- MUNICH — Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the Champions
League final in Munich on Saturday.
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- European club soccer's biggest prize is at stake between
two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent
years.
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- Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in
2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020.
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- After spending billions of dollars and signing some of
the sport's greatest players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, PSG
is still waiting to win its first Champions League title. Those superstars have
now departed, but coach Luis Enrique has assembled one of the most exciting
squads in Europe, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha
Kvaratskhelia filling the void left by that trio.
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- Enrique is aiming to win the competition for the second
time as a coach, having lifted it with Barcelona in 2015, and would become the
seventh coach to win the trophy with different teams.
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- “The motivation for me is to win the Champions League
title for the first time for PSG,” he said. “That is the gift I want to give
the people, the club, the city.”
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- Inter was looking for a treble just over a month ago, but
is now left with the Champions League as its only possible trophy. It lost the
Italian title by a point and was knocked out of the Italian Cup in the
semifinals.
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- “These players in these four years did a lot — won a lot
and lost sometimes. It happens. But we all gave our all, everyone. We are proud
to be Inter," coach Simone Inzaghi said. “I dreamed of playing the
Champions League final. I didn't do it as a player, but thanks to this group of
players I've been in two finals as a head coach.”
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- Inter has won the Champions League or European Cup on
three occasions, most recently in 2010.