At 3:00 AM Beijing time on May 30th (9:00 PM local Italian time on May 29th), the 63rd Coppa Italia final was held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The defending champions, Inter Milan, defeated Palermo 3-1, securing their fourth title in the last seven seasons and their seventh overall. In August, they will face AC Milan at the Bird's Nest for the Italian Super Cup. Eto'o scored twice, bringing his personal club goal tally to 37 this season, breaking his previous record of 36 goals from the 2008-09 season when he played for Barcelona. In the closing minutes, Palermo's central defender Muñoz pulled one back but was immediately shown a red card. Eto'o's free kick hit the crossbar, and substitute Milito sealed the victory with a goal.
Palermo (4-3-2-1): 46-Sirigu / 16-Cassani, 6-Muñoz, 3-Gojanc (24' 80-Carrozziere), 42-Balzaretti / 8-Migliaccio, 94-Aquah (56' 10-Miccoli), 23-Nochelino / 72-Ilicic, 27-Pastore / 9-Hernandez (77' 51-Pinilla).
Palermo had already secured a Europa League spot, and 50,000 Sicilian fans traveled to Rome hoping to witness Palermo's first major trophy. The team had lost both previous finals, and coach Edy Reja had led Lazio to the 2009 Coppa Italia title. Bacinovic and Bovo were suspended, giving Aquah and Muñoz opportunities to start. Miccoli, who was about to leave the team, sat on the bench. Palermo's last win against Inter was a 3-2 home victory in Serie A in September 2005; since then, their record has been four draws and seven losses.
Eto'o scored twice and Milito sealed the victory as Inter won the championship again (20 images) [Enter gallery].
In the 43 seconds of the second half, Palermo executed a clever combination on the left flank, Balzaretti shot from 13 meters out but was saved by Julio Cesar. Then Cassani's long-range shot from the right wing went over the bar. At the 49th minute, Pastore broke through Ranocchia and Motta, passing to Hernandez on the left side of the box, but Chivu cleared it out for a corner. Pastore's subsequent long-range shot grazed the crossbar. At the 52nd minute, Nagatomo crossed from the right, and Pazzini barely headed it towards goal, which Sirigu collected. Muñoz was booked for a foul on Eto'o.
Within 50 seconds of the match starting, Lucio lost possession outside the area, Ilicic passed into the penalty area with his left foot, and Hernandez struck from an acute angle, hitting the side netting! Subsequently, Sneijder was fouled twice by Aquah and received treatment before returning to the pitch. At the 15th minute, Stankovic's long pass found Pazzini, whose toe poke was gathered by Sirigu. Palermo missed a golden opportunity at the 20th minute when Pastore combined with Ilicic, and Ilicic's through ball set up Pastore for a one-on-one situation, but Cesar came out quickly to claim the ball. A minute later, Pastore's shot from just outside the box went over the bar.
Carrozziere fouled Eto'o and was shown a yellow card. At the 70th minute, Nochelino's backheel pass set up Hernandez, whose shot from a tight angle on the left side of the box went wide of the near post. At the 75th minute, Balzaretti's long-range shot from the left also went wide. Inter extended their lead at the 76th minute when Sneijder intercepted in the left midfield and distributed the ball, Eto'o broke into the box from the right and scored from close range, making it 2-0. Eto'o has now scored 7 goals in 5 matches against Palermo.
Inter Milan (4-3-1-2): 1-Julio Cesar / 55-Nagatomo, 15-Ranocchia, 6-Lucio, 26-Chivu / 4-Saneyti, 28-Motta (87' 17-Mariga), 5-Stankovic / 10-Sneijder (87' 22-Milito) / 7-Pazzini (61' 27-Pandev), 9-Eto'o.
Palermo continued to miss chances to equalize. At the 28th minute, Ilicic's left-footed chip from the right side of the box found Balzaretti, who headed wide from 5 meters out! Then Sneijder's free kick from the left went over the bar. At the 32nd minute, Cassani crossed from the right, and Balzaretti's left-footed shot caused confusion in the box, but Hernandez's low shot from 8 meters out deflected off Chivu, and Cesar made a diving save to his right! At the 33rd minute, Nagatomo passed to Stankovic, whose long-range shot went over the bar. At the 41st minute, Ilicic broke into the box from the right and fell after slight contact with Ranocchia, but Morganti did not stop play. At the 43rd minute, Inter failed to clear properly, and Hernandez's shot from 13 meters out was saved by Cesar.
This was Inter's 13th appearance in the Coppa Italia final, and Leonardo's first as a coach in a cup final. Since losing 0-3 away to Sampdoria on March 4, 2009, Inter had gone unbeaten in 10 Coppa Italia matches (8 wins, 2 draws). Goalkeeper Cesar returned from injury, Sneijder started despite doubts, and center-back Ranocchia recovered from the flu in time. Maicon was suspended, so Nagatomo played on the right flank, while Pazzini and Eto'o formed the attacking line.
Edy Reja used his last substitution, replacing Hernandez with Pinilla, while Leonardo substituted Mariga for Motta and Milito for Sneijder. At the 88th minute, Miccoli's corner from the left found Muñoz, who headed powerfully from 7 meters out to make it 1-2. However, slow-motion replays showed that Balzaretti's cross had gone out of bounds before the corner was awarded. At the 90th minute, Muñoz blocked Mariga and was shown a straight red card by Morganti! Eto'o's free kick from just outside the box hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced back into play! In stoppage time, Pandev cut inside from the left past Cassani and sent a pass back into the box, where Milito tapped it into the far corner from 5 meters out, sealing Inter's 3-1 victory. This was Stankovic's fifth title (including two with Lazio), trailing only Mancini's six titles as a player.
Gojanc suffered a muscle strain and requested to be substituted, as Bovo was suspended, Carrozziere, who had just completed a two-year ban, came on urgently. Inter finally managed their first shot at the 23rd minute when Sneijder's long-range effort from a narrow angle went over the bar. At the 26th minute, Motta successfully dispossessed Aquah near midfield, and Sneijder's timely through ball set up Eto'o for a one-on-one with Sirigu. Eto'o calmly pushed the ball into the far corner with his right foot from 9 meters out, making it 1-0!
Miccoli replaced Aquah, who had picked up a yellow card, for what would be his last appearance for Palermo. Motta was struck in the face by a clearance and fell to the ground. At the 60th minute, Pastore's cross from the right found Miccoli, whose header from 10 meters out was brilliantly saved by Cesar! Pazzini was substituted by Pandev. At the 64th minute, Miccoli's backheel pass set up Hernandez, whose left-footed shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Stankovic. At the 66th minute, Pastore's through ball found Hernandez, who turned and tried to break past Ranocchia, but Chivu made a beautiful tackle to deny him.
Inter celebrated their triumph, hoisting two trophies high, with Zanetti affectionately kissing the golden cup (12 images) [Enter gallery].