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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
PSG and Inter Milan have been the standout teams in the Champions League, mixing flair with functionality - the beauty of this final is it is really too close to call, writes CRAIG HOPE
They are Europe's twin pillars of fashion, cities of grandiose, perfume ads and no little chaos. Yet the football clubs of Paris and Milan do not arrive here in the sauna of Munich conforming to cultural stereotype. If anything, they are built as much on the traditions of the country that will play host to Saturday's Champions League final. Paris Saint-Germain and Inter are the right finalists, too. They have been the standout teams in this season's competition. There is flair but with it functionality, in its best sense. Not the obdurate, grind-you-down type. Rather, a competence and strategy that allows the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Lautaro Martinez to stand atop their own side's structure and break down that of the opposition. Like Germany teams of old, this pair are quietly formidable. Leave it to Real Madrid and Barcelona to squabble over their Ballon d'Or favourite, the greatest prize awaits here at the Allianz Arena, Bavaria's luminous cocoon that glows as brightly as the sun on the outside and silverware within. The trophy sparkled pitchside on Friday night as the world's broadcasters took turns to plant it on their velvet pedestals. And the most intriguing aspect of it all? No-one knows who will lift it come sundown. I chatted to Rafa Benitez, a Champions League winner, at Munich Airport on Friday. Edwin van der Sar, a two-time winner, strolled by. Big game, big names. Benitez sided with PSG, and then made an argument for Inter! Having been to both semi-finals, I would share Benitez's instinct, but only just. PSG have undergone a footballing feng shui since I watched them lose to Dortmund in last season's semi, when they could not score over two legs. They are no longer hostage to the ego of Kylian Mbappe, Leo Messi, Neymar and others. Under the bold and brilliant Luis Enrique, the matador has chased the bulls from the ring. There are stars, but they exist in the same orbit as their manager and team-mates. Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia was not only PSG's best attacker in the semi-final win over Arsenal, he was their best defender. It is because of him and the likes of teenage jewel Desire Doue that PSG are, whisper it, likeable. There has not been a great deal of neutral affection in 14 years of their Qatari-bankrolled project, and such fondness might well be the biggest transformation of all. It is hard to believe this is the same team that not so long ago felt like a mood board for petulance, now on the brink of their first Champions League crown. Simone Inzaghi's Inter are worthy of equal respect. Their greatest strength? They find a way to win. In fact, they know no other feeling. In 14 Champions League matches, the Italians have trailed for just 16 minutes. And yet, there is also an endearing jeopardy at times. Catenaccio this most definitely is not. In the quarters and semis, when they were underdogs against Bayern Munich and then Barcelona, the wolf was never far from their door. At least, that is, until Lautaro showed his fangs and chased it away. Is there a more under-rated player in European football? The Argentine's goal here versus Bayern will make the podium for this season's best, a move he started on the centre spot and finished on the penalty spot. He will also be one of only two players on the pitch to have played in a World Cup final and won. The Champions League would complete the game's ultimate double. In the Allianz media room on Friday night, Inter officials asked each journalist which player they would prefer to ask questions of - Lautaro or midfielder Nicolo Barella? Sempre Lautaro! The subject of perception was broached but, curiously, it was the idea of him being appreciated more in Italy than Argentina. Barella, sitting next to his captain, laughed. He knew it would likely irritate his friend. Lautaro seized the chance to hit back. Call it striker's instinct. 'You're the journalist, you tell me!' he snapped, albeit with a smile. 'You're from Argentina. You know the daily grind, what you guys are saying about me. I always think individual achievements are in the passenger seat anyway. The main priority for me is to give what I can to Inter. I've been here seven years, the Italian press see me every day. Maybe that's why they hold more esteem for me. But when I'm back with Argentina, I also get good press, I think!' With his squat stance anchored by calves that make those of Jack Grealish look like cocktail sticks, there is something of the middleweight boxer about Lautaro. He let his tongue land the blows this time. The 27-year-old was on the losing side in this final two years ago, when Inter were beaten 1-0 by treble-chasing Manchester City in Istanbul. Pep Guardiola told Inzaghi afterwards that his team would be back in another final soon enough. Maybe it was one of Pep's slightly patronising consolations - 'Southampton, so, so good' - or maybe he had seen beyond the scoreline and knew that Inter were the better team. And they are, still, a better team than what many believe them to be. It is wrong, too, to pitch this as a clash of styles. Inter have scored 114 goals this season. Across those ties against Bayern and Barcelona, they netted 11 times. The biggest contrast is age. PSG have the youngest average starting XI in the Champions League, at 25, whilst Inter have the fourth oldest at 30.3. But there is a feeling for both that their time is now. This is no dress rehearsal for another day. That much was evident in the centre of Munich on Friday night, where it felt as if an entire continent had converged. The beer halls were perfumed by roast pork and the spilt froth of giant steins that are still too small, but the pervading scent in this sticky, summer air was football. Kvaratskhelia and Dembele shirts sat alongside those of Lautaro and Thuram. The only thing more intense than the heat was the hope. When the rivals bickered, it was never anything more than hop-fuelled claims of which team would win. And that is the beauty of this final - we really don't know the answer. INTER MILAN League Phase Sep 18: DREW 0-0 v Man City Oct 1: WON 4-0 v Red Star Belgrade Oct 23: WON 1-0 v Young Boys Nov 6: WON 1-0 v Arsenal Nov 26: WON 1-0 v RB Leipzig Dec 10: LOST 1-0 v B Leverkusen Jan 22: WON 1-0 v Sparta Prague Jan 29: WON 3-0 v Monaco Knockout Phase Mar 5: WON 2-0 v Feyenoord Mar 11: WON 2-1 v Feyenoord Apr 8: WON 2-1 v Bayern Apr 16: DREW 2-2 v Bayern Apr 30: DREW 3-3 v Barcelona May 6: WON 4-3 v Barcelona (aet) Top Scorers Lautaro Martinez 9 Hakan Calhanoglu 4 Marcus Thuram 4 Manager: SIMONE INZAGHI League titles: 1 Domestic cups: 3 PS. This is the first-ever competitive meeting between PSG and Inter. The last final in which that happened is 2005 (Liverpool v AC Milan). WATCHING BRIEF... Kick-off: 8pm, Allianz Arena, Munich. TV & radio: LIVE on TNT Sports 1, discovery+ (free), BBC 5 Live and talkSPORT. Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Rom).
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Chelsea can become the first club to win all four major UEFA trophies – but who else could complete the set?
On Wednesday evening in Poland, Chelsea have the chance to become the first club to win all four of the major UEFA club competitions that have existed. Those four competitions are: The European Cup/Champions League (which started in 1955-56 and was rebranded with the latter name in 1992-93), the UEFA Cup/Europa League (formed in 1971-72 and revamped in 2009-10), the Cup Winners' Cup (contested from 1960-61 to 1998-99) and the Conference League (introduced in 2021-22). Advertisement Chelsea's first triumph in any of these competitions was the 1971 Cup Winners' Cup, when Dave Sexton's side beat Real Madrid in the final after a replay. They won the European Cup/Champions League for the first time in 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo by defeating Bayern Munich on penalties. They then picked up a maiden UEFA Cup/Europa League title in 2013 (pictured top) under Rafa Benitez, beating Benfica. So, victory over Spanish side Real Betis in the Conference League final this week would make it four different major UEFA trophies in the club's cabinet — a unique feat. Now, of course, the Conference League is UEFA's tertiary competition and Chelsea, like other top clubs, would rather be in the European Cup/Champions League (and the next-best UEFA Cup/Europa League). Nonetheless, they will never have a better chance to make history and become the first side to win all four. Here, The Athletic takes a look at the 61 clubs from 18 different countries (by today's definition) to have won a major UEFA competition, which trophies they are missing, and, given the abolishment of the Cup Winners' Cup, who else could complete the set. (Note: The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which existed from 1955 to 1971, was a European trophy but it was not organised by UEFA.) Won: European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup Missing: Conference League Clubs: Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United Before the Conference League was introduced four seasons ago, these five European clubs had won every major UEFA competition. Italian side Juventus were the first to achieve the feat, triumphing in the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 1977, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984 and the European Cup/Champions League a year later. Ajax did it in 1992. Bayern Munich followed in 1996. Then English clubs Chelsea and Manchester United got there in 2013 and 2017 respectively. Advertisement Of these clubs, only Chelsea (this season) and Ajax (knocked out in the round of 16 by Aston Villa in 2023-24) have played in the Conference League. If any of these five sides were to win the Conference League, they would complete the set. Won: European Cup/Champions League and UEFA Cup/Europa League Missing: Cup Winners' Cup and Conference League Clubs: Real Madrid, Porto, Feyenoord, PSV, Liverpool and Inter Real Madrid, whose 15 wins in the European Cup/Champions League is the most any club has triumphed in a single major UEFA competition, Porto and Liverpool all lost in the Cup Winners' Cup final (Madrid doing so twice, the first time being to Chelsea in 1971) and Feyenoord lost the inaugural Conference League final in 2022. Feyenoord and fellow Dutch side PSV are the only two of these six sides to have played in all four major UEFA competitions. None of these six sides can complete the set due to their failure to win the Cup Winners' Cup. Won: European Cup/Champions League and Cup Winners' Cup Missing: UEFA Cup/Europa League and Conference League Clubs: Barcelona, Milan, Hamburg, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund Barcelona and Milan are the only clubs to have won the European Cup/Champions League more than twice but never to have triumphed in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. The Spanish side's best performance in the latter competition is reaching the semi-finals in 1976, 1978, 1996 and 2001. For the Italians, it was also making the last four, in 1972 and 2002. Hamburg's victory in the European Cup/Champions League in 1983, which followed their triumph in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1977, ended English clubs' six-year winning streak in UEFA's top competition. If Paris Saint-Germain beat Inter on Saturday in the European Cup/Champions League final, they will join this section. Advertisement It is worth noting that the Cup Winners' Cup, which as the name suggests was largely for the winners of UEFA nations' domestic cups, was considered Europe's secondary club competition during its existence — ahead of the UEFA Cup/Europa League. These five sides can all still complete the set. Won: UEFA Cup/Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup Missing: European Cup/Champions League and Conference League Clubs: Valencia, Tottenham Hotspur, Parma, Anderlecht and Atletico Madrid Valencia and Atletico Madrid are two of three clubs (Reims are the other) to have played in the European Cup/Champions League final more than once but never won the competition (PSG could join them on Saturday). Atletico have lost three finals in Europe's premier competition, all in agonising circumstances. In 1974, Bayern Munich equalised in the last minute of extra time to force a replay (the only European Cup/Champions League final to go to a second match). The Bavarian side won 4-0. In 2014, Sergio Ramos scored in stoppage time for city rivals Real Madrid and Atletico lost 4-1 after the additional 30 minutes. Two years later, they again lost to Madrid, this time on penalties. Atletico's victory in the Cup Winners' Cup came in 1962, the second season of the competition (the first edition, won by Fiorentina, was not organised by UEFA but is considered official). Valencia lost consecutive finals in 2000 and 2001 to Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively. The only other instance in the European Cup/Champions League of a team losing back-to-back finals is Juventus in 1997 and 1998. These five sides can all still complete the set. Won: Cup Winners' Cup and Conference League Missing: European Cup/Champions League and UEFA Cup/Europa League Club: West Ham United The London club won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1965 under Ron Greenwood at Wembley and the second edition of the Conference League in 2023 under David Moyes. That 58-year gap is the longest any side has gone between winning another major UEFA competition. The victory in 1965 over 1860 Munich was the second of three Wembley triumphs in three successive years for West Ham stars Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst. The duo also won the FA Cup at the famous stadium in 1964 by beating Preston North End and then the World Cup for England against West Germany in 1966. Their club and international team-mate Martin Peters didn't play in the win over Preston. Advertisement West Ham came 14th in the Premier League in the season they won the Conference League, which before Tottenham in this campaign (17th and won the UEFA Cup/Europa League) was the lowest a team had come in their domestic league while winning a major UEFA trophy. West Ham can still complete the set. Won: European Cup/Champions League Missing: UEFA Cup/Europa League, Cup Winners' Cup and Conference League Clubs: Benfica, Aston Villa, Crvena Zvezda, Celtic, Marseille, Steaua Bucharest and Nottingham Forest Portuguese side Benfica, who are the club from the furthest west to have won a major UEFA competition, became the first side other than Real Madrid to claim the European Cup/Champions League when they won the competition in 1961. They added 19-year-old forward Eusebio and retained their crown in 1962 by beating Madrid in the final. Since then, they have lost five European Cup/Champions League finals and three UEFA Cup/Europa League finals. Only Juventus (also eight) have lost as many overall finals as this. Nottingham Forest are the only other of these clubs to have won the European Cup/Champions League more than once, doing so in 1979 and 1980. Crvena Zvezda are the only Serbian side to pick up major UEFA silverware (though they represented Yugoslavia at the time of their European Cup/Champions League victory in 1991) and Steaua Bucharest are the only Romanian club to do so. Steaua Bucharest's victory in 1986 is the last time a team won the European Cup/Champions League final with a starting XI all from the same country (all Romanian). None of these seven sides can complete the set due to their failure to win the Cup Winners' Cup. Won: UEFA Cup/Europa League Missing: European Cup/Champions League, Cup Winners' Cup and Conference League Clubs: Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke, Galatasaray, Atalanta, Eintracht Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Zenit, Villarreal, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, Sevilla, CSKA Moscow, Napoli and Ipswich Town Fourteen clubs have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League and nothing else. Borussia Monchengladbach are the earliest first-time winners on the above list (1975) and Atalanta (2024) the most recent. Spanish side Sevilla, the club from the furthest south to have won a major UEFA competition, have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League a record seven times (no other club has won it on more than three occasions). Yet their best performance in any other major UEFA competition is reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup/Champions League in 1958 and 2018. Advertisement Napoli's victory in 1989 is the only international club trophy Diego Maradona won during his career. Gothenburg (1982 and 1987) are the only Swedish club to win a major UEFA competition and Galatasaray (2000) are the only Turkish side to do so. Zenit, from Saint Petersburg in Russia, the northernmost club to secure major UEFA silverware, won the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 2008. None of these 14 sides can complete the set due to their failure to win the Cup Winners' Cup. Won: Cup Winners' Cup Missing: European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League and Conference League Clubs: Arsenal, Real Zaragoza, Dynamo Kyiv, Fiorentina, PSG, Sampdoria, Sporting CP, Magdeburg, Mechelen, Lazio, Rangers, Everton, Aberdeen, Slovan Bratislava, Werder Bremen and Dinamo Tbilisi A star-studded Lazio side, managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson, picked up the only major continental silverware in their history in 1999 by winning the last Cup Winners' Cup final — beating Spanish club Mallorca 2-1 at Villa Park thanks to goals from Christian Vieri and Pavel Nedved. Slovan Bratislava's victory in 1969 is the only time a club from Slovakia has won a major UEFA competition (though Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia at the time). Dinamo Tbilisi's success in 1981 makes them the only Georgian club to do so, though Georgia was part of the Soviet Union back then — they are also the club from the furthest east to pick up major UEFA silverware. When Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen triumphed over Alfredo Di Stefano's Real Madrid in 1983, it was the first major UEFA trophy the future Manchester United manager had won (he would add another Cup Winners' Cup in 1991 and the European Cup/Champions League in 1999 and 2008). All 16 of these sides can still complete the set. Won: Conference League Missing: European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup Clubs: Roma and Olympiacos Jose Mourinho's Roma side won the inaugural Conference League in 2022, making it, at the time, five major European finals contested; five victories for the Portuguese manager. Greek side Olympiacos' triumph in 2024 came in Athens, which made them the first club to win a major UEFA trophy in their own country since Dutch side Feyenoord's UEFA Cup/Europa League victory in 2002 in Rotterdam. Advertisement They are also the only Greek club to have picked up major UEFA silverware. If Real Betis were to beat Chelsea on Wednesday, they would join this section. Neither Roma nor Olympiacos can complete the set, due to their failure to win the Cup Winners' Cup. Here are the 32 of the 61 major UEFA trophy-winning clubs who, by virtue of triumphing in the Cup Winners' Cup, can still complete the set:
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jurgen Klopp returns to Anfield for first time since leaving Liverpool last summer - as Reds' iconic ex-manager basks in their Premier League title win
Jurgen Klopp returned to Anfield for the first time since leaving last summer as Liverpool wildly celebrated their Premier League win. The German boss, who won Liverpool's first ever Premier League title during his nine-year stint in Merseyside, watched on as Liverpool drew 1-1 to Crystal Palace before they lifted the trophy in front of a raucous home crowd. He will continue to take part in the celebrations by attending Liverpool's open-top bus victory parade through the city on Monday. The 57-year-old was unable to celebrate his league win in front of fans because of the Covid pandemic but made sure he was in attendance as Liverpool did just that five years on. Mohamed Salah rescued a late equaliser after Ismaila Sarr stunned the hosts by opening the scoring just nine minutes in. Salah secured the Premier League golden boot for a record fourth time having scored 29 times in 38 league appearances. The Egyptian also finished the season with 18 assists, the most in the league. Klopp was seen joining in with fans chanting 'Mo Salah, running down the wing' as he sat in the directors' box. He later congratulated his old side with an Instagram story, writing: 'Congratulations, Champions!! What a team, what a club, what a season! YNWA.' The former boss was joined by Rafa Benitez, Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005, as well as ex-captains Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson. Meanwhile, legendary striker Alan Hansen, who was recently hospitalised with illness, handed captain Virgil van Dijk the trophy. Klopp won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup at the club before leaving last season. He jetted into Liverpool on Friday for a club charity foundation gala. In a video message, posted on the club's X account, Klopp said: 'It took me a year to find my way back. But now I'm here. 'What a weekend ahead wow. I heard that the city will be buzzing. And I will see it from a different perspective, from a very good perspective, from your perspective. 'I told you on my last day from now on I will be one of you. 'At the weekend I will try to be as much of it as much as you let me. 'Congratulations for last season. Fantastic, I enjoyed it so much. Congratulations to the team and Arne [Slot] especially. What a guy and what a coach. 'So yeah let's have the best weekend of our lives so far.' Klopp now works for Red Bull as the Head of Global Soccer. On Friday he blasted Reds fans for their treatment of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The 26-year-old defender will leave his boyhood club when his contract expires at the end of next month and is expected to join Real Madrid. He played his last game for the club on Sunday but has felt the ire of many Liverpool fans since announcing his departure. Speaking at a fundraising event for the LFC Foundation, Klopp said supporters were 'wrong' to boo him and passionately defended the England star. 'I don't want to tell you what you have to think. I can tell you what you think is wrong,' Klopp said. 'I don't tell you you should not be angry, you should not be disappointed, I tell you don't forget. This club doesn't forget. 'I watched the game when he came on and I heard the booing. I switched the telly [television] off. Honestly, I could not have been more disappointed at this moment. 'He gave absolutely everything and wears the Liverpool badge in the skin,' he said. Meanwhile, asked on Friday if he could see himself remaining at Liverpool for as long as his predecessor, Slot said: 'I could see it, yes. There are not many managers that stay at a club for nine years because nine out of ten times the board or someone at the club isn't happy any more.'
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
🎧 Pop stars, nicknames and ketchup - 17 years covering Newcastle
The i Paper's northern football correspondent Mark Douglas has covered Newcastle United since 2008 and spoke of his dealings with previous Magpies managers on BBC Radio Newcastle's Total Sport wine with Alan Pardew:"Pardew was quite a character, a bizarre guy in a few ways. I remember one time we were sat in the board room with him drinking red wine and he came up with an analogy that Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba were the Madonna and Lady Gaga of the Premier League."You felt like he was someone you could fall out with but it wouldn't be a problem further down the line."I remember him looking at me and saying 'you know what I thought when I first met you? You look just like John Hartson' and that became my nickname at work."Talking tactics with Rafa Benitez:"The club use to invite the media up [to St James' Park] during the international breaks and briefings with Rafa would go on for six hours."He'd sit there with ketchup and water bottles on the table and ask what you'd do from a corner. He would always sit there and run you through it because he was such a football obsessive but he was brilliant."He was a character and I'm gutted he ended up leaving. He was the pick of Amanda Staveley and the pick of the PIF (Public Investment Fund) but he just got tired of waiting."Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
🎧 Untold stories of Pardew and Benitez
The latest episode of BBC Sport's Newcastle United Podcast has Total Sport team are joined by the i paper's northern football correspondent Mark Douglas to discuss untold stories from his time covering the Magpies, including his dealings with Alan Pardew and Rafa to the full episode on BBC Sounds
