Champions League surprise winner in 2012 with Chelsea, Roberto Di Matteo believes Inter Milan can upset Manchester City in Saturday’s Champions League final.
Di Matteo beat Barcelona coached by Pep Guardiola in the semi-final and then Bayern Munich at their own Allianz Arena backyard to win Chelsea’s first UCL title.
Though he acknowledged that Inter are the underdogs in the upcoming encounter, they have every chance to beat City to the title.
“Pep Guardiola has an incredible team, but Inter have a chance. My Chelsea side taught that with motivation everything is possible.
“We were not favourites; everyone knew it. However, the comparison with Inter is not entirely accurate because Manchester City are not playing at home like Bayern and Simone Inzaghi can rely on a full team,” he said.
“Motivation makes the difference and we had it. We were not fully fit but convinced we could make it. Inter have the same spirit, they don’t look like a scared team.
“We knew how to defend and we had a champion like Didier Drogba. Inzaghi also has an organised team. Of course, they must know they won’t keep the ball much and must sacrifice, hurting them every time they have a chance.
“But Inter’s Drogba is my Lukaku. I knew him when he was 19 at Chelsea and I was Villas Boas’ assistant. I can say that if he’s fit he can break the world. He’s a beast and he never stops and he seems fit.’
Meanwhile, Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi said ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester City, that his side has no fear of Pep Guardiola’s winning machine.
The Italian side are clearly the underdogs in this mega clash at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, but Inzaghi has warned that Inter is capable of upsetting Manchester City’s quest of winning a treble.
“It’s normal, they are the strongest team in the world.
“But there are 11 of us and 11 of them. We have had a fantastic run, we will play our cards with a lot of desire.
“We know City’s strength and Erling Haaland’s strength. He will be a special watcher, like all their players. We have prepared something, it will be all Inter who will have to be good to limit City.”
“We know tomorrow the kind of game we will have to play. City are the strongest team in the world, they’ve proved it in the matches they’ve played.
“We are proud to have come this far, we will do everything to play a game of incredible concentration. We will have to limit our mistakes and do our best… tomorrow we will fight inch by inch.”
He added that his team is not under any pressure after Fiorentina and Roma lost in the final of the Europa Conference and Europa League respectively: “I have the team, we are quite calm. The closer the match gets, the more the tension rises. I don’t forget the away matches in Plzen, Barcelona, Porto, Lisbon, the credit goes to the players, the extra effort we owe to the fans and the club.”
“It’s natural, it would be important for all Italian football, for our whole movement. I am sorry for Roma and Fiorentina, who played two very good games.
“Now we are here, regardless of how our game ends I think a great goal has been achieved this year, it’s been a long time since any Italian team has reached a European final. We took three there and it was a wonderful achievement for Italian.”
