Opera Chic

Inter Takes Munich: Bayern Muenchen 2 - Internazionale FC 3

One thing you have to know about soccer's Champions League, you basically never advance if you lose the home leg -- until tonight, it had only happened once, 15 years ago, that a team (Ajax) managed to lose the first leg at home then win the away match. Losing at home means you're toast.

Eearlier tonight in Munich, though, European and World Champion Internazionale FC won 3-2 vs Bayern after losing 0-1 in Milan's San Siro two weeks ago -- and therefore moved on to the quarter finals of the Champions League to defend their trophy.

Opera Chic is proud to be a fan of a team that, besides the victories, consistently shows class: striker Samuel Eto'o -- a wonderful player with a good heart -- who was the game's winner with one goal and two assists, gave his respects right after scoring to teammate Yuto Nagatomo from Japan: before and after the game, Inter players waved a Japanese flag in sign of solidarity with the victims of the earthquake.

 

 

 

Ce N'Est Qu'Un Début: Pazzini Leads Inter To Victory, Eto'o Takes Off His Jersey, Eleonora Abbagnato Weeps

Under Eleonora Abbagnato's sad eyes -- the ballerina was at Milan's San Siro stadium to watch her boyfriend Federico Balzaretti play for Palermo, Internazionale FC's new striker Giampaolo Pazzini led the team to an awesome come-from-behind victory vs Palermo, scoring twice: it was his debut with Internazionale, having been signed about 72 hours ago.

Then Samuel Eto'o scored a penalty and promptly took off his shirt and all hell broke loose.

Click below to see Abbagnato during the taping of a recent Italian TV show (Chiambretti Night) with her soccer-playing boyfriend:

We Are The World: Internazionale FC Wins FIFA Club World Cup

 
European champions Internazionale FC won the FIFA Club World Cup beating Africa's TP Mazembe 3-0 in the final earlier today.

We are world champions now.

Real Men Don't Cry: Mourinho's Farewell Broke Materazzi's Heart

After leading Internazionale FC to a historic treble, Portuguese coach Jose' Mourinho immediately resigned from the team and joined Real Madrid: right before leaving the Bernabeu stadium, where Internazionale had just defeated 2-0 Bayern Munchen in the Champions League final, Mourinho instructed his driver to stop so that he could go hug Marco Materazzi (yeah, the Zidane-headbutt dude): many tears ensued. To see 6'5" tall, tattooed, bada$$ Materazzi (nicknamed "Matrix" by Inter fans due to his penchant for various kung-fu style tackles) cry like a little baby, hugging his friend and coach, makes one reevaluate one's ideas about soccer, machismo, and men behaving badly.

If Opera Chic were a Brown or, say, Bennington student, she'd totally write a long paper about this video.

Händel For UEFA's Champions

In honor of OC's (and Daniele Gatti's) beloved Internazionale, who on Saturday night won 2-0 over Bayern München to snag the 2010 UEFA Champions League trophy (which hadn't been done by nerazzurri in 45 years -- thanks in part to Diego Milito's insane MVP skills), here's the UEFA Champions League theme song. Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chorus, it's an arrangement by Tony Britten of one of Händel's Coronation Anthems, Zadok the Priest.

We wonder if Tony's related to Benji? One hopes not.

Inter Are European Champions: Bayern Munchen 0 - Internazionale FC 2

"Diego Milito was overcome with emotion after his two goals handed Inter Milan their first European Cup win in 45 years with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich, and the striker's first continental trophy of a career that has blossomed in the past year".

Diego Milito Scores, Internazionale FC Wins Italian League

 
Inter Milan hero Diego Milito was ecstatic after his solitary goal earned his club their fifth straight Scudetto this afternoon.

Probably, Th€ Most €xp€nsiv€ Hom€ In Milan: Samuel Eto'o Buys a €17,000,000 Penthouse

Opera Chic has a new neighbor, according to an exclusive report in "Corriere della Sera": Samuel Eto'o, the genius striker for our beloved Internazionale FC soccer team, just bought himself a penthouse on via Turati, downtown Milan, for a cool 17 million euros -- it's actually three separate apartments on the top floor that will be joined together (the construction of a swimming pool is also in the works) for a total 1,000 square meters, ie about 10,750 square feet.

Internazionale FC 1 - AS Roma 0

 

Diego Milito scores, Internazionale FC wins the Italian Cup final vs. AS Roma, in Rome, 1-0

Internazionale FC Goes to the Champions League Final

Barcelona undone by 10-man Inter and Mourinho.

Internazionale Fc loses 0-1 in Barcelona and moves on to Champions League Final (Inter had won 3-1 the first leg in Milan a week ago, and it makes it 3-2 on aggregate). The final will be played in Madrid, May 22, vs Bayern Munich.

Inter 3 - Barçelona 1

 
"Milito outshines Messi as Inter wins big"

ie, the fresh prince of Milan strikes again.

Chelsea Boys, Part II

Chelsea FC 0 - Internazionale FC 1

Jose Mourinho made a winning return to Stamford Bridge as Inter Milan knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League. 

The Italians outplayed the home side and were rewarded when Samuel Eto'o latched onto a chipped pass from the superb Wesley Sneijder and fired home.  Nicolas Anelka missed Chelsea's best chance with a scuffed close-range shot. 

But the Italians were a constant threat with Diego Milito and Thiago Motta wasting chances before Didier Drogba was shown red for a clash with Motta.

Chelsea Boys

Internazionale 2 - Chelsea 1

Milito's Symphony No. 9

Nine-Man Inter Milan Wins Derby 2-0

Walter Samuel Takes Off His Shirt

Late Walter Samuel Goal Gives First-Place Inter Milan 4-3 Win Over Siena

More shirtless men after the jump!

That Merry Wanderer Of The Night: Wesley Sneijder Is Our Midwinter Night's Dream

Italian Cup: Sneijder puts Inter into Quarter Finals

Il Principe di Milano

AC Milan - Internazionale FC  0-4

The Fresh Prince of Milan: Diego Milito

Out with the old, in with the new: Diego Milito, aka "The Prince", Internazionale FC's new striker from Argentina.

Year Of The Dragon

Internazionale FC lift Italian League trophy after seven-goal thriller, Zlatan Ibrahimović top scorer in the League.

Allegro energico, sempre ben marcato

Internazionale FC won their 17th Italian League title, their fourth in a row.

 

Opera Chic was in Milan's Piazza Duomo to celebrate with her fellow interisti.

More photos after the jump.

The Night Of The Scudetto

(photo courtesy of the Italian Champions of via inter.it, all others are Opera Chic's)

A night of insanity: black and blue flags and fire and smoke and broken bottles and insane feuertrunken nerazzurri illegally climbing up the Duomo to wave the Inter flag from the turrets high up in the sky over Milan; and the double-decker bus with the team just back from Siena enjoying a crazy parade in the streets of downtown Milan. Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of victory.

**~~vvvvvvvvv UPDATE vvvvvvvvvvvv~~**

Here's a link to the 24-image set "Internazionale FC Wins Italian Championship" that OC took from the fray.

Siena 1- Inter 2 : Scudetto!

Internazionale FC, Opera Chic's adorati nerazzurri, win their 15th Italian Championship.

(reported here because it's a team of opera fans, obviously)

Soccer As Fight Club: "Eccoci a terra, Dio della Guerra!"

Lat night, as Opera Chic was at la Scala for Salome, her beloved Internazionale FC boys (among them, fellow Opera fans Marco "Headbutt Me Sweetly" Materazzi and Luis "Ur So Hawt" Figo) were in Spain, where they only managed to tie a game against the barbarians down at Valencia -- and thus got promptly kicked out of the Champions League (we are on the other hand winning big in the Italian League).

After the game, Internazionale's Argentinian defender Nicolas Burdisso, had a few words to say to a Valencia guy (the ugly one in the grey windbreaker) who decided to simply bust poor Burdisso's nose.

Hilarity -- and very possibly long suspension by Euro soccer's ruling body UEFA for all involved -- ensued.

Opera Chic has a photo album here.

...and yeah, "not opera", but whatevs: Milan is soccer, opera, fashion, and food...so under the quad-fecta of all things teh awesome, soccer has validity...