CNN
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It’s been 15 years since the Italian club last lifted the Champions League trophy. soccer– Mad Country.
Seeing Italian teams win the most coveted awards in European club soccer is postponed, especially given the country’s history and pedigree in sports. That could change this weekend when Inter Milan faces Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Munich on Saturday – the second Champions League final in three years Nerazzurri.
Inter’s fourth European title may be a flickering reminder of the golden age of Italian club soccer in the 1990s. Today’s teams don’t boast almost the same number of global superstars, but following European titles with fewer Europa League and Conference Leagues as Atalanta and Rome, respectively, Inter’s Champions League success is likely a glimpse into the Italian Renaissance.
“Italian football has been a bit of a sense of its record in European competition, up until recently,” TNT sports commentator Adam Summerton, who follows Italy’s Serie A, told CNN Sports.
“I think it’s been almost embarrassing for a league of Italy’s size and position. …I’ve speculated that in recent years it has taken that pride, in order to truly recover it, to truly recover it.
Intel is in the silverware cusp this season on three, and undoubtedly four occasions. He was close to winning the Serie A title last weekend, but he scored one point behind champion Napoli in the final match. That led manager Simone Inzagi to admit that “I and the players had a lot of pain” earlier this week, but Saturday’s final offers a chance to ease that pain.
And one of the positives for Inter is that Inzagi and many of his players have been in this position before. The current team is not fundamentally different from the team that narrowly lost to Manchester City in the 2023 final.
This Inter team is full of experienced campaigners. Defenders Francesco Aserbi and Matteo Dalmian and midfielder Henrik Mkhitaryan. According to TransferMarkt, it is the highest average age of Italy in this past season at 29.1, and is hungry for silverware after a series of almost mistakes. Not only did they fail to win the league title, but Inter lost to bitter rival AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup in January and again lost to Milan in the Italian Cup semi-finals in April.
But the overall picture for Nerazzurri It’s one of the successes under Inzagi. The 49-year-old, who arrived at the club in 2021, has already won Scudetto, Italian Cup and three Italian Super Cups while in charge. Reaching the two finals of the Champions League is also an impressive feat, especially given the financial firepower of some of the top European clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and, in fact, PSG.
“This isn’t just about coaches who are flashing lights in the pot, or people who are standing up,” Summerton says. “People may not agree, but in my view, he is a current established elite level coach and I think he will emphasize that winning the Champions League is that validation, recognition and this is a man who needs to be taken seriously.”
Inzagi, a former striker who spent most of his career with Lazio, has signed with Inter until 2026. He was reportedly offered over $23 million (20 million euros) per season to take charge of Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, but was reluctant to talk about his future when asked this week.
“When I was in Lazio and Inter, it’s the same every year,” Inzagi said. “Fortunately, there are requests from Italy and from Saudi Arabia from overseas.
“But I think it’s crazy now to think about it. Like the president of the club said, the people I have great relationships are the ones we sit and talk the day after the game.
Naturally, the Champions League trophies will significantly improve the resumes of Inzaghi management.
After acknowledging one goal in the group stage this season, Inter saw Barcelona in the knockout stage, Feynord, Bayern Munich and in sensational ways.
The breathtaking mad cap victory in the semi-finals against Barça – finally finishing with a tally of 7-6 after the winner of Aserbi’s stop time equalizer and David Fratesi’s extended player – is remembered as one of the great nights in the club’s history.
Importantly, Inter under Inzaghi has shown that it has the tools and tactics to compete with the best teams in Europe.
“They have this incredible ability. “They play within the formation where Inzagi is pretty married to 3-5-2, but within that formation there is so much flexibility in the way they play.
“I think Inter is a very difficult aspect for PSG to play in the finals. Because of the versatility they have, the spins they play together. They’re a very difficult team to play against.”
Advances the final, Inter was supported by the return of Captain Lautaro Martinez. Lautaro Martinez has nine goals in 13 games representing one of the best returns in the Champions League this season.
Martínez hopes to add Champions League medals to the already impressive trophies in his career, including the World Cup and two Copa América titles with Argentina, and two league titles with Inter.
“It’s going to be incredible to experience another final on this scale in this competition,” he told UEFA this week.
It will be a dream for Interfans who have been waiting 15 years to experience the glory of the Champions League once more. Currently, only one team is in the way of the Trophy’s long-awaited return to Italy.