Inter Milan are back in the Champions League. What can we expect from such an unpredictable team?
Inter’s 2009/10 treble winning season
Inter became the first Italian club to capture a treble when they won the Scudetto, the Champions League and the Italian Cup back in 2009/10, led by none other than Jose Mourinho and captained by football legend Javier Zanetti. The season was the pinnacle of Jose Mourinho’s coaching career and what made him a wanted man. It was an amazing campaign, perhaps Inter’s best ever, but it was also accompanied by a tinge of sadness, as an era came to an end. The only way after climbing the top of a mountain is down. Mourinho left, his team dismantled and Inter went on to suffer for the most part of the following six years. Until now.
Six years of frustration
Inter’s management changed managers like socks, they threw fortunes away on players who weren’t contributing and who many times spent more time on the bench than on the pitch. Results weren’t there as frustrations grew but last season they got over the hump.
A fantastic unbeaten streak to start the season erected optimism, which slowly dissipated and nearly disappeared with Mauro Icardi out of contention. The prolific Argentinian striker eventually returned and Inter partially recovered and stole a Champions League spot in the final day of the season.
Inter’s Champions Group B opponents
On their way to that 2010 Champions League crown, The Nerazzurri somewhat controversially knocked out Barcelona. Coincidentally, that’s the club that Inter will have to face in their return to the Champions League, along with PSV Eindhoven and another memorable opponent, Tottenham Hotspur. The matchup with The Spurs will invoke memories of Gareth Bale. The Welshman was a talented player who truly broke out onto the world football scene as a potential star when he ripped Inter apart in both 2010 fixtures against the defending champions Internazionale.
Inter’s chances of progressing to the knockout stage are minimal, but the club’s fans will simply be happy to witness Champions League football again whilst supporting the team they adore.
