Today in Serie A – May 13, 2007: Inter Chased Away the Ghosts of the “Cinque Maggio” | OneFootball

The Cinque Maggio (“5th of May”) is undoubtedly Inter’s most painful memory in recent times. This infamous date refers to May 5, 2002, when the Nerazzurri threw away a Scudetto that looked already won by shockingly falling 2-4 in the final round of Serie A to a Lazio side that seemingly had nothing left to fight for.

From then on, every time the Beneamata squared off against the Biancocelesti, the heartbreaking image of Ronaldo Luis Nazario da Lima crying on the bench while his shell-shocked teammates let Lazio run riot, came back to haunt the Inter fans’ nightmares.

Until, perhaps, the day when another Inter vs Lazio matchup marked the end of the curse, at least symbolically. It was May 13, 2007, just a few days after the fifth anniversary of the Cinque Maggio, when an Inter side that had just won the Italian title beat Lazio 4-3.

Coached by Roberto Mancini, the Nerazzurri had been awarded the Scudetto the previous season after Juventus were stripped of the title in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal. In 2006/07, they finally became Italian champions on the pitch, for the first time since 1989, making short work of any opposition and sealing their champion status with FIVE matchdays to spare.

In Round 36, they welcomed Lazio at the San Siro with the Scudetto badges already virtually stitched to their chests. Even though the Biancocelesti built a two-goal cushion within the first five minutes, Inter’s hearts were light and allowed them to engage in a fun, innocent goal-fest.

Hernan Crespo put three goals in the net of his former club, but it was Marco Materazzi’s final goal, the one that set the score at 4-3, that finally chased away the ghosts of the Cinque Maggio.

Materazzi had been one of Inter’s starters on the day of the May 5 heartbreak and, after towering past his marker to head the ball home from a corner kick, he ran to celebrate with both hands spread wide, as if to make the sign of five. The nightmare was over.