The silent exodus of fans from the Giuseppe Meazza after a fifth goal that their heroes conceded late Tuesday against Schalke may have signalled the end of a memorable winning cycle for Inter Milan.A 5-2 beating from the Bundesliga middleweights virtually eliminated Inter from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, seriously thinning out their chances to retain the continental crown.
"It is little realistic to think about a comeback, but in football you never know. Anything can happen," said Inter coach Leonardo said.
Club president Massimo Moratti said he was "surprised by the size of the defeat, but I saw tiredness already at the weekend. Nothing has changed toward Leonardo. I know how football can be cruel."
The Serie A weekend had already been awful for the Nerazzurri as city rivals AC Milan hammered them 3-0 to leave them five points behind in the race for the title with seven games left.
On Wednesday, la Repubblica headlined "Inter's debacle, under Schalke's avalanche," with other publications widely using "disaster" and "nightmare" as titles and leads.
The Nerazzurri's slip-up was a crucial turn for the worse in a season that had a dithering start as Rafael Benitez took over from star coach Jose Mourinho and a marked improvement when Leonardo arrived in December, when several players returned from injury.
Under Leonardo, Inter cut their deficit from leaders Milan from 13 to two points and in March eliminated Bayern Munich in the Champions League with a great 3-2 away win.
When crunch time arrived this weekend, however, Milan halted the Nerazzurri's march and Schalke virtually destroyed their morale, exposing defensive weaknesses that had occasionally cropped up in previous games.
After the inebriating triumphs of the past season - with home and European titles secured alongside the Italian Cup and the Club World Cup - Inter have now reasonable hopes only for the home cup.
Against Milan and late Tuesday, there was no trace of the grit that had become Inter's trademark in the past seasons.
When Brazilian Pato opened the derby with an early goal on Saturday, Inter never managed to react and threw in the towel after the dismissal of defender Cristian Chivu.
Things seemed different Tuesday against Schalke, with Dejan Stankovic, already in the first minute, and Diego Milito, the hero of the past season who returned from injury, twice putting the guests ahead.
Schalke, however, had speed and organization on their side and twice came back by halftime before literally disintegrating Inter in the remaining 45 minutes.
An own goal from Andrea Ranocchia and another Chivu dismissal worsened matters in a defence that missed the suspended Lucio and the injured Walter Samuel.
Pessimism prevailed among fans after the game, although some of them echoed Leonardo, captain Javier Zanetti and former coach Mourinho as they pointed out that "in football, anything can happen."
"It is little realistic to think about a comeback, but in football you never know. Anything can happen," said Inter coach Leonardo said.
Club president Massimo Moratti said he was "surprised by the size of the defeat, but I saw tiredness already at the weekend. Nothing has changed toward Leonardo. I know how football can be cruel."
The Serie A weekend had already been awful for the Nerazzurri as city rivals AC Milan hammered them 3-0 to leave them five points behind in the race for the title with seven games left.
On Wednesday, la Repubblica headlined "Inter's debacle, under Schalke's avalanche," with other publications widely using "disaster" and "nightmare" as titles and leads.
The Nerazzurri's slip-up was a crucial turn for the worse in a season that had a dithering start as Rafael Benitez took over from star coach Jose Mourinho and a marked improvement when Leonardo arrived in December, when several players returned from injury.
Under Leonardo, Inter cut their deficit from leaders Milan from 13 to two points and in March eliminated Bayern Munich in the Champions League with a great 3-2 away win.
When crunch time arrived this weekend, however, Milan halted the Nerazzurri's march and Schalke virtually destroyed their morale, exposing defensive weaknesses that had occasionally cropped up in previous games.
After the inebriating triumphs of the past season - with home and European titles secured alongside the Italian Cup and the Club World Cup - Inter have now reasonable hopes only for the home cup.
Against Milan and late Tuesday, there was no trace of the grit that had become Inter's trademark in the past seasons.
When Brazilian Pato opened the derby with an early goal on Saturday, Inter never managed to react and threw in the towel after the dismissal of defender Cristian Chivu.
Things seemed different Tuesday against Schalke, with Dejan Stankovic, already in the first minute, and Diego Milito, the hero of the past season who returned from injury, twice putting the guests ahead.
Schalke, however, had speed and organization on their side and twice came back by halftime before literally disintegrating Inter in the remaining 45 minutes.
An own goal from Andrea Ranocchia and another Chivu dismissal worsened matters in a defence that missed the suspended Lucio and the injured Walter Samuel.
Pessimism prevailed among fans after the game, although some of them echoed Leonardo, captain Javier Zanetti and former coach Mourinho as they pointed out that "in football, anything can happen."
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