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Unlikely Champions League Finalist Inter Milan Out to Upset Manchester City 

Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)
Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)
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Unlikely Champions League Finalist Inter Milan Out to Upset Manchester City 

Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)
Inter Milan's players train during a media day ahead of the Champions League final, at the Suning training center, in Appiano Gentile, northern Italy, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP)

With its massive spending power, Manchester City's run to the Champions League final has hardly come as a surprise.

The same cannot be said for Inter Milan, City's opponent on Saturday in Istanbul.

While Inter is one of European soccer's most storied teams, it enters the game as an outsider, having somewhat surprisingly reached the final. After all, Inter is the third best team in Italy, a league that has long-since lost its shine after being considered the ultimate destination for the world's best players in the 1990s.

Inter finished the season 18 points behind league champion Napoli, the team many expected to go far before losing to AC Milan in the quarterfinals.

Inter went on to beat its city rival in the semifinals to advance to the final of European club soccer's elite competition for the first time in 13 years.

To put that achievement into context, this was the first time it had even been in the quarterfinals since 2011, when it was the defending champion. But it is also a club that has tasted success in recent years after winning the Italian league in 2021, back-to-back Italian Cups in 2022 and 2023, and the Italian Super Cup this season.

“Manchester City have won two trophies (this season), but so have Inter. They will be facing an opponent who deserve to be in Istanbul as much as they do,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said.

The power in European soccer has shifted considerably since Inter last won the trophy in 2010.

Back then City was still waiting for its first major piece of silverware since 1976. But backed by Abu Dhabi's ruling family, it has since gone on to win 16 more trophies, including seven Premier League titles.

This year City is bidding to become only the second English team to win the three biggest trophies in one season — the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Only Inter can stop City from emulating Manchester United's treble from 1999.

Looking at the respective two teams on paper, some may consider it a mismatch.

While City has superstar signings like Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne, Inter has a mishmash of players who have managed to reboot or prolong their careers at the club.

Edin Dzeko, for instance, is 37 years old and left City eight years ago, having been part of its first title-winning team under Abu Dhabi ownership in 2012. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is 34 and disappointed at both Manchester United and Arsenal. Matteo Darmian, 33, also failed to make a major impact at United.

Romelu Lukaku was generally considered to have flopped after big money transfers for United and Chelsea, but is one of Inter's players with genuine star appeal. Likewise Lautaro Martinez, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December when he scored the winning penalty in the final shootout against France.

But whereas Inter once had the pulling power to lure players like the Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Luis Figo, it cannot compete with the spending power of City, which has assembled arguably the strongest squad in club soccer.

Inter has suffered as Italian soccer has been overshadowed by the Premier League, which has enormous popularity around the world and benefits from massive broadcast revenues.

Inter is owned by Retail giant Suning and reported a loss of $285 million for the 2020-21 financial year, which was the highest ever for a top-flight Italian club. That was largely blamed on the impact of COVID-19 and the fact it had to play inside empty stadiums.

In May 2021, it also secured a financing deal with American investment fund Oaktree Capital that reportedly entailed a cash injection of $336 million.

Win or lose, Inter's run to the final should be lucrative.

Last year's winner Real Madrid received $146.4 million in prize money, while runner-up Liverpool earned $131.4 million from UEFA’s Champions League prize fund of $2.2 billion.

But Inter's fans will be dreaming of a fourth European Cup.

Inter was the last Italian team to win the trophy, when Jose Mourinho guided it to a treble of trophies along with the league title and the Italian Cup.

Inzaghi is the coach now, even though his position looked under threat as recently as April.

After an unlikely route to the final, he is aiming to pull off the biggest shock of all against a City team that looks unstoppable.

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Sports

IOC Boss Coventry Hails Milano Cortina Games a Success

20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)
20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)
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IOC Boss Coventry Hails Milano Cortina Games a Success

20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)
20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)

The Milano Cortina Olympics exceeded expectations despite a shaky build-up, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said on Friday, hailing the first spread-out Winter Games a success.

"These Games are truly ... successful in a new way of doing things, in a sustainable way of doing things, in a way that I think many people thought maybe we couldn't do, or couldn't be done well, and it's been done extremely well, and it's surpassed everyone's expectations," Coventry told a press conference.

It was the International Olympic Committee chief's clearest endorsement yet of a format that split events across several Alpine clusters rather than concentrating them in one host city.

Her assessment came after two weeks in which organizers sought to prove that a geographically dispersed Games could still deliver a consistent athlete experience.

The smooth delivery ‌comes after years ‌of logistical and political challenges, including construction delays at Milan’s Santagiulia Arena ‌and ⁠controversy over building ⁠a new sliding center in Cortina against IOC advice.

Organizers have also faced isolated disruptions during the Games, such as suspected sabotage on rail lines and protests in Milan over housing and environmental issues.

Transport concerns across the dispersed venues have been mitigated by limited cross-regional travel among spectators, though some competitors had to walk to the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in heavy snowfall that stopped traffic.

Central to the success of the Games, Coventry argued, was the effort to standardize conditions across multiple athlete villages despite the distances separating venues from Cortina d’Ampezzo to ⁠Livigno and Bormio.

Italian athletes’ performances also helped ticket sales, which amounted to ‌about 1.4 million.

"And the athletes are extremely happy. And they're happy ‌because the experiences that the MiCo (Milano Cortina) team and my team delivered to them have been the same," she ‌said.

Mixed relay silver medalist Tommaso Giacomel did, however, lament the fact there was no Olympic village near ‌the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena and that competitors were dotted around different hotels near the venue instead of in one place.

TWO OPENING CEREMONIES

Two opening ceremonies were held - the main one at Milan’s San Siro stadium and a more low-key parade on Cortina d’Ampezzo's Corso Italia, where athletes and spectators were within touching distance.

Feedback from competitors suggested the more intimate ‌settings had in some cases enhanced the Olympic atmosphere, Coventry said, taking the Cortina opening ceremony as an example.

The Zimbabwean, presiding over her first Games ⁠as IOC chief after elections in ⁠2025, framed Milano Cortina as proof of concept for future hosts grappling with rising costs and climate constraints, while acknowledging adjustments would follow.

"It allows us to really look at ourselves and look at the things that we have in place and how we're then going to make certain adjustments for the future," she said.

Beyond logistics, Coventry pointed to the broader impact of the Games, highlighting gender balance - with women making up 47% of competitors - and global engagement as marks of progress.

"But it's been an incredible experience and we're all very proud to have gender equity playing a big role in the delivery of the Games," she said, describing a "tremendous Games" in which athletes have "come together and shared in their passion".

With the closing ceremony in Verona approaching, Coventry said the focus would soon shift to a formal evaluation process, but insisted the headline conclusion was already clear.

"So we look forward to doing that and to learning from all the incredible experiences that I think all of the stakeholders have had across these Games, across these past two weeks," she said.

Sports

‘A Huge Mistake.’ Kompany Hits Out at Mourinho for Vinícius Júnior Comments

14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)
14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)
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‘A Huge Mistake.’ Kompany Hits Out at Mourinho for Vinícius Júnior Comments

14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)
14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has criticized José Mourinho for attacking the character of Vinícius Júnior after the Real Madrid star accused an opponent of racially insulting him during a Champions League match.

Benfica coach Mourinho suggested that Brazil forward Vinícius had incited Benfica's players with his celebrations after scoring the only goal in Tuesday's playoff match.

Vinícius accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of calling him "monkey" during a confrontation after his goal.

Mourinho also questioned why Vinícius, who is Black and has been subjected to repeated racist insults in Spain, was so frequently targeted.

"There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium," Mourinho said. "The stadium where Vinícius played something happened. Always."

Speaking on Friday, Kompany condemned Mourinho's comments.

"So after the game you have the leader of an organization, José Mourinho, who attacks the character of Vinícius Júnior by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinícius is doing in this moment," Kompany said. "And for me in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake and it’s something that we should not accept."

Mourinho’s celebrations

UEFA appointed a special investigator on Wednesday to gather evidence about what happened in Lisbon in Madrid’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs. Madrid said it had sent "all available evidence" of the alleged incident to European soccer's governing body.

Referring to Vinícius' celebrations after curling a shot into the top corner, Mourinho said he should "celebrate in a respectful way."

Kompany pointed out Mourinho's own history of exuberant celebrations — such as when he ran down the sideline to cheer when his Porto team beat Manchester United in the Champions League.

Kompany said Mourinho's former players "love him" and added "I know he’s a good person."

"I don’t need to judge him as a person, but I know what I’ve heard. I understand maybe what he’s done, but he’s made a mistake and it’s something that hopefully in the future won’t happen like this again," he said.

Prestianni denied racially insulting Vinícius. Benfica said the Argentine player was the victim of a "defamation campaign."

‘Right thing to do’

Kompany said Vinícius' reaction "cannot be faked."

"You can see it — his reaction is an emotional reaction. I don’t see any benefit for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders," he said. "There is absolutely no reason for Vini Junior to go and do this.

"I think in his mind he’s doing it more because it’s the right thing to do in that moment."

Kompany added: "You have a player who’s complaining. You have a player who says he didn’t do it. And I think unless the player himself comes forward, it’s difficult. It’s a difficult case."

Sports

FIFA to Lead $75m Palestinian Soccer Rebuilding Fund

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino attended the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's 'Board of Peace'. CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino attended the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's 'Board of Peace'. CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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FIFA to Lead $75m Palestinian Soccer Rebuilding Fund

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino attended the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's 'Board of Peace'. CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino attended the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's 'Board of Peace'. CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

FIFA will spearhead a $75 million fund to rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza that were destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Donald Trump and the sport's governing body said Thursday.

Trump made the announcement in Washington at the first meeting of his "Board of Peace," an amorphous institution that features two dozen of the US president's close allies and is initially focused on rebuilding the Gaza strip, said AFP.

"I'm also pleased to announce that FIFA will be helping to raise a total of $75 million for projects in Gaza," said Trump.

"And I think they're soccer related, where you're doing fields and you're getting the greatest stars in the world to go there -- people that are bigger stars than you and I, Gianni," he added, referring to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who was present at the event.

"So it's really something. We'll soon be detailing the announcement, and if I can do I'll get over there with you," Trump said.

Later Thursday, FIFA issued a statement providing more details, including plans to construct a football academy, a new 20,000-seat national stadium and dozens of pitches.

The FIFA communique did not mention Trump's $75 million figure, and said funds would be raised "from international leaders and institutions."

Infantino has fostered close ties with Trump, awarding him an inaugural FIFA "Peace Prize" at the World Cup draw in December.

At Thursday's meeting, the FIFA president donned a red baseball cap emblazoned with "USA" and "45-47," the latter a reference to Trump's two terms in the White House.

In FIFA's statement, Infantino hailed "a landmark partnership agreement that will foster investment into football for the purpose of helping the recovery process in post conflict areas."

The "Board of Peace" came together after the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza.

The United States says it is now focused on disarming Hamas -- the Palestinian group whose unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered the massive offensive.