Serie A Classic: Roma 4, Inter 5 (May 1999)

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EVEN IF INTER AND ROMA arrived in May 1999 without the usual end-of-season stakes, they produced a match of enduring quality. Rarely do you get the pendulum swings of a nine-goal thriller as well as great goalkeeping, creative ingenuity, and even some good defending, but Inter's 5-4 win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico had at it all. When you add Ronaldo, Francesco Totti, and Roberto Baggio, you get something truly special.

Neither team had a title to play for. Inter could only target a Intertoto Cup berth after throwing away a promising season. Baggio signed for the Nerazzurri in the summer, and a number of youngsters, including Mikael Silvestre, Andrea Pirlo, and Dario Simic, joined a team already flanked by Ronaldo, Ivan Zamorano, Diego Simeone, Javier Zanetti, and Giuseppe Bergomi. But none of it seemed to click. Inter fired three managers before rehiring Roy Hodgson for the final stretch of the season.

Zdenek Zeman's fifth-placed Roma were marginally better but still only managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup. They were at least fun to watch, as Zeman's typically attack-heavy teams were back then. Totti, Marco Delvecchio, and Paulo Sergio combined for 42 goals that year.

The lineups

Who started? A quick run through the pre-game formations.

There are some serious throwbacks in these lineups.

Luigi Di Biagio anchors Roma's midfield, Eusebio Di Francesco flanks him, and Brazilian legend Aldair, then in his final years as Roma player, shores up defense. Di Biagio would go on to play for Inter the next four seasons. He'd later outstay his welcome as Italy's U21 coach. (How does a team featuring Alessandro Bastoni, Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Barella, Federico Chiesa, and Moise Kean not even make it past the group stage?)

That Inter team is real good on paper. They also have Youri Djorkaeff on the bench.

The match

Reviewing the most important plays, including footnotes with tidbits about the teams and players in action. You can watch the game here.

17' Ronaldo spots Baggio in possession¹ on the edge of the center circle and makes a break for it. Roma's defense falls asleep on the play and allows the Brazilian to run in behind them. The pass is phenomenal: Baggio scoops it up and over the defense and watches as Ronaldo rounds the 'keeper and fires into an open net. 1-0.

22' Baggio lets it rip from about 20 yards and forces Austrian 'keeper Michael Konsel into a great diving stop. The ensuing corner kick results in a scramble, and Inter reset with possession. Baggio gets played into space on the flank and delivers a perfect cross for Zamorano to swipe into the net. 2-0. The way Inter are playing in these opening stages, it's easy to forget they finished the season in eighth place.

24' Inter's Gianluca Pagliuca is losing his mind. No one covers his near post as Totti takes the first of two successive corner kicks. Iconic referee Pierluigi Collina ends up awarding Inter a goal kick as the ball bounces out of bounds off a Roma player. It's the first time we really see Collina in action.

26' It's all Roma all of a sudden. Paulo Sergio draws a penalty for a clear shirt tug. Simeone, being the kind of guy you'd want on your team but hate to play against, sticks to character and kicks the ball off the penalty marker to try and disrupt Totti's routine. Totti beats Pagliuca anyway.²

34' Roma are a decent team. They hold possession and try to release runners. But they're vulnerable to the counterattack, and Inter seem happy enough to sit and wait for their chances.

36' There it is. Roma lose possession around the center circle, and Zanetti goes on a run before playing a pass that stretches Zamorano wide. No matter. The Chilean great chases it, contorts his body, and lifts it up and over Konsel for a beautiful goal. It's 3-1 Inter at this point and three goals from three shots.

40' It's a bit scrappy now. Neither side has had the ball for more than 30 seconds. A lot of long balls and low-percentage passes are being made. Roma are down by two goals, after all, and Inter don't have a ton to play for, so maybe it makes sense that they've thrown caution to the wind here.

43' Pagliuca makes a couple of really good saves. He storms out of his net to deny Vincent Candela and then stops Delvecchio from about eight yards out.³

47' Inter can't clear their lines, and substitute Damiano Tommasi plays a beautiful ball into the area for Paulo Sergio to head up and over Pagliuca. It's two minutes into the second half, and Inter's lead is down to 3-2. This is where it gets fun.⁴

49' Inter can't do anything right, and Roma are insatiable. They recycle possession before upping the tempo. Paulo Sergio now plays provider and launches a lovely ball from the right flank, and Delvecchio heads it into the bottom left corner. He really corks his neck to get some power on this header. He's battling a defender about 12 yards from goal but somehow manages to produce the torque he needs to beat Pagliuca. 3-3. Game on.

56' Roma are flying forward and putting Inter under loads of pressure. Then Totti loses a duel in Inter's half, and Zamorano carries the ball forward. Candela steps in but fumbles the ball over to Baggio, who releases Zamorano into open space and watches as he feeds Ronaldo for an easy tap-in. Just a few touches later, Inter are leading 4-3.

59' Outside of the first-half penalty, Collina has barely made any calls. His refereeing style is completely different from what we see today. He doesn't want to be the protagonist here. You can tell. He's shared laughs with players and only intervened when necessary. He has no headset on. He's just feeling the game. It's refreshing.

63' Pagliuca is toast. He holds his right leg after keeping out Di Biago's long-range shot. He calls for the teams to play the ball out, but neither side listens. A young Sebastien Frey gets ready on the sidelines as Ronaldo and Totti exchange quality chances in the space of a minute.

68' Silvestre is having an awful match. He's lost his man and the ball on numerous occasions. It happens again as Tommasi robs him in Roma's half and sets off a counterattack. Paulo Sergio holds off Silvestre, who's desperately trying to right a wrong, and makes a lovely turn before threading a pass between Silvestre's legs. Poor bastard. Di Francesco narrowly misses the net from the right side of the penalty area.

70' Roma win a free-kick on the edge of the area⁵ and Totti suckers two players out of Inter's wall as he winds up for the kick. He stops both times and begs Collina to card Zanetti and Colonnese as they've stepped well out of wall. Totti gets his wish.

79' Paulo Sergio attempts a shot but gets it horribly wrong. Luckily, it finds Totti on the right of the area, and he cushions a header for Di Francesco to finish. It's 4-4. Djorkaeff comes off the bench and almost immediately restores Inter's lead after splitting a pair of defenders on the far sideline and rifling a fierce shot that Konsel does an excellent job to parry away.

83' The linesman denies Inter a truly stunning goal. Baggio is, naturally, at the center of it. He plays a quick one-two with Zanetti before entering space and doing the same with Djorkaeff. The dink into the area is perfectly weighted for Ronaldo to smash home. Ronaldo is virtually inches offside.⁶ But the controversy fades quickly as both teams simply move on. How refreshing.

87' Baggio bags a hat-trick of assists as his free-kick from the far right goal line finds Simeone, who powers a header into the bottom left corner to make it 5-4. What a remarkable performance from Baggio. It's incomprehensible that Marcello Lippi dropped him for much of the following season. One of the most ridiculous feuds in football history cost us a season of Baggio.

Footnotes

1. The combination of Baggio's creativity and Ronaldo's explosiveness is ridiculous. It's a shame they spent so little time on the pitch. Baggio was largely a substitute during his time at Inter, and Ronaldo struggled with injuries. It really is a case of what could've been. Their partnership could've produced some incredible numbers.
2. Nobody popped a collar like Totti. He has it up for the entire game. The Emperor of Rome: He looked it and played like it. He's 23 here and already wearing the armband.
3. Pagliuca was one of the finest shot-stoppers of the 1990s but only played in two World Cup for Italy. He made shootout saves in each one. It's a pity he only made 39 appearances for the Azzurri. Gianluigi Buffon stole the show after 1998.
4. Zeman looks real young on Roma's bench. He's 52 here but looks much younger with a nice tan and even haircut. Wishing him well as he recovers from a recent stroke. We need more coaches like Zeman.
5. As this is happening, the camera pans to Zeman, who's holding a lit cigarette while giving Candela instructions on the sideline. It's picture perfect. We need more 90s Serie A.
6. VAR would've stopped the game for several minutes here and broken the tempo of a truly mad game.