Saints marched through to the fifth round, but faced the indignity of being hammered 4-1 at home by nearest rivals, Portsmouth.
And their League Cup experience ended at the hands on Birmingham in round two.
However, success did come in the form of the St Johnsone's Paint Trophy, which they won after beating Carlisle in the final.
Eventually, Southampton recovered in the league to finish a respectable seventh — a place outside the play-offs.
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Had they not had their points deduction, they would have finished in fifth place.
Inter Milan, meanwhile, were reeling from ‘just’ winning Serie A the previous season.
Mourinho faltered at the Coppa Italia semi-finals and was knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Manchester United.
The Nerazzurri overcame a disappointing opening day draw to win their next five and take a firm grip on the title race.
A dramatic defeat to Roma with just seven games remaining handed the capital side the initiative — but a shock home loss to Sampdoria, coupled with Inter’s near perfect form, saw the Milanese giants win the Scudetto on the final day of the season.
Barcelona looked too strong in Champions League and easily beat the Italians men in the group stage.
But they met again in a titanic semi-final which saw Inter come from a goal down to take a 3-1 lead to the Nou Camp.
The return was a Mourinho masterclass. His side overcame Thiago Motta’s early red card with a disciplined rearguard.
Inter lost 1-0 on the night, but still made it to the final, despite only seeing 24 per cent of the possession — and Samuel Eto’o being deployed at left-back.
Meanwhile, Diego Milito’s goal beat Roma in the Coppa Italia final to complete a double.
And, in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, the Argentine’s brace was enough to cap off a glorious year for the Nerazzurri.
Starting line-ups
Southampton: Kelvin Davies; Dan Harding, Radhi Jaidi, Jose Fonte, Wayne Thomas; Morgan Schneiderlin, Adam Lallana, Lloyd James, Dean Hammond; Rickie Lambert, Papa Waigo
Inter Milan: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Walter Samuel, Christian Chivu; Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic; Wesley Sneijder; Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito
Top goal scorer
Southampton: Rickie Lambert, 35
Inter Milan: Diego Milito, 35
Total spending in summer of 2009
Southampton: £1millon
Inter Milan: £80million
Total in sales in summer of 2009
Southampton: £2.6million
Inter Milan: £87million