SCHALKE 04 lifted the UEFA Cup last night, after they beat Inter Milan 4-1 in a penalty shoot out before a packed San Siro crowd.
Schalke, who won the first leg in Gelsenkirchen 1-0, had been heading for success in normal time as the match before an 82,000 crowd remained goal less with barely five minutes left.
Ivan Zamorano then looked to have been Inter's saviour, scoring from close range to make it all square and send them into extra time, albeit with only 10 men, after Inter defender Salvatore Fresi was sent off.
But Zamorano was also his team's sinner, missing Inter's first penalty for them to trail 1-0 in the shoot out. Youri Djorkaeff converted their next but when Dutchman Aron Winter missed his, Inter were 3-1 down.
Fittingly, it was Belgian Marc Wilmots, whose goal in Germany set Schalke on the road to their first European trophy, who took their fourth and final spot kick, slamming the ball past Gianluca Pagliuca.
But Inter, who reached the third round of this competition after beating Austria's Graz in a shootout, had only themselves to blame for a performance which was more heart than skill.
Their game only came together in extra time, when Maurizio Ganz was denied a sensational winner by the crossbar.
Inter, though looking increasingly vulnerable to a German break, put on most of the pressure at the start. Djorkaeff had a shot blocked after 24 minutes and Paul Ince hit another from outside the area which hit Zamorano instead of the target and cannoned off for a goal kick.
Pagliuca pulled off a crucial save when Schalke teed up a freekick for Michael Buskens to hit a barrelling shot from 22 yards, which the Inter goalkeeper could only punch out.
Inter's best effort came five minutes from the break, when Ganz, the tournament's top scorer with eight goals, headed Djorkaeff's freekick only narrowly wide of the far post.
As in the first hall, Schalke soaked up all the pressure and then had the best chance, when Buskens forced another spectacular save from Pagliuca.
