2023-06-09 22:38:55
Never crowned, the wealthy English club Manchester City, with the ogre Erling Haaland and the brilliant Pep Guardiola, is close to his Champions League dream in the final on Saturday (7 p.m. UT), but Inter Milan did not ” fear “and hopes for a new” miracle ” in Istanbul.
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The Italians, surprise finalists, advance towards the Atatürk Olympic Stadium (72,000 seats) with above them the imposing shadow of the Sky Blues, great favorites with their attacking giant, their successful coach and their wealthy Emirati owner.
In football, as in fairy tales, however, Tom Thumb sometimes triumphs. Manchester City know history and don’t intend to repeat the same mistakes they made in their first and last final, losing to Chelsea in 2021.” What a privilege to make two finals in three years, it’s incredible, but in the end, you have to win the Champions League to prove your worth “Summarized Guardiola, weaned from C1 since the titles of 2009 and 2011 acquired on the bench of FC Barcelona.
Time is getting long for the Catalan as for Sheikh Mansour, member of the Emirati royal family and buyer of the club in 2008. His Abu Dhabi United Group controls the dominant club in England, winner of seven of the last twelve Premier League and world champion income (EUR 731m last season according to Deloitte), but he is still waiting to become the first owner-state to lift the Cup with big ears.
This still belongs for a few hours to Real Madrid, the defending champion, whom Manchester City methodically crushed in the semi-final return (4-0) at the Etihad Stadium.
triple quest
Three weeks after this collective masterpiece, defender or midfielder John Stones is however wary of the label of favorites that sticks to their skin. In the FA Cup, for example, ” there are giant killers, small third or fourth division teams that beat Premier League champions or others, and that’s where the humility, the respect that each team deserves, and the quality of the players that she possesses, manifest ».
The Citizens have so far achieved a faultless performance this season, beating Arsenal at the post in the league and winning the FA Cup from the nose and beard of Manchester United. They are now aiming for the “Treble” that the Red Devils, their neighbors and rivals, achieved in 1999.
They have a formidable asset in the sleeve with Erling Haaland, scarecrow of the defenses with his 52 goals scored since his arrival last summer from Dortmund.
Alessandro Bastoni, one of the three central defenders responsible for monitoring the Norwegian giant (1.94m), ensures not to tremble. ” We are afraid of assassins, not footballers. It would be a mistake to speak of fear ».
>> To read also: Champions League: André Onana, the Indomitable who challenges Manchester City
The Nerazzurri, third in Serie A, are also not without attacking triggers with Edin Dzeko or Romelu Lukaku to accompany the Argentinian “Toro” Lautaro Martinez, brand new world champion. They also have dangerous full-backs, a high-pressing midfielder and direct forward play.
The club with three European titles (1964, 1965, 2010) certainly benefited from a more accessible table than its opponent, but it knew how to keep its nerves strong in the semi-final derby (victories 2-0 then 1-0) against AC Milan, in particular. ” We are a big club and we have a lot of expectations. When Inter find themselves in the final, they must win. If you look at it that way, we’re not the underdog because the story speaks for us. We’re all great players, we know how to play finals “, launched André Onana.
The Cameroon goalkeeper dreams aloud before entering the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, famous for the legendary 2005 final won by Liverpool on penalties, after being trailed 3-0 at half-time by AC Milan. The Reds have shown the way, Inter also want their “ miracle d’Istanbul ».
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak and the meeting that almost cost him his place
With our correspondent in Warsaw, Martin Chabal
A few weeks ago, Szymon Marciniak gave a lecture at a meeting organized by a far-right party, which could have cost him his place.
The ideals of the Polish far right would have stained alongside the traditional message broadcast during Champions League matches: “say no To racism”, say no to racism.
Because Sławomir Mentzen, who organized this meeting, is the head of the far-right, eurosceptic and monarchist New Hope party, and is known to have publicly said that he was “against Jews, homosexuals, abortion, taxation and the European Union. »
Far from the message of unity that the competition is trying to spread.
So UEFA, the boss of European football, investigated. And without her needing to use video refereeing, the Polish referee apologized for this conference. He said he was mistaken, that he was not aware that it was organized by the Polish far right. He added that he always supports UEFA’s values, in particular inclusiveness and respect.
Apologies accepted for the authorities of European football. Marciniak does not deserve a red card for his conference. It will therefore whistle the start of the meeting this Saturday.
On the other hand, it is a failure for the Polish far-right party. He wanted to capitalize on the aura of the one who had already refereed the World Cup final last winter to win support a few months before the elections. There is little chance of seeing them side by side again.
(With AFP)
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