Inter Milan had immediate success with the European Cup winning the trophy the first time it entered the competition. Its first ever European Cup match was against Everton which it drew 0-0 at Goodison Park. It won the return leg 1-0 to progress through to the next round. There it faced Monaco who it defeated 4-1 on aggregate. It won its quarter-final by the same score against Partizan Belgrade and then got part Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.
Inter was to meet Real Madrid in the final in Vienna. Real were the biggest football club in the world. It had already won the title five times and in Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas had a very strong team. Inter were relying on the guile and skill of Sandro Mazzola, Jair and Armando Picchi. Mazzola opened the scoring just before half-time and Aurelio Milani doubled the lead in the 61st minute. Felo pulled one back for the Spaniards but a second to Mazzola sealed the win.
Inter began its title defense with a 7-0 drubbing of Dinamo Bucharest. A 3-2 win over Rangers in the quarter-final followed. Liverpool were a tough opponent to face in the semi-finals and proved this when it won the opening leg at Anfield 3-0. Inter roared home though and won the second leg 3-0.
Inter had the fortune of being able to play the Final at the San Siro. It was up against Benfica who with Eusebio had proven to be one of the greatest sides in Europe. On a wet pitch, the game wasn’t as free flowing as people would have liked. A Jair strike ultimately would prove the difference between the two teams.
Inter’s hopes of making in three in a row were dashed when it was beaten by Real Madrid in the semi finals. Real won 2-1 on aggregate.
The following year, Inter were determined to make it three out of four. A tight 1-0 win over Torpedo Moscow was followed with a 4-1 win over Vasas of Hungary. Inter got revenge over Real Madrid with a 3-0 win in the last eight and then defeated CSKA Sofia 1-0 in a play-off after the semi final had been all level at 2-2 after two legs. The final was in Lisbon against Celtic. Inter were the huge favorite and when Mazzola scored after just seven minutes it looked like the game was following the script. Celtic had other ideas though. It held tight and then scored two late goals of its own to send the Italians packing.
Inter next appeared in the competition in 1971-72. A 4-1 win over AEK Athens at home was followed by a 3-2 loss away. In the second round, Inter defeated Borussia Monchengladbach and in the semi-finals got past Standard Liege on away goals.
The semi-finals saw a return match with Celtic. After two scoreless draws, Inter progressed to the final on penalties. The 1972 Final was against Ajax in Rotterdam. Alongside Mazzola and Jair was the up and coming Roberto Boninsenga. A goal in each half to Johan Cruyff gave the Dutch the title. After a golden run, this would be the last time that Inter appeared in the final.
It returned to the competition in 1980-81. After making it as far as the semi-finals, it was again drawn to face Real Madrid. This time it was Real who dominated winning 2-1 on aggregate.
Back in 1989-90, Inter had a first round exit. It lost 2-1 to Malmo and to make matters worse, the trophy was won by AC Milan.
The next time Inter was back, the competition was now called the Champions League. Inter returned for the 1998-99 tournament. It was in a group of four with Spartak Moscow, Storm Graz and unsurprisingly Real Madrid. Inter topped the group.
Inter faced Manchester United in the quarter-finals and didn’t have much luck. In the first leg at Old Trafford, United won 2-0 and a 1-1 draw in Milan saw Inter out.
In 2000-01 there was more woe for Inter inflicted on it by a Swedish side. Helsingborg knocked it out in the third qualifying round.
In 2002-03, Inter found itself in a group containing Lyon, Rosenborg and old foe Ajax. Inter topped the group to find itself in a second group containing Barcelona, Newcastle United and Bayer Leverkusen. Inter finished second in the group and was draw to face Valencia in the quarter finals. It won that 2-2 on away goals and then faced Milan in the semi-finals. It was the first time the two old rivals had met in the Champions League. The first match was a 0-0 draw and the second one was a 1-1 draw. Milan went through as the second leg was nominated as Inter’s home game.
In 2003-04, Inter was in a group with Arsenal, Lokomotiv Moscow and Dynamo Kiev. It needed to win its final match away to Kiev but could only draw so were out of the tournament.
In 2004-05, Inter were looking good after topping its group containing Werder Bremen, Valencia and Anderlecht. It got past Porto in the round of 16 but in the quarter-finals lost to Milan. The second leg was marred by crowd trouble. A flare hit Dida and the match was abandoned. Inter were punished by having to play its next four European games in empty stadiums.
Notwithstanding this, in 2005-06, it again topped the group with Rangers, Artmedia and Porto not proving much competition. After getting past Ajax in the round of 16, Villareal eliminated it on away goals in the next round.
The three years since, Inter has come unstuck in the Round of 16 every time. In 2007, it was Valencia, in 2008 it was Liverpool and in 2009 it was Manchester United.
Since the advent of the Champions League it has appeared in the tournament more regularly, but it is finding the competition a lot tougher than it once did.