SOCCER
When was the last time Inter played in the Champions League final?
‘I Nerazurri’ will be looking to pull off the upset against Manchester City at Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
They weren’t expected to make it to the Round of 16, but they proved everyone wrong and will be looking to win the Champions League title.
They started their UCL campaign in Group C, alongside Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, and Viktoria Plzen in what was considered the group of death.
The Bavarians and the Catalans were the clear favorites to advance to the knockout stages, but I Nerazurri managed to defeat Barcelona in Italy and get a draw at Camp Nou that saw them progress to the round of 16 with Bayern.
After that, they faced Porto in a tie where many thought the Portuguese side would get the nod but Simone Inzaghi’s men came out on top to set a quarterfinals clash with Benfica.
Again, given Benfica’s consistency in the Portuguese league and their brilliant performances in the Champions League, they were the favorites by many soccer pundits, but the Italians were the better team on the pitch and took a ticket to the semifinals, where he would face city neighbors AC Milan.
Against the seven-time Champions League winners, Inter again proved too strong and won both legs to book a ticket for the final against Manchester City.
Back to the final 13 years later
Now Inter will have the chance of making history and win their fourth Champions League trophy.
However, they are the clear underdogs going into the game against Pep Guardiola’s City, who have been unstoppable most of this term, winning the Premier League and the FA Cup, and thrashing Real Madrid in the UCL semifinals.
But Inzaghi probably knows that anything is possible in soccer, especially in a final. Inter, who ended third in this season’s Serie A, are back to a UCL final after 13 years when they played and defeated Bayern Munich in 2010 thanks to two Diego Milito goals.
Jose Mourinho was Inter’s coach back then and Inzaghi will try to repeat that feat against the most in-form team in Europe. If the Italians end up defeating City, they will be tied to Ajax with four titles.