AC Milan v Inter and the tale of an iconic image

There was Rui Costa and there was Marco Materazzi. Beauty and the brawn. The elegant Portuguese shouldering the weight of his grizzled opponent's elbow. Tranquillity amid the chaos as a pair of footballing rivals paused to ponder a hazy wall of red smoke and simmering flares. "Everyone was focused on the flares, on the smoke," photographer Stefano Rellandini, who captured that iconic image 21 years ago, tells BBC Sport. "But near the centre of the pitch I saw a certain moment. "Materazzi was nicknamed something like a butcher; he is not really a gentle player.
This is an excerpt. The reporting belongs to BBC Sport.
Read the full report on bbc.co.uk



