Barcelona beat Inter 1-0 but fail to make Champions League final

Inter effectively nullified Lionel Messi over the two games and the Dutchman admitted that had been the plan.
"You could see it tonight," he added. "We were very compact and we fight for every metre and give everything. That is what we said to each other before the game.

"I said before the game he (Mourinho) always had a tactic to destroy the opponent. We did it in Milan and we did it tonight.

Mourinho was highly emotional and told RAI: "We were a team of heroes. We sweated blood.

"I thank everyone who played and who did not play. I thank all the fans, those who were here and those who remained at home.

"Absolutely incredible things happened. Now is our festival. I want the fans at the airport waiting for these guys. I want the fans to go to Rome where we have a Sunday final against Lazio (in Serie A) and Wednesday when we have another final against Roma (in the Coppa Italia)."

The Portuguese added: "This match was difficult with 11 (players).

"With 10 versus 11 it was historic. The defeat was the best of my life, but I think this team deserved to draw 0-0. Julio Cesar has had an amazing game, it seemed we were in equal numbers.

"It is an incredible joy. I have already won a Champions League but today was even better. When I won (with Porto) we beat Monaco 3-0 and half an hour before the end I knew we had won.

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