Inter Milan's flight to Turkey on Sunday was held up after Argentine forward Mauro Zarate forgot his passport and had to return to the club's training ground to get it.
It wasn't the first time Inter has faced unexpected obstacles when coming up against the Turkish club.
When the two sides met in their opening Group B UEFA Champions League match at the San Siro in September, minnow Trabzonspor stunned its illustrious host by snatching a shock 1-0 victory.
It was the beginning of the end for then Inter coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who lasted only two more matches before being fired.
But as the two sides prepare to meet on Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning AEDT), Inter is safe in the knowledge that a point will be enough to see it into the knockout stages with a game to spare while a victory would assure top spot in the group.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Inter having lost what appeared to be its easiest game in the group, at home to the rank outsider.
But now it is focused on claiming first place and hence probably avoiding potentially tough second-round clashes against the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
What's more, having had a disastrous start to its scudetto campaign, it is still down in 16th after 10 games.
Centre-back Andrea Ranocchia says it really needs to get qualification for the second round out of the way so it can concentrate on climbing up the Serie A table.
"We want three points for the last 16 which is an important step we need to take," he said.
"We need to put this question to bed so we can think about the league."
Inter arrives in Turkey without playmaker Wesley Sneijder who has a thigh strain and will be out for around three weeks.
What a fucking spastic. Perfect for the Merdazzurri.
