Inter's season, which once promised so much, now hangs in the balance as Simone Inzaghi's experienced team prepare to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
At one stage this term, it looked as though Inter were primed to win a treble.
Yet they have fallen short in both the Coppa Italia and Serie A, giving Saturday's clash with PSG – who are chasing a treble of their own – in Munich a last chance saloon feel.
Inzaghi, whose side fell short in the Champions League final against Manchester City two years ago, now has the difficult task of getting his team back on their feet after the players were on their knees only last Friday when the Serie A Scudetto went to Napoli on the final day of the season.
"The championship just concluded left us with something to remember," Inzaghi told reporters on Monday.
"There is a lot of suffering in myself and in the players, it's pointless denying it."
Only Atletico Madrid (43.5%) have handed a higher share of minutes to players aged 30+ in the Champions League this season than Inter (43.3%), whose 6,151 minutes by players aged 30+ is the most by a team since Juventus in 2016-17 (6,186).
Inter have trailed for just 1.2% of their Champions League matches this season, falling behind in three games but never for more than 370 seconds in any of them – 285 seconds against Bayer Leverkusen in December, 370 against Bayern in April and 343 against Barca in May. They have also spent the highest percentage of their time winning (50.8%).
Inzaghi, who has been linked with a move to Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal, will now hope to banish the ghosts of Istanbul and get his hands on the ultimate prize.