Can Inter Make History in Munich?

Inter Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 in an exhilarating second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the San Siro in Milan on Tuesday, May 6. 

The second leg was even more promising. As the game went to injury time, everyone with Inter Milan tickets was up on their seats. 

Inter had almost lost the tie, but scored twice in injury time to sneak out a win to remember forever.

Simone Inzaghi’s men will now face PSG in the Champions League final later this month. Should they be able to win the title, it will be their first Champions League title since 2010.

15-Year Drought for Inter Milan

Inter won the UCL title in 2010, beating Bayern Munich in the final. 

The final came alive at the Santiago Bernabeu, and despite facing a strong Bayern Munich side, Inter won 2-0. That year, the side went on to complete a treble, the first time an Italian side had ever achieved this. 

Older fans with Inter Milan tickets will remember the scintillating semifinal against Barcelona. Jose Mourinho was in charge, and Inter went all out. 

They nullified Barcelona’s attacking might with ultra-defence to win that fixture. 

Many years before that, the wonderful Inter Milan side of the 1960s won back-to-back European Cups, led by Giacinto Facchetti, the legendary Italian full-back.

However, Inter was completely overshadowed by Juventus in the 1980s and AC Milan from the late 1980s to the early 2010s.

As Milan continued achieving success after success at the European level and Juventus kept reaffirming their status as Italy’s most successful club at the domestic level, Inter struggled to see glory days, despite getting success sporadically in the 1990s.

However, during the last five years, Inter have won the Serie A title twice and reached the Champions League on two occasions.

Their defeat to Manchester City in the 2023 final must have hurt the Nerazzurri for a long time.

Serie A Title Race

The battle for the Serie A title continues to be a very absorbing one at the moment.

Inter trails Napoli by three points in the Serie A table with three rounds of matches to go. Napoli probably holds the edge to win their second Serie A title in three years.

However, the glimmer of hope for winning the coveted double is still there for Inzaghi’s men.

In Coppa Italia, AC Milan knocked Inter out in the semifinal and remains the favourites to win the title. Milan has been rebuilding, but should be able to win a trophy after all.

Hence, Inter will be pinning many of their hopes on the UCL. However, winning Europe’s premier club competition will make amends for everything else.

Inter has won three European Cup titles in its more than 100-year history, and hence, Inzaghi could etch his name in the club’s history forever by winning the title as their manager.

It remains to be seen whether he can lift the coveted trophy in Munich in a few weeks.

Yan Sommer Almost Signed for Barca 

In a real “sliding doors” moment, Inter Milan’s Champions League hero Yann Sommer was one step from joining Barcelona in 2019.

Spanish newspaper Sport, via FCInterNews, highlights this. They note that, in the end, the Blaugranas would sign Neto from Valencia instead of the Swiss.

Goalkeeper Yann Sommer had a prominent role in the Champions League tie between Inter and Barcelona.

The 36-year-old was outstanding in both legs of the semifinal tie. But he particularly stepped up for the second leg.

Sommer made a string of brilliant saves, culminating in an almost miraculous intervention to tip a Lamine Yamal effort wide as Inter won the match 4-3 and the tie 7-6 on aggregate.

Sport notes that things could have been very difficult had Sommer completed a notable transfer in 2019.

That summer, Barcelona had been chasing Yann Sommer as a backup to Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

The Nerazzurri planned to sign the Swiss international from Borussia Monchengladbach to replace Jasper Cilessen.

However, in the end, Barcelona completed a double deal with Valencia instead.

Neto joined the Blaugranas from Valencia, whilst Cilessen joined Los Che.

Therefore, Sommer spent a few more years with Gladbach and then half a season with Bayern Munich.

In the summer of 2023, Bayern sold Sommer to Inter.

And the Swiss would end up coming back to haunt Barcelona.

Inter Wants New Signings Before Club World Cup

Inter Milan are planning to add three players to their squad before the FIFA Club World Cup starts this summer.

According to today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInter1908. They reported that Nerazzurri wanted to bring Petar Sucic, Luis Henrique, and a new defender to the United States.

Next month, the Nerazzurri will fly to the United States to play in the Club World Cup.

It will be an opportunity for Inter to bed in some new players ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Moreover, Inter will aim to phase out some of the ageing veterans they’ve relied upon this season.

As the Corriere notes, Inter has already secured one signing before the Club World Cup.

Midfielder Petar Sucic will be at Dinamo Zagreb until the end of this season. However, he has already agreed on a deal to join Inter at the end of the campaign.

Moreover, Suárez will already become an Inter player before the start of the Club World Cup.

Meanwhile, Inter are also in talks to sign winger Luis Henrique from Marseille.

The Nerazzurri’s priority is to finalise the deal for Henrique before the start of the Club World Cup.

Lastly, Inter also aims to sign a defender who can be the long-term heir to veterans Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij.

One of the top names on Inter’s shortlist is that of Udinese defender Oumar Solet.

Also on Nerazzurri’s list are Bologna duo Sam Beukema and John Lucumi, as well as Genoa’s Koni De Winter.

In any event, according to the Corriere report, Inter’s priority is to wrap up a defensive signing before the Club World Cup.

Inter Milan tickets for the remaining fixtures are now available to purchase.