May 1965 has featured prominently in many a Liverpudlian’s thoughts as they prepare to renew acquaintances with Inter Milan tonight, more than four decades after an acrimonious encounter in the European Cup semi-final, but it is a month that is imprinted on the minds of every supporter of the Nerazzurri, whose second consecutive success that year has not yet been followed by a third.

Already on course for a third successive Serie A title, Inter are emerging from the shadows cast by their illustrious past — not to mention those of AC Milan, who beat Liverpool in last season’s Champions League final — but they are a club troubled by their relative lack of success in Europe’s elite competition. They are determined that this year will be different and, having been eliminated on away goals by Villarreal and Valencia in the past two seasons, they may look to go on the offensive at Anfield tonight against a Liverpool team low on confidence.

“Even when we are winning in Italy, it is not enough,” Roberto Mancini, the Inter coach, said. “We need to succeed in the Champions League. That would be prestigious for this club, but we know there is a long way to go.

“Anfield is a great stadium to win a game. This stadium is part of the history of football. Two massive clubs with a lot of history in football will be playing.”

They are also two clubs with what might be termed a shared, albeit distant, history in the European Cup. In what is now considered as the first great European night at Anfield, Liverpool beat Inter 3-1 in a European Cup semi-final, first leg, only to lose 3-0 in highly contentious circumstances in the return. Bill Shankly, then the Liverpool manager, claimed that two of Inter’s goals were illegal and alleged until his death in 1981 that the referee, José Maria Ortiz de Mendibil, was “bent”.

Javier Zanetti, the Inter captain, said that he was aware of the history surrounding the tie and also that the players in his squad who have Premier League experience — Marco Materazzi, Patrick Vieira, Olivier Dacourt and Hernán Crespo — have spoken of the “warm” atmosphere of Anfield. Mancini also had a spell in the Premier League, making the final four appearances of his distinguished career as a Leicester City player, the last of them on Merseyside, but at Goodison Park, the home of Everton.

Mancini has fond memories of his brief spell on these shores and joked that, with two of his compatriots, Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni, having taken charge of the national teams of England and Ireland respectively, he might fancy the Wales job. John Toshack, the Wales manager and a former Liverpool forward, is unlikely to see the funny side.