ISTANBUL — This city straddling Europe and Asia (you can literally drive across the bridge from one continent to another) is a great place for a UEFA Champions League finals (Saturday, 8pm BST/3pm ET). It’s true that the European Cup, but the finalists are two Asian-owned teams (City of Manchester largely owned by Abu Dhabi; international by Chinese investors) with global appeal, and the city, founded nearly three millennia ago, has been a nexus and intersection. When you exist in a place where people, religions and beliefs clash and ferment, change is constant… that’s probably why Istanbul has changed its name many times.
Even today, it’s a crossroads. Look out over the Bosphorus and you can see Ukrainian grain ships escorted by Turkish warships. If you have Marvel superhero eyesight, you can stand on the shore and see Ukraine and Russia in the distance. Turn west, and there’s the European Union; to the south are Egypt and the African continent; east, and that’s Syria, then Iraq and Iran and then the Gulf.
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It’s no surprise that the national carrier, Turkish Airlines, boasts that it flies to more destinations than any other airline. Other than Australia and the Americas, nothing seems particularly far off.
Maybe that’s why so many foreign players have built houses here. New champion crowned Galatasaraypeople with red and yellow flags adorning many of the city’s streets, counting Juan Mata, Mauro Icardi, dry Mertens And Bafetimbi Gomis in their ranks. competitor Fenerbahce Have Michy Batshuayi, Enner Valencia And King Joshua. Besiktas, whose majestic stadium overlooks the Bosphorus, as well as Dolmabahce Palace, where the Sultan ruled the Ottoman Empire, boasts Nathan Redmond, Dele Alli And Vincent AboubakarThe man who lost his job at Al Nassr when cristiano ronaldo shake up.
Football-wise, it’s also the city of ultimate hurdles. Inter will receive a massive amount of neutral support at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday night and they have no shortage of old people and those looking for a second chance: ex-Premier League veteran like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Edin Dzeko And Matteo Darmian; People who struggle in the Premier League like strikers Lukaku (borrowed from ) Chelsea); Two-time cancer winner turned freelance agent unwanted turned defensive tenacious Francesco Acerbi; and goalkeeper André Onanawho was banned from doping 9 months after accidentally taking his wife’s drugs.
Plus, neutrals often prefer a weaker person. And Man City is very much loved. They are just 90 minutes away from being able to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trilogy (or, the treble, as they are called in England), a feat only seven clubs have achieved in the calendar year. history of this game.
Inter ranked third in Italy Series Adown 18 points Naples top of the table (although they did win the Italian Cup.) City have won five of their previous six Premier League titles; Inter have won a championship in the last 13 years.
City manager Pep Guardiola has won 11 national championships and two Champions Leagues and is widely regarded as one of the greatest tactical and managerial innovators in recent history. As a player, he was the lieutenant general of the legendary Johan Cruyff Barcelona The “Dream Team” of the 1990s. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi failed to win a league title and no Champions League, and many thought he would be sacked in March. As a player, he was overshadowed by his outgoing and stronger (but less gifted) older brother, Pippo. (To this day, Simone still has to remind people to “don’t confuse my politeness with stupidity.”)
Both teams have tall strikers. City is a 22-year-old scoring machine Erling Haaland, who has scored 52 goals in 52 games this season. Inter is 37 years old Edin Dzekoan older free agent who went three and a half months without scoring and played for City for five years from 2011 to 2016.
The city is owned by members of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, who have spent lavishly since their takeover in 2008. The lavishness is so high. UEFA punishes them for violating financial fair play (FFP) laws in 2014 and actually banned them for two years for wrongdoing in 2020 (the ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that some allegations were unproven and others were outside statute). Now they face similar chargesthis time from the Premier League, but continues to maintain his innocence (and in fact say they “welcome” the opportunity to clear his name.)
Inter is owned by the once mighty Suning Group, in 2021, had to sell almost a quarter of his shares to the Chinese government after experiencing liquidity problems. Before that, they were also found to be in violation of the FFP. Between that sanctions and Suning’s liquidity problems, they have since been operated on relatively tight budgets, with owners issuing bonds to cover debts.
Man City are unbeaten in the Champions League RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich And Real Madrid in the knockout stage. Inter, who lost twice in the group stage, had a more pronounced downhill run to the final, overcoming Porto Football Club (although, in Inter’s own way, they almost threw it away), Benfica and cross-city rivals AC Milan.
I could go on, but you get the point.
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Why is the pressure of the Champions League final on Guardiola’s shoulders?
Gab Marcotti sees how the two coaches will approach the Champions League final between Man City and Inter.
That is very much the case with the emerging rich (although, after 15 years, you wonder if City has lost a bit of “new” and just “rich”) to the fallen giants. Let’s not forget that Inter were three times European champions and won the treble of their own in 2010. Inter were so bruised that their dark blue shirt was particularly appropriate.
In the lead-up to the finals, Inter placed relatively low, throwing out the usual notions of “belief” and that anything can happen in a one-leg match. They know they are playing with the house money. No one expected them to be here.
City, on the other hand, seemed to prefer to put more pressure on themselves as Guardiola said “something would be missing” if the club, for all their domestic success, failed to win the Champions League. League. Stumbling in their only other Champions League final – two years ago against Chelsea – it’s a curious thing, whether that may be true. But then he seemed to revel in the pressure.
And yet, it’s football. None of the above will matter when they cross the line on the field. FFP, salary, transfer fee, Europe, reputation… all will disappear when referee Szymon Marciniak blows the whistle. It will be 11v 11 and the men on the field will have to prove it again.
The script has not been written yet. And while Ataturk was unlikely to witness the unimaginable drama of 2005 and LiverpoolAfter the 0-3 defeat to AC Milan, the truth is we cannot say for sure. It will be in the hands of players, coaches and match officials. And the football gods, of course. They will also have their say.
