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The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Born in the eighties: Inter Milan's veterans have final chance to write Champions League history
Without cancer, Francesco Acerbi once said, he would have retired years ago. Perhaps when he was 28, which would have meant his career ended in 2016. Instead, here he is in 2025, preparing for his second Champions League final, maybe forever going to be the last footballer born in the 1980s to play in one. Or one of the last, anyway, given that his Inter Milan teammates Yann Sommer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marko Arnautovic were also born when the Berlin Wall was still intact and Matteo Darmian before the 1990s arrived. Acerbi can capture the imagination, both with his personal narrative and as an emblem of a style of Italian defending which can feel timeless. The Inter Milan veteran, who has subdued Erling Haaland with his old-school man-marking, turned implausible goalscorer in the 93rd-minute of the semi-final second leg against Barcelona. It was a striker's finish from a man who spent a largely unglamorous career honing his trade of stopping strikers. The belated peak could come at 37 for the testicular cancer survivor. Acerbi is the second oldest scorer in Champions League knockout history, after only Ryan Giggs. At 23, however, he was still in Serie B. He spent many of his years of supposed prime at Sassuolo, dodging relegation then qualifying for Europe. It was the appointment of his Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi at Inter that took him to Milan. For Sommer, perhaps the man of the tie in the spectacular semi-final, the bulk of his prime came at Borussia Monchengladbach. Another who has excelled may wonder if chance played its part in his rise: Manuel Neuer broke a leg skiing, meaning Bayern Munich needed a goalkeeper. And then, when Neuer was nearing fitness again, Inter needed a replacement for Andre Onana. Sommer has proved the cut-price upgrade. Cosmopolitan as the multilingual Mkhitaryan is, his might have seemed a more conventional career trajectory. He went from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United, scoring in a Europa League final win for them. Instead, his best days may be among his last. He scored in a Champions League semi-final in 2023; but for the most marginal of offsides, he would have done so again in 2025, away at Barcelona. Darmian was at Old Trafford with Mkhitaryan. When he left, approaching his 30th birthday, it was for £1.4m and to Parma; it could have been the prelude to a winding down and a forgettable descent into retirement. Yet Inter's capacity to pick up ageing and unfashionable players – sometimes, as also in Acerbi's case – first on loan meant he made it to San Siro. Then there is the oddity of Arnautovic's career. A Champions League winner with Inter in 2010, albeit when making only three appearances in the season and not even being on the bench for the final, his route back to the Nerazzurri took in Werder Bremen, Stoke, West Ham, Shanghai Port and Bologna. The player Jose Mourinho once said had the attitude of a child is now a footballing pensioner. For Inter's old guard, it could seem a last chance. The contingent of thirty-somethings also includes Hakan Calhanoglu, Piotr Zielinski, Mehdi Taremi, Joaquin Correa and Stefan de Vrij. Logically, the end is nigh for several of them, and perhaps the team, although the same may have been said in 2023, when Edin Dzeko started the final at 37. If Inter can regenerate with other old-timers, and their ages have helped them pick up a few bargains, there is a legitimate question about how long this side can challenge for. They were probably underestimated at the start of the season, the fixation on Real Madrid and Manchester City meaning the importance of Inter's defensive excellence and Inzaghi's tactical nous were overlooked. But opportunities to win the Champions League are limited. Inter can testify: last year seemed a fine one, when they landed in the weaker half of the draw, only to be knocked out by Atletico Madrid on penalties in the last 16. There is no guarantee they will be in the reckoning again next year, and not merely because of suggestions the Saudi Pro-League will tempt Inzaghi with a massive offer. There may be comparisons with other ageing groups: there was the sense Chelsea's chance had gone as John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Petr Cech moved into their thirties. They instead won it in 2012, when logic suggested they would not. When Carlo Ancelotti's already experienced AC Milan lost the 2005 final from 3-0 up, it seemed that Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta would never add to their sizeable collection of winners' medals. But they did, two years later, with a considerable contribution from an Inzaghi: Pippo, Simone's still more prolific brother, scored twice. Yet they could look at the last decade, at Atletico Madrid and Juventus teams who each reached two finals in three seasons in the 2010s. Neither won one and no crowning glory awaited them. Or their veterans may recall a final that some of the Paris Saint-Germain team may be too young to really remember. In 2010, Mourinho's elderly Inter made their experience an asset. They conquered Europe. And if decline soon followed, their last hurrah may offer inspiration to a group who were already professional footballers in their twenties then. Now they could be called the unlikely lads. More accurately, though, they are the unlikely old lags.
Reuters
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Maldini shines but Atalanta fall to Parma comeback
May 25 (Reuters) - A quick-fire brace by Daniel Maldini was not enough for Atalanta, who saw a two-goal lead slip away in a 3-2 home loss to Parma on Sunday, securing the visitors' place in Serie A next season in the last match of the campaign. Atalanta had little to play for, with third place and a Champions League spot long guaranteed, but the game was a thriller for Parma who were only two points above the relegation line before kick-off. Maldini got his two goals in the space of a minute, tucking home a cross in the 32nd minute before rattling the frame of the goal with another well-placed shot. The break seemed to breathe new life into Parma and three minutes into the second half Antoine Hainaut latched on to a loose ball in the box and smashed it in to drag his side back into the game. In the 71th minute, Parma substitute Jacob Ondrejka cut through the Atalanta defence and sent a low shot into the net for the equaliser. In stoppage time, Ondrejka scored his second to keep his side in the Italian top tier next year.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How bad was Spurs v United in comparison to other European club finals?
The attacking talents on show for both Italian sides were frightening. Juventus partnered David Trezeguet in attack with Alessandro Del Piero, while Milan opted for Pippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko in front of the creativity of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Rui Costa. Such was the embarrassment of riches available to manager Carlo Ancelotti, Rivaldo was an unused sub. Yet after 120 minutes, the final remained goalless. Marcello Lippi, who had succeeded Ancelotti as Juve manager in 2001, was particularly culpable, having brought on the defensively minded Antonio Conte as a makeshift No 10 at half-time. How they missed the suspended Pavel Nedved. Milan prevailed in the shootout, with Paolo Maldini lifting the trophy at Old Trafford, but the final did nothing to dispel the belief that Italian football is a defensive game. Related: Tottenham clinch Europa League glory on golden night to floor Manchester United A goal of exquisite beauty punctuated an otherwise drab affair as Radamel Falcao earned victory for André Villas Boas's side, a triumph that would contribute to the Portuguese manager moving to Chelsea later that summer. Falcao's looping header from a brilliant Fredy Guarín cross was the only highlight, with Braga looking only to frustrate their neighbours before conceding and unable to muster any sort of response once they fell behind. Even Villas Boas conceded afterwards his disappointment that the final had 'not been the spectacle' he had envisaged, while the Guardian's Paul Doyle, on liveblogging duties that night, was a little more forthright in his summary of the match: 'Well that was torpid. Nice enough goal to win it, though.' It is often the way that finals contested by teams from the same nation can be tight, cagey affairs – just look at this list – which is normally due to the finalists knowing each other well and often being concerned about losing to a long-established rival. In this case, it was much more to do with the fact that Spurs and Manchester United were lurching from dreadful domestic seasons, in which both sides lurked just above the Premier League relegation zone. The carrot of Champions League qualification and the stick of derision or potentially someone losing their job probably didn't help in opening up the contest, which was fittingly decided by a dismal Brennan Johnson deflection. Spurs fans won't care about that, or Ange Postecoglou's gameplan, which the Australian admitted afterwards was about 'minimising moments by having a strong foundation' – manager-speak for putting 10 men behind the ball for almost the entire second half. The fairytale of Nottingham Forest winning their first European Cup under Brian Clough often seems to omit how the final against the Swedish club was a drab affair. In an age where back passes to the keeper were common, especially in tight and important matches decided by the odd goal, it was a game heavy on offsides and stoppages. Forest had thrilled many en route to the final, including in a 4-1 win over Grasshoppers in the first leg of their quarter-final, and a 3-3 draw with Cologne in the first leg of their semi-final, but a tall, physical Malmö nullified Forest in the final, before Trevor Francis's headed winner, in his first European appearance for the club, mercifully prevented the final from going into extra time. As ever, though, it was Clough who had the last word: 'It wasn't a great game but they were a boring team, Malmö. In fact the Swedes are quite a boring nation. But we still won, so who cares?' 'Two teams with their minds more obviously on correcting the perceived injustices of the past than on winning a match through the sort of expressive football that earned the European Cup its reputation fought each other virtually to a standstill in Milan,' began Richard Williams' match report from San Siro. This was both a disappointing match – a penalty each for Bayern and Valencia sending the game towards, you guessed it, more penalties in a shootout – but also two disappointing performances, particularly for that Valencia side. The La Liga team were appearing in their second successive final, having been thrashed by Real Madrid in the 2000 showpiece a year earlier. Owen Hargreaves did such a good job of negating Pablo Aimar that the Valencia manager, Héctor Cúper, withdrew the Argentinian playmaker at half-time. Ultimately, the Spanish side could not conquer man-of-the-match Oliver Kahn. The goalkeeper saved Mauricio Pellegrino's spotkick in the shootout to give Bayern their fourth European crown.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
How bad was Spurs v United in comparison to other European club finals?
The attacking talents on show for both Italian sides were frightening. Juventus partnered David Trezeguet in attack with Alessandro Del Piero, while Milan opted for Pippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko in front of the creativity of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Rui Costa. Such was the embarrassment of riches available to manager Carlo Ancelotti, Rivaldo was an unused sub. Yet after 120 minutes, the final remained goalless. Marcello Lippi, who had succeeded Ancelotti as Juve manager in 2001, was particularly culpable, having brought on the defensively minded Antonio Conte as a makeshift No 10 at half-time. How they missed the suspended Pavel Nedved. Milan prevailed in the shootout, with Paolo Maldini lifting the trophy at Old Trafford, but the final did nothing to dispel the belief that Italian football is a defensive game. A goal of exquisite beauty punctuated an otherwise drab affair as Radamel Falcao earned victory for André Villas Boas's side, a triumph that would contribute to the Portuguese manager moving to Chelsea later that summer. Falcao's looping header from a brilliant Fredy Guarín cross was the only highlight, with Braga looking only to frustrate their neighbours before conceding and unable to muster any sort of response once they fell behind. Even Villas Boas conceded afterwards his disappointment that the final had 'not been the spectacle' he had envisaged, while the Guardian's Paul Doyle, on liveblogging duties that night, was a little more forthright in his summary of the match: 'Well that was torpid. Nice enough goal to win it, though.' It is often the way that finals contested by teams from the same nation can be tight, cagey affairs – just look at this list – which is normally due to the finalists knowing each other well and often being concerned about losing to a long-established rival. In this case, it was much more to do with the fact that Spurs and Manchester United were lurching from dreadful domestic seasons, in which both sides lurked just above the Premier League relegation zone. The carrot of Champions League qualification and the stick of derision or potentially someone losing their job probably didn't help in opening up the contest, which was fittingly decided by a dismal Brennan Johnson deflection. Spurs fans won't care about that, or Ange Postecoglou's gameplan, which the Australian admitted afterwards was about 'minimising moments by having a strong foundation' – manager-speak for putting 10 men behind the ball for almost the entire second half. The fairytale of Nottingham Forest winning their first European Cup under Brian Clough often seems to omit how the final against the Swedish club was a drab affair. In an age where back passes to the keeper were common, especially in tight and important matches decided by the odd goal, it was a game heavy on offsides and stoppages. Forest had thrilled many en route to the final, including in a 4-1 win over Grasshoppers in the first leg of their quarter-final, and a 3-3 draw with Cologne in the first leg of their semi-final, but a tall, physical Malmö nullified Forest in the final, before Trevor Francis's headed winner, in his first European appearance for the club, mercifully prevented the final from going into extra time. As ever, though, it was Clough who had the last word: 'It wasn't a great game but they were a boring team, Malmö. In fact the Swedes are quite a boring nation. But we still won, so who cares?' 'Two teams with their minds more obviously on correcting the perceived injustices of the past than on winning a match through the sort of expressive football that earned the European Cup its reputation fought each other virtually to a standstill in Milan,' began Richard Williams' match report from San Siro. This was both a disappointing match – a penalty each for Bayern and Valencia sending the game towards, you guessed it, more penalties in a shootout – but also two disappointing performances, particularly for that Valencia side. The La Liga team were appearing in their second successive final, having been thrashed by Real Madrid in the 2000 showpiece a year earlier. Owen Hargreaves did such a good job of negating Pablo Aimar that the Valencia manager, Héctor Cúper, withdrew the Argentinian playmaker at half-time. Ultimately, the Spanish side could not conquer man-of-the-match Oliver Kahn. The goalkeeper saved Mauricio Pellegrino's spotkick in the shootout to give Bayern their fourth European crown.
