Denzel Dumfries epitomises the under-appreciated brilliance of Inter

Sports

add

Denzel Dumfries had a dream, but when the then-17-year-old shared it with his teammates at Sparta Rotterdam’s academy, their mirth threatened to wash it away.

“He told the entire dressing room that he was going to play for the Netherlands,” remembers Dolf Roks, Sparta’s former academy boss. “But back then, we didn’t see that. We all laughed.”

But Dumfries’ resolve remained. Twelve years on, watch him fly forward on the overlap. Right there is his commitment.

Dumfries now has 63 caps for the Netherlands but Wednesday night was when he came of age on club football’s biggest stage, assisting and scoring twice for Inter Milan in a Champions League semi-final.

Once dismissed as a novelty, Dumfries’ story is Inter’s story, his unheralded side emerging from their trip to Barcelona with a 3-3 draw. They would be worthy winners of this season’s Champions League.

This tie was supposed to be about Inter’s hosts reaching their first Champions League final in a decade. Seasons in which Barcelona fail to win the European Cup are like dog years; each one feels like seven.

Montjuic, Barcelona’s largely unloved temporary home as Camp Nou is rebuilt, welcomed its highest attendance, 50,314, since the club moved in. It felt like their night but Milan’s own city symbol is Il Biscione, the big grass snake, sewn into the club’s badge until 1988. Just as Inter have this competition, it goes about its business near-invisibly.

Inter may not have the favourite for the Ballon d’Or (Raphinha), and might lack two of the most talented teenagers in world football (Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi), but they possess almost everything else.

Just 30 seconds into the match, Marcus Thuram’s flick was deft and subtle, but what it signified was anything but. Inter’s early lead was a message, reiterated over the 90 minutes in studs and ambition — Inter are nobody’s doormats.

UK readers watch here:

WHAT A START FOR INTER 🤯

Marcus Thuram with an incredible flick to put Inter ahead in 30 seconds 🤩

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Y2hAiF5Vlb

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 30, 2025

U.S. readers watch here:

MARCUS THURAM WITH AN INSANE FINISH AFTER JUST 30 SECONDS 💥😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/6QL27zoPb8

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 30, 2025

They have been the quiet man of the Champions League’s final four, despite fielding the best defence in the competition. They were meant to lose in Barcelona; then, having been pegged back to 2-2 from their surprise lead, were expected to fade away. Instead, they were a toe away from stashing a 4-3 lead for the return leg at the San Siro.

Dumfries, having only recovered from a hamstring injury this week, was making his first start in eight games. Facing the most dangerous attack in Europe, there had been speculation that Simone Inzhagi might start the (slightly) more reserved Matteo Darmian.

The Inter head coach will be glad he didn’t. Dumfries had already assisted Thuram’s opener with a low driven cross, before Francesco Acerbi’s header looped towards him on 20 minutes. Foot at head-height, his hamstring clearly fixed, the Dutchman lashed it over his own shoulder into the net.

“My whole family has hard feet,” Dumfries had once bemoaned. “I should have softer feet. It could all be a bit more polished. It looks a bit clunky to me sometimes.” This finish showed the value of having lead behind the laces.

Denzel Dumfries scores his team’s second goal at Barcelona (Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images)

Dumfries has made a career of being the free man who nobody picks up. Having been hauled back to 2-2 by a spirited Barcelona fightback, Inter’s right-back took advantage of being overlooked once more, restoring his team’s lead. 3-2.

Dumfries is not Inter’s only player in this position. Captain Lautaro Martinez, who became Inter’s all-time leading Champions League goalscorer earlier this season, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he sometimes feels “underrated” after finishing seventh in voting for the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

Martinez may not have scored against Barcelona, and was substituted with a leg injury that may keep him out of next Tuesday’s second leg, but the Argentina striker was at the heart of Inter’s first-half success. His movement and physicality disorientated Cubarsi and Ronald Araujo, creating space for Thuram and Inter’s wingbacks to shine.

Other Inter players also feel underappreciated. To non-Serie A watchers, Yann Sommer is a Swiss automaton who appears every two years at major tournaments, but he made crucial saves last night from Yamal and Raphinha to keep the tie level. A goalkeeper can scarcely ever have conceded three, including an own goal, and performed so impressively.

The titanic Francesco Acerbi, signed by AC Milan as a 24-year-old to replace Alessandro Nesta, was cut loose by Inter’s city rivals after just six appearances. In the intervening period, he has defeated alcoholism, depression, and testicular cancer. Having featured in the Italy squad that won the European Championship in 2021, he has not been picked for the national team in almost two years.

Both Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had disappointing spells in England earlier in their career, but have rebounded under Inzhaghi at Inter. Criticised for his work-rate at both Arsenal and Manchester United, Mkhitaryan had literally run the Nike badge off his shirt by full-time.

The Armenian was one of three free agents in Inter Milan’s starting XI, alongside Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglou, players that could have been signed by any team. Inter’s recruitment is reflective of a side who are financially dwarfed by the other three semi-finalists, having earned more in sales than they have spent over the past four seasons.

All this is without even mentioning Nicolo Barella and Alessandro Bastoni, two of the Champions League’s outstanding performers so far, but overshadowed by the likes of Yamal, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Declan Rice.

Knitting this group together is Inzhagi, already one of Europe’s elite coaches, but only this season gaining a wider appreciation. His team are the most tactically distinct remaining in the competition, stout in defence and imaginative in attack.

Two moments were made in his image — Acerbi’s burst forward from centre-back to lead a counter-attack, moments after conceding an equaliser, and Barella’s calmness in the closing seconds, calmly chipping a ball to himself in his own area after Yamal hit the bar.

Inzhagi took off Dumfries in the 80th minute. It was a wonder he was able to walk off, but as he did, the Nerazzurri were already singing. “Lo che amo solo te” (“I only love you”).

Dumfries heads in Inter’s third goal (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

They did the same after Inter lost in the final of this competition two seasons ago. An away draw gives them the chance to do so again, thanks to Dumfries’ two goals on the night.

Back when he was at PSV, Dumfries once said: “If I am the second top goalscorer here, something is not going right.”

At Inter, this season, he is third. For both the Dutchman and his unheralded troupe, something is now going very, very right.

(Top photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

What’s next for Lakers? First-round exit starts clock on long-term plan after Luka Dončić trade

Sports

Next

trending_flat

LeBron James on NBA future after Lakers’ playoff elimination: ‘I don’t know the answer to that’

Sports