Why Inter are good enough to win the Champions League: A new cycle, free agents and a winner's mentality

Inter are candidates to win the 2024-25 Champions League, and they continue to show why. The Nerazzurri started off the campaign by drawing away against Manchester City, then won 4-0 in their first home game of the competition against Crvena zvezda, and they are currently one of the four teams that still haven't conceded a goal in the first two games of the tournament. That was possible also thanks to the rotations of coach Simone Inzaghi, who started against the Serbian side with an attacking duo formed by Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic, who both scored in the second half of the game. Also, Piotr Zielinski started instead of the injured Nicolo Barella, while Carlos Augusto played on the left wing instead of Federico Dimarco. 

After this solid start, Inter are a strong candidate for the final win of the tournament, considering also the competitors. For sure, there are some strong opponents, but the Italian giants have to be part of the conversation as they showed already to be a difficult side to beat over the past three years under Inzaghi and they look improved. Let's now take a look at the main factors of why Inter are candidates to win it all. 

A strong base squad with smart, sensible additions

There is a feeling that this squad is reaching its best moment possible, and this it might be the last season for some key players. This summer, some of them might leave the club, while others might become less central, considering their age. Players like Francesco Acerbi (36) or Henrikh Mkhitaryan (35) are reaching their last years of contract and it's normal for the club to think about their future. While there is no natural replacement of Acerbi in the team (Stefan De Vrij is turning 33 next year), the Nerazzurri already signed two midfielders like Davide Frattesi and Zielinski who can play in his position alongside Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu. 

The importance of the former Manchester United midfielder for Inzaghi is quite obvious, as he almost never names a lineup without Mkhitaryan in the center of the pitch. Despite his age, his performances were one of the reasons of the recent success of this team that culminated with the domination of the 2023-24 Serie A season and the 2023 Champions League final loss to Manchester City in Istanbul. This Nerazzurri cycle started with Antonio Conte back in 2019 and it's now reaching its peak, but there are also other off the pitch reasons to consider. 

This year, on May 22, the American-based fund Oaktree Capital Management took ownership of the Serie A champions after Inter's owners defaulted on a loan, failing to repay by the deadline. The U.S. fund has taken control of the team from the Chinese conglomerate Suning Holding Group Co. after Inter's holding companies led by former president Steven Zhang failed to repay €395 million ($428 million). As a fund, Oaktree will try to contain the costs of the club in the coming years, and it's unlikely that Inter will make big financial investments before selling other players, as it happened over the past years already. 

Inter management, led by the current President Beppe Marotta and sport director Piero Ausilio, worked with what they already had and were forced to balance the outgoings and the incomings over the past transfer sessions. It's not a coincidence that Inter's last summer session ended with two free-agent signings (Zielinski and Taremi) and the second goalkeeper Josep Martinez who was signed from Genoa. This transition period might take months or even years, but until new owners arrive, it's difficult to imagine what's next for Inter in terms of squad acquisitions. 

The winning mentality 

The other reason why we should consider Inter as a candidate for the final win of the Champions League is the winning mentality that these players showed over the past three years across Europe. Since Inzaghi became the Inter coach, Inter showed some great Football and only lost to Liverpool in the round of 16 in his first season despite winning at Anfield. Later that season, Jurgen Klopp's side lost to Real Madrid the Champions League final in Paris. In his second year, Inzaghi reached the Istanbul final but lost 1-0 to Manchester City while in his third season Inter were knocked out in penalties in the round of 16 by Atletico de Madrid. In three years, Inter showed to be a big team around Europe making a big step outside the domestic comPetitions compared to before, getting to the knockout stage and making a run to the final. 

Even the opening game of the Champions League's season against Manchester City which ended 0-0 at the Etihad Stadium showed how Inter improved over the years. As the 2023 Champions League final surprised many for how Inter played and "only" lost to City by one goal scored in the second half, there were even less expectations around this opening game. On the other hand, Inter kept the same status and played some great football against one of the best teams around. Acerbi was able, once again, to defend Erling Haaland and showed to be again a challenging opponent despite his age.

On top of that, Inter always won something over these three years as Inzaghi lifted one Serie A title, two Coppa Italia and three Supercoppa Italiana in three years, becoming the third manager in the History of the club in terms of trophies won (only Helenio Herrera and Roberto Mancini won more than him so far). Inter are having their best moment of maturity under the Italian manager, but also a winning mentality that was built over the years and then finally a roster that can help coach Inzaghi to make rotations. The continuity has shown in the progression and chemistry, and that makes Inter a team that can truly make a run and possible win it all.