Before the match began, players from both sides had gone through numerous interviews, exchanging barbs in their comments, which served as an excellent pre-match warm-up.
As a result, on the day of the match, Meazza Stadium was packed to capacity.
All 76,000 seats were filled, every single one occupied by fans of Inter Milan.
The venue was adorned not just with Inter's flags waving in the wind, but also with large posters of players like Vieri, Recoba, and Zanetti.
There were even posters of Ronaldo.
It should be noted that Ronaldo had made a comeback last April or May, only to play for fifteen minutes before suffering another serious injury, which had sidelined him for a year, and he still hadn't made his comeback.
The fans of Inter Milan would have to wait at least two more months if they wanted to see him play here.
The current group of Inter players, compared to Ronaldo, were even more familiar with their opposite number Viana, whom they had known for less than ten days.