Rome: Samuel Eto'o again showed he is the man for the big occasion when he hit two goals to help Inter Milan to a 3-1 win over Palermo in the Italian Cup final on Sunday.
His goals either side of halftime set Inter on its way to the defense of the last of its remaining trophies from the treble-winning season of 2010 and gave Leonardo his first success as a coach.
The brace took the Cameroon striker's tally for the season to 37 in all competitions.
"It is an enormous win," Inter coach Leonardo said. "It has been a strange year for me and a strange year for Inter, but it was a good game and an important win for us.
"It was a very difficult game, but I am delighted with the attitude of our team. We didn't stop working and didn't stop fighting."
Palermo had a number of chances in both halves, but was unable to find a way past Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar, until Ezequiel Munoz pulled a goal back with two minutes to go.
Munoz was then sent off and in injury time Diego Milito put the seal on the win when he sidefooted in from close range.
The loss means the 35,000 Palermo fans who flocked to the Olympic Stadium will have to wait another year for a chance to see their team win its first ever trophy, but can content themselves with Europa League action next season.
"We have grown and done some fantastic things over the last four years," Palermo midfielder Giulio Migliaccio said. "We showed how we could play tonight. It was always going to be difficult against Inter, but we can go home with our heads held high."
Palermo's Abel Hernandez had a chance to open the scoring in the first minute, but shot into the side netting after he found space behind the Inter defense.
Inter's first opportunity came in the 15th minute, but Giampaolo Pazzini failed to control and Palermo keeper Salvatore Sirigu collected the loose ball.
Javier Pastore wasted Palermo's best chance in the 18th. He exchanged passes with Josip Ilicic, but took one touch too many and that allowed Cesar to race off his line and smother the ball.
Eto'o punished Pastore's profligacy when he opened the scoring shortly afterward. Wesley Sneijder slipped the ball behind the Palermo defense and Eto'o ran on and poked the ball low past Sirigu.
Just before halftime Hernandez had another chance, but Cesar got down low to deny the Uruguayan.
Hernandez, Pastore and Federico Balzaretti came close with chances early in the second half, while Pazzini had a header saved.
Fabio Miccoli came on in the 55th to try and spark Palermo's attack and he immediately forced Cesar into a desperate save to push the ball away for a corner.
Further chances arrived for Ilicic, Hernandez and Miccoli as Palermo threw everyone forward in attack, but without success.
Again it was Eto'o who punished their lack of precision. Again he latched onto a pass from Sneijder and had time and space to pick his spot past Sirigu.
Munoz headed in Pastore's corner, but was then sent off less than a minute later when he brought down McDonald Mariga on the edge of the box. Eto'o hit the bar with the freekick, but soon after Milito linked up with fellow substitute Goran Pandev to put the result beyond doubt.
"The main thing in football is to win and win trophies," Eto'o said. "Not all victories are as sweet as this one though."
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