5th of May 2002 - 20th of May 2018. 16 years after Lazio-Inter that game is decisive again. At the Olimpico, the game will be about Champions League. Important but not like the Scudetto. Zaccheroni knows that well, as he was sitting on the biancocelesti's bench that 5th of May. "This is a special story - has he told Tuttosport- and if we had played that game a million times, Inter would have always won. It's been a long list of details, starting from Poborsky's angriness when he heard the Laziale fans booing him at the lineups announcement by the speaker. He looked at me not believing it: "What have I done to these people?", there was something about his expression. He went on the pitch and played with his heart, even pressing on the back passes. He never did it. You just have to watch the players getting out of their bus though. We immediately saw they were too relaxed. If this type of games start with a precise script, they go on as they should. If there's something not planned happening though, you can't do anything anymore. I've thought about it many times".
Too relaxed, something Spalletti's players won't be able to afford: "You can't tell what Inter will do. It's something about them. They've confirmed it this season. They were first in the first part of the season. And the second one was completely different. I can see Luciano's expressions on the pitch: he's often with his mouth open". Many doubts but one certain thing: "Lazio plays more as a team. You can see that by how constant they are. Relies on the fact the coach is there for quite some time. They have a precise philosophy with the midfielders getting in the game, like Parolo and Milinkovic-Savic. Simone has built his playing style on deadly restarts. Luciano on the other hand arrived last summer and hasn't had the ability to have a real incidence on the arriving players. Inter hasn't found the right balance yet".
