Inter Milan Vs. Bayern Munich: Champions League Final 2010
From 32 teams, we are down to two.
Bayern Munich, the champion of Germany, and the Italian Serie A winner, Inter Milan, meet Saturday to settle who is Europe's best team. The UEFA Champions League final promises to be a nervy game of soccer in Madrid, and there are some interesting parallels between these two sides.
Both teams are chasing trebles, having also won their league and domestic cup competitions. Bayern and Inter are both seeking a return to continental glory. The Bavarians are looking for their fifth European title, having last won in 2001 in a penalty shootout over Valencia. It was the club's first European Cup in 25 years, but they stumbled a bit after that, failing to advance past the quarterfinals and once (2007/08) missing out on the top European club competition entirely.
Many Inter fans were not born during its last golden period, the time of "il Grande Inter" of the 1950s and 60s. (You likely will not see Jose Mourinho's team play this way, but you might see something like this or even this.) This is the Nerazzurri's first European Cup final since they won at home way, way back in 1965.
Inter's always special Jose Mourinho was an assistant for Bayern's no-nonsense coach Louis Van Gaal from 1997 to 2000, when the Dutchman was in charge of Barcelona. Having moved on from putting down the cones during training to upsetting arguably the best team in the world, Mourinho now faces his old mentor across the dugouts as equals. The two coaches, both chasing their second European Cup title, are often accused of arrogance, but they seem to have the midas touch wherever they go.
And, just for added spice: The final takes place at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid, where Mourinho is widely rumored to be taking over later in the summer.
We'll be live-blogging the final and we'd like to hear from readers. Any questions, we'll try to answer in our coverage. So, banter with us.
Which team do you think will win? Will this go down as one of the best finals of all time? Will Mourinho run all the way back to Milan celebrating if Inter wins? And what do all the traditionalists out there make of of the final being held on a Saturday for the first time in a bid to attract even more viewers?
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