Inter have been crowned champions of Europe after they emerged victorious against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Diego Milito scored twice either side of half time.
The Nerazzurri started on the front foot, trying to take the game to the Germans, but the danger of FCB was evident when Arjen Robben led a counter-attack in the third minute and was quickly brought down by Walter Samuel.
The Argentine then had to make an excellent defensive header to keep Ivica Olic from heading in from close range, before the Italians went on the counter-attack but Wesley Sneijder's through ball crept away from Goran Pandev.
Bayern looked the more comfortable team in possession, biding their time as they looked for an opening. After 10 minutes, Robben was again the instigator of an attack as he took the ball past Cristian Chivu and Walter Samuel before cutting the ball back for Olic, but he couldn't get a shot on target from close range.
Robben was at the centre of most of the early action, and it was the Dutchman's cross on 15 minutes that led to the first major penalty appeal of the evening. Maicon's arm appeared to beat the ball into the box away, but Howard Webb ignored FC Hollywood's protests.
Sneijder brought a good save from Hans-Jorg Butt with a long-range free kick moments later, before Esteban Cambiasso's close-range volley was blocked. The tempo of the game dropped as both teams adopted a more patient approach, but Robben was impatient midway through the half as he snatched at his shot as the ball broke to him on the edge of the box.
With 35 minutes gone, the deadlock was broken emphatically. Julio Cesar's long ball was flicked on to Sneijder by Milito, and the Dutchman played it back to the Argentine who raced into the penalty area, held off two players and clipped the ball over Butt into the roof of the net.
Just before the break, the duo combined again when Sneijder fed Milito as Inter counter-attacked at pace. The striker drew Martin Demichelis towards him before picking out his team-mate in the penalty area with a perfect pass, but Sneijder's shot was straight at Butt.
Bayern should have equalised only seconds after the restart as the Nerazzurri's defence fell apart. Altintop squared a great ball across the box for Thomas Mueller to shoot from 12 yards but Julio Cesar made a good save to parry the ball out.
Barely a minute later, Milito cut the ball back for Pandev to shoot from just inside the penalty area but Butt made a superb save as he flew to his left to tip the ball over the crossbar.
The second half had started in electric fashion; Bastian Schweinsteiger found himself in space 25 yards from goal but chose to pass instead of shoot before Sneijder curled a free kick over the bar from 20 yards. Altintop pulled a shot wide following an error by Lucio in the 54th minute as FC Hollywood tried to get back on level terms as soon as possible.
Little was happening for them in the final third though as they wasted a number of corner kicks, with the pressure of the situation beginning to show. Inter had every man behind the ball when the Germans attacked, forcing them to try and play the perfect pass to open them up.
Bayern had another set piece opportunity when Robben was brought down on the hour mark by a combination of Chivu and Pandev on the edge of the box. The Dutchman's shot was blocked by the cluster of players in the six yard box, and Mueller's follow-up shot also failed to reach Julio Cesar as Cambiasso headed the scuffed effort away.
The Brazilian had to make a save five minutes later though when Robben curled a shot from 20 yards towards the top corner, only to see the keeper tip the ball away magnificently. Daniel van Buyten then showed equally proficient defensive prowess as he stretched his leg to its limit to hook Sneijder's clipped ball away from the onrushing Milito in the penalty area.
Van Buyten could do nothing in the 70th minute, however, as Inter doubled the lead. Eto'o picked out Milito 30 yards from goal, and the Argentine jinked past the defender before opening his body and curling his shot past Butt into the far corner.
Time was rapidly ticking away from van Gaal's side as they struggled to break down the Beneamata's resilient backline. Lucio and Samuel were confidently dealing with the balls into the box, while Zanetti was more capable of dealing with Robben than Chivu after he was moved to left back.
Bayern piled forward in the last 10 minutes in an attempt to salvage something from the final, and in the 82nd minute Schweinsteiger won a free kick 25 yards out in a central position. Robben stepped up to take it, but it was straight into the wall and Inter were able to reorganise.
As the final whistle neared, Mueller tried to take matters into his own hands and clipped a neat ball over the top for Miroslav Klose to head towards goal but it just evaded the substitute and bobbled out for a goal kick.
The referee signalled for three minutes of added time, halfway through which Milito was replaced to a standing ovation from the travelling Inter fans. His brace made the difference on club football's biggest stage, and the final whistle marked the start of a long night of celebrations for the Nerazzurri.
