Mourinho's 'style' thwarts Barca hopes

For the first time in 38 years, Internazionale will fight for the European Cup.

Playing a brutalist style of old-school catenaccio, Inter Milan lost 1-0 to Barcelona, but progressed on aggregate 3-2 for the right to meet Bayern Munich in Madrid for European club football’s biggest prize.

That they did it with only ten men on the field for over an hour made it even more remarkable.

Inter came in with a big advantage, though. Last week’s big second half at the San Siro saw Diego Milito and Maicon explode to give the Italians a 3-1 advantage. That allowed them to play almost stereotypically negative football tonight, but few can begrudge Inter’s industry and effort.

After all, they beat Barcelona, something few other teams can lay claim to doing.

The result will further enhance the already large reputation (and ego) of their manager Jose Mourinho, who now has a chance to become only the third manager ever to win the European Cup with two different teams. It is his first trip back to the finals since he won the crown with unlikely FC Porto in 2004, and he did it then in much the same style. It isn’t pretty, but his defense-first tactics win big games.

Channeling Rinus Michels, Inter played a solid, if almost entirely defensive, version of total football tonight, showing a four-man back line with three-man wedge in front. They rarely broke for Victor Valdes’ goal, but with all if their players able to perform in any spot, they blunted nearly every Barcelona attempt. In fact, it took Barcelona 84 minutes to finally get a nose for goal, and that strike, from Gerard Pique, looked clearly offside.

Barcelona, absent Carles Puyol (suspension) and Andres Iniesta (injury) looked pale shadow of the side the demolished Arsenal in such imperious fashion. As at the San Siro, Inter Milan shackled Lionel Messi thanks to Esteban Cambiasso and Lucio. Once again, Xavi could not orchestrate the passes that devastated so many other foes.

And despite having the ball for easily 80% of the match, the defending champions never could move it quickly enough to wrong foot an Inter back row that often had six players stretched across the field. If the visitors didn't actually have a player behind their final line in the 1960s version of the old Italian game, this time they didn't require it.

Mourinho will surely carp about his side being reduced to ten men when Thiago Motta saw red. The card came directly out, although the player had already been carded for an earlier foul. Many fans are already complaining that Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets went down like Lehman Brothers.

The truth is, the blame lies not with Belgian ref Franck de Bleeckere, but with Thiago: He had been carded in the 10th for a foul on Dani Alves, and his hand to the face of Busquets was unwise in a competition that has been strictly officiated from day one.

A straight red? Probably not — but a second yellow, yes, and the fact is, the result would have been the same. Motta now will miss the final, but on the night, Inter didn’t seem to miss him.

Startlingly, Wesley Sneijder was not the man behind Inter’s dominance. Indeed, both he and last game’s hero, Diego Milito, were silent, their offensive idea subjugated entirely with the Italian side content to absorb and absorb.

Instead, the second leg heroes were Walter Samuel, Javier Zanetti, Maicon and Lucio, who formed a back line so snap-rigid you could have thrown chalk lines with it. As in last week’s match, in the final 20 minutes, the defending champions showed that they could bring a bit of bite, shelling Julio Cesar.

What was shocking, however, is how late in the match that pressure finally came to bear, and how bereft of ideas Barcelona proved to be.

With Xavi and Messi hamstrung, no one stepped up to fill the void. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first touch was terrible, and Dani Alves — normally so reliable — had a forgettable evening. Seydou Keita might as well not have taken the pitch - he spent more time complaining about phantom fouls than getting down to the business at hand. And Yaya Toure was flat-out invisible.

The facts on the ground may be plain. Barcelona look to be a tired team that finally ran into an opponent that was willing to concede possession, but unwilling to be fooled by flowing passes or pretty fillips. The defending champions are locked in a La Liga death match with Real Madrid, separated by only one point at the top.

Mourinho may have had it right when he needled his counterpart Pep Guardiola about Barcelona’s “obsession” with playing for the Cup in their arch-rivals’ stadium. It’s difficult enough to repeat as title winners without that added pressure.

Of course, Inter know all about that: They did it in the mid 60s.

If Mourinho can take them all the way this time, however, it may rank as even greater accomplishment. Then, Italian football strode across Europe, if not the entire club world. Now, Inter's appearance in the final will be rightly regarded as a major upset in a competition that has recently been dominated by teams from the Premier League and La Liga.

No wonder The Special One raced across the pitch to salute Inter's supporters.

Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the Champions League and European football.