The Special One will soon be rebranded as the greatest. José Mourinho has now joined Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld to win the Champions League with 2 different clubs. Having been the mastermind behind this latest triumph, Inter Milan’s first since 1965, he will leave for Real Madrid this summer.
This was the climax of a winning season that has seen an unprecedented hat-trick from the Italian team. Having built his team on a solid defensive foundation, he has led a team from obscurity in ประวัติทีมบาเยิร์นมิวนิค to the pinnacle of Europe. In Deigo Milito he bought a player who is over 30 years old, who in football terms is old. However, Milito has been instrumental in helping his team succeed both in Europe and at home in Italy.
Having been Louis Van Gaal’s assistant in Barcelona during the 1990s, the student is now reported to have surpassed his master’s degree in soccer victories.
The final was not a great show. However, playing the game on a Saturday night meant that the atmosphere at the Bernabéu was electric. The defensive-minded Milan team played on the counterattack. Bayern had 62 percent of possession, but did not create clear opportunities. And then Milito pounced on a Wesley Schneider return ball. He pulled off his goal with poise in the 35th minute. Within minutes, Inter Milan had created another clear chance, but German goalkeeper Butt saved it. This was a hiring job, a bit like stealing candy from a baby.
In the second half, Bayern came out of the block like a runaway train and showed to have tied with a minute from the restart. However, the Brazilian Julio César managed to block Thomas Mueller’s shot. That failure was followed by a shot from Goran Pandev for Inter, which was cleverly stopped by the German international goalkeeper.
The same followed the same pattern as in the first half where Bayern dominated football possession. There were a number of good Robben runs, but the cunning and invention of French game creator Frank Ribery were lost. Then in the 70th minute, a quick counterattack saw Eto send a long pass to Milito, who turned the Munich defense inside out to score a fine shot over the Germany goalkeeper.
In the end, Inter saw the match and the world saw José Mourinho once again as the Champion of the Champions League. Perhaps he will come to Anfield to wake up this sleeping giant.
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