MUNICH, Germany (AP) — Billions of dollars have been spent. Some of the world’s greatest players have come and gone. But the Champions League title has remained agonizingly out of reach for Paris Saint-Germain.
That could be about to change.
The Qatari-owned team is one game away from European club soccer’s most prestigious prize, with Inter Milan standing in the way in Saturday’s final in Munich.
PSG is the favorite, with one of the most exciting teams in Europe, having produced thrilling performances to beat Manchester City and Liverpool on the way to the final. It feels like its time has finally come.
But in Inter it faces a wily opponent that is in its second final in three seasons and cut down a rampant Barcelona in an epic semifinal – winning 7-6 on aggregate.
The warning signs are there for PSG.
A shift in strategy
PSG’s run to the final has justified a shift in direction that saw it move away from the bling culture of superstar signings to focus more on young French talent.
Owned by Qatar Sports Investments since 2011, PSG has signed some of the biggest names in soccer, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi without ever getting its hands on the trophy it craves most of all. But the team has yet to win European club soccer’s biggest prize, the Champions League.
Messi, Neymar and Mbappe have all gone in recent years and without those iconic figures PSG looks a more complete team than ever. But that has still come at some cost.
Players like Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were signed for an estimated $240 million combined and they are just part of a squad that has been assembled at a spectacular expense.
Inter has been savvy in the market – signing older players and picking up free agents to put together a team that has reached two Champions League finals in three years — losing to Man City in 2023 — and one Italian title in that time.
Near misses
This isn’t the first time PSG has got to within touching distance of the Champions League.
It was a losing finalist in 2020 – beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich.
It was a semifinalist last year and also in 2021. But back-to-back years of elimination in the round of 16 in 2022 and ’23 preceded the decision by president Nasser Al Khelaifi to change his transfer strategy.
Three-time winner Inter has come closer in recent years, including the 1-0 final defeat to City.
This year’s final is only the second time since 2011 the Italian club has advanced beyond the round of 16.
Inter last won the Champions League in 2010 under Jose Mourinho.
Star players
Dembele has been one of the outstanding players in Europe this season with 30 goals in all competitions for PSG, including a run of 24 in 18 games from December to March.
Kvaratskhelia was signed from Napoli in January and sparked a turnaround in PSG’s fortunes in the Champions League when it looked in danger of being eliminated at the league stage.
The Georgian forward was long considered one of the brightest talents in Europe before making the move and has added another dimension to an-already thrilling PSG attack.
Midfielders Vitinha and Joao Neves are the engine room – hungrily hunting down the ball when out of possession and then springing attacks with the speed of their passing.
World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez is Inter’s standout player and became the club all-time leading scorer in the Champions League this season.
Defender Denzel Dumfries played a huge role in beating Barcelona with two goals in the first leg at the Nou Camp and goalkeeper Yann Sommer pulled off a string of saves to keep Inter in the tie in the second leg.
The coaches
A Champions League winner with Barcelona in 2015, Luis Enrique has also won 12 major titles in spells with the Catalan club and now PSG.
If French champion PSG triumphs on Saturday he would become the seventh coach to win the Champions League or European Cup with two different teams. The list includes the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Mourinho.
Simone Inzaghi is hoping to win his first Champions League title at the second time of asking after defeat to City two years ago.
Then, as now, Inter was the underdog, but came close to upsetting Guardiola’s all-conquering City.
Inzaghi cannot match Enrique’s trophy count, but has impressed at Inter where he won the Italian title last year and has also won two Italian Cups. Inter finished runner-up this season and missed out on back-to-back titles
Inzaghi also won the Italian Cup with former club Lazio.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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