Inter Milan will star in the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City as the underdogs. However, historically they are far superior outfit when it comes to European football.
Inter have won the competition three times and will head to Istanbul with serious ambitions of increasing that figure to four.
Inter’s Most Recent Win Of 2010
Inter go into the City tie as massive outsiders to achieve victory. However, they are no strangers to producing the unthinkable on the European stage.
Their most recent victory in 2010, involved Jose Mourinho’s Nerrazzurri side upsetting the odds to dismantle Louis Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich.
This time around Pep Guardiola’s City team is the elite footballing opposition that will face Inter. In the Champions League betting odds, Inter are offered 11/2 to claim an unlikely victory.
But in the past, the team from Milan have thrived off the lack of pressure from being overlooked.
The huge upsets in Inter’s triumph of 2009/10 began in the semi-final. A typical defensive Mourinho setup frustrated one of the greatest FC Barcelona teams of all time.
Inter’s stunning counterattacking display in the first leg meant they took a 3-1 lead to the Camp Nou. In Barcelona for the second leg, a narrow one-goal defeat meant Inter progressed to the final.
Most crucially, the Barcelona manager was none other than Pep Guardiola – the current Manchester City manager. Guardiola has fallen before in his managerial career while being seen as a heavy favourite against the Nerrazzurri.
In the final Bayern Munich represented another uphill task for Inter. The Bavarian team featured the likes of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben.
Inter’s team was also filled with legendary names such as Maicon and Lucio at the latter ends of their careers. In the attack, Samuel Eto’o and the ever-prolific Diego Milito were firmly in their primes.
But overall, the UCL final of 2010 represented a one-time opportunity for that Inter generation. Many of the defence and midfield were nearing the end of their careers, and it was unlikely they would ever reach a European final again.
It was a Milito brace that decided the final and Mourinho’s team earned a clean sheet for their defensive efforts. Inter won a UCL title that year through scintillating counter-attacking football and an imperious defence.
The Back-To-Back Victories Of The 1960s
Inter’s first couple of European victories are perhaps less familiar to the modern Nerazzurri fan. The club began writing the script of their European legacy in 1964 when they beat Real Madrid in the final.
Alessandro Mazzola’s brace proved to be the difference in a dominant 3-1 victory. Inter’s journey to European greatness was kickstarted in Vienna that year.
The following year Inter defended their title on home turf. The sole goal in the final at the San Siro came from pacey Brazilian wideman Jair as Inter successfully retained their crown.
The team from Lombardy have a lengthy history in European football. They are one of Italy’s prized footballing assets and will hope they can extend their impressive continental history in Istanbul this year.