The heavyweights of European football clash in the final of the Champions League

Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain will meet on Saturday during the final of the UEFA Champions League in Munich to compete for the most prestigious trophy of Club Soccer. For the Paris team, a victory would cement the team in the pantheon of football royalty.

Paris Saint-Germain, familiarly known as PSG, was once mediocrity personified. Before 2011, the team in Langui in Ligue 1 of the French football league and has just had twice the relegation in a lower division.

But 14 years ago, everything changed. Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary supported by the state of the sovereign heritage fund of Qatar, bought the team and injected billions of dollars. Superstars like Zlatan Ibrahimović and David Beckham joined in the early days of the new era of PSG.

More recently, the Qatari money called on the attractive trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. During the 14 seasons since the new property settled, PSG dominated its national league, winning the league 1 11 times.

Despite the competition of the competition in France, a title of the Champions League has always escaped PSG. He was close in 2020, losing against the German giant of Bayern Munich in the final. The fact of not bringing this trophy back to house led neutral fans to reject their merits. PSG has long been considered the rich child in the field, with fancy claims but without the game to save it.

Then came the summer of 2023, when PSG began its transformation. Messi and Neymar left the French capital, with Mbappe after their advance. In the Spanish tactician, Luis Enrique, who implemented a cultural revolution.

No more time of superstar players and dependence on individual skills and great moments to transport the team to victory. Cue Young and Tenace Talent who were not as recognizable for fans of good weather but were ready to graft and play in a team.

Out the most recognized football name in the world, Messi. The Georgian winger came less sexy, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is the surname haunts football commentators from around the world.

“I think the team has grown up and reached an even higher level than what we expected,” said Enrique in an interview with their club on Monday. “We all want to make history and win the very first Paris Saint-Germain Champions League,” he added.

The unprecedented success of PSG is a member of the old football guard, Inter Milan. Unlike PSG, Inter is more accustomed to the largest football scene, winning the European championship three times in its touted history, more recently in 2010. His last appearance in the Champions League final was only three seasons ago.

Despite the comfort of his club under the spotlight, his coach, the Italian Simone Inzaghi, does not underestimate the competition.

“PSG is an excellent team with incredibly strong players. They have a quality, a coach who instilled clear game principles,” said the manager at a press conference on Monday. “We will prepare as best as possible, knowing that it will take an excellent performance to win.”

Inter will have to withdraw from his boots Saturday after Heartbreak a week ago. The Italian juggernaut has little missed to win its national league, pushing its Napoli rivals by the edge and missing the Serie A championship, called “Scudetto”, by a single point.

But it will be reinforced by the health of its captain and Talisman, Argentinian Lautaro Martínez. The 27 -year -old World Cup winner is Inter this season’s top scorer in the Champions League, with nine goals in 14 games.

Known for its tenacity and nicknamed “El Toro”, Martínez shocked Barcelona in the semi-finals by playing through an injury and scoring the opening goal in the return match. Almost a month later, Inzaghi said that his star player was in good shape and impatient to go despite not playing in the last Italian season game.

But the Inter does not depend only on its star player. Like PSG, Inter relieved teamwork and organization to propel its success this season. Throughout all the competitions, the 21 interior players of Inter scored a goal, an almost unprecedented statistic in modern football. Inzaghi believes that cooperation and camaraderie are what makes his team special this year.

“I like the way they stay together on the field: the joy of victories and tears in defeats,” said Inzaghi about his team. “In the final, there is no room for errors. … We need intensity, determination and all the qualities that this team has shown throughout our trip.”