Poborsky's name is inextricably linked to that match between his Lazio and Inter. On May 5th 2002, in fact, the Czech footballer scored the two most famous goals of his career, although not the most important from a purely sporting point of view for his club.
It was the last day of the championship, and the standings saw the Nerazzurri leading by one point ahead of Juventus and two ahead of Roma.
What the Curva Nord at the Stadio Olimpico wanted to avoid was for captain Francesco Totti's Roma to be crowned champions of Italy for the second year running. It was for this reason that the Biancoceleste had asked their players to step aside and hand the Scudetto to Inter.
The former Manchester United midfielder, however, wanted nothing to do with losing and responded blow by blow to the Nerazzurri, as Lazio won 4-2, handing the title to his friend Pavel Nedved's Juventus.
Poborsky currently works as a pundit with Canal+ Sport, a station that broadcasts the Premier League in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and accepted the invitation of Flashscore to chat about his adventure in Rome and recall that fateful day in May: "I don't remember scoring any other doubles in my career."
Read our full interview with Poborsky below.
When you joined Lazio, Serie A was the strongest league in the world, and Lazio were the reigning champions. Did you specifically want to go there, or were there more options on the table at the time?
"I moved in the winter, halfway through the season, and I originally didn’t want to leave Benfica at all. But their interest was enormous. Attilio Lombardo was Lazio's right midfielder at the time, and he was basically finishing his career, so the club wanted to sort the situation out as quickly as possible.
"The whole transfer came together in about a week. I remember my time there fondly - Lazio is a huge club, and the Italian league was fantastic back then. We had Italian internationals in the team, great Argentine players, the quality was immense."
Did Pavel Nedved play a big role in your move? Did he try to persuade you to join him at Lazio?
"He actually initiated the first contact. He called me saying that Lazio was looking for a right midfielder, and asked if I was interested - if the club should go ahead and start negotiations, or if it wasn’t something I’d consider and they shouldn't even try.
"Of course, his being there was one of the factors that increased my interest. Pavel and I had known each other for a long time, we played together in the national team, and it was the first time while playing abroad that I had another Czech guy in the locker room."
But later in the summer, Nedved transferred to Juventus, who fought for the title with Inter and Roma until the final matchday. Lazio beat Inter 4-2 in the last match of the season. You scored those two famous goals and basically handed the Scudetto to Juventus. Is it true that you and Pavel called each other right after the match? Did he thank you?
"Of course, we were in touch all the time. We even called the day before the game. He said the title would be decided tomorrow, and told me to give it my everything. And I jokingly said: ‘Don’t worry, we’ll beat them tomorrow, I’ll score two goals and it’s yours.’ And then it actually happened!
"I don’t remember ever scoring two goals in a match any other time, definitely not in Serie A. Pavel called me right after the game too, from the team bus where they were celebrating the title."
The situation at the top of the table was very tight. Inter, Juventus, and Roma were within two points before the final round. Some Lazio fans even wanted their team to lose to Inter so that their biggest rival, Roma, wouldn’t win the title. Did you guys talk about that?
"Yes, it was a big topic even in the locker room. We had quite a few Argentine players who had lots of friends at Inter. The Italians, on the other hand, were rooting more for Juventus, where they had teammates from the national team, and Juventus in general is a club with huge stature in Italy.
"We were joking at the time that among our fans, and even among the players themselves, there were basically two camps."
That two-goal game, which decided the title, was your farewell to Lazio. What were the following days and your goodbye like?
"It was very quick. I don’t remember whether we had national team duty afterwards or if our vacations started straight away, but in any case, we all left the next morning. And since we didn’t finish high in the table, there was nothing to celebrate."
Did you already know you’d be returning to the Czech Republic, or were you still considering staying abroad, even continuing in Italy?
"I already had an agreement with Sparta Prague at the time. The situation at Lazio was complicated. The then-owner, Sergio Cragnotti, had some legal troubles, and if I remember correctly, the club ended up being taken over by a bank.
"It was a tough period. I basically didn’t even have anyone at Lazio to negotiate with because the club had other things to deal with at the time."
If we go back to that final match one more time, Simone Inzaghi was also among the goalscorers. He’s now Inter’s head coach. Did you have any sense back then that he might become such a successful manager?
"Honestly, I didn’t. He was quite a quiet guy, and you can still see that now. Sure, on the sidelines he shows emotion, but in press conferences he always speaks in a cultured, thoughtful way.
"Back then, it was tough for him. He was more of a substitute, the first guy off the bench. Hernan Crespo was the main striker. But even then, he was a nice guy, I have really good memories of him."
Are you still in touch? Will you be rooting for him at the end of the season, when he’s fighting for the Scudetto and Champions League glory?
"We're not in touch now. I’ll probably enjoy the Champions League final without much emotion, since I don't have a team there.
"PSG is incredibly strong, but seeing how Inter made it to the final, I have to admit they’ve built a great team. A functioning side that knows exactly how to play. It’ll definitely be an interesting final.
"As for the Scudetto race, Napoli probably have the edge, partly because they’re not in any European competitions and have more energy. And they’re in great form too, four wins in their last five matches. I’d say they’ll take it."
