Walter Zenga sees comparisons between the way Inter went out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid and Italy’s 1990 World Cup exit to Argentina.
The Nerazzurri went to the Wanda Metropolitano for the second leg of the Round of 16 tie with a 1-0 advantage, then found the net with Federico Dimarco to give themselves a 2-0 aggregate lead.
However, they crumbled to lose 2-1 on the night and then emerged defeated in a penalty shoot-out.
“If things don’t go the way they should, there is generally talk of tiredness, but we have to take into account that this was the first draw after a series of victories in 2024,” former goalkeeper Zenga told the Inter YouTube channel.
“The elimination to Atletico Madrid is a match you can lose. I think what happened in Madrid after the 1-0 with Dimarco is that the players thought, ‘they won’t score against us.’
“This is also what happened to us at the 1990 World Cup with Argentina, they are strange thoughts that enter into the minds of some teams. In any case, Simone Inzaghi’s side have such a big advantage in Serie A that they are heading towards the Scudetto.”
Zenga was part of the Italy team that took third place in the 1990 World Cup, winning every single match except for that 1-1 draw with Argentina at what was then called the Stadio San Paolo in Naples.
The Claudio Caniggia header was the first goal Italy had conceded in the tournament and the hosts went out of the semi-final by losing on a penalty shoot-out.
As for Inter, they won every competitive match in 2024 up until the defeat to Atletico Madrid, which was followed by a 1-1 Serie A draw with Napoli at San Siro.
Their lead at the top of the table was cut to 14 points with nine rounds left to play.