Mourinho's Inter Milan Wins Champions League
Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to win the Champions League final, ending the club's 45-year wait to regain Europe's top prize. Argentinian striker Diego Milito scored both the goals for the Italian club in a game which was won by brilliant defending and individual magic. Today's win makes Inter Milan the first Italian club to have won the Treble.
During the first half of the match, Bayern Munich controlled the game and were the better team. They kept possession and tested the Inter defensive line time and again. The Germans, however failed to capitalize on their chances, with shots from Ivica Olic, Arjen Robben and Hamit Altintop going astray.
In the 34th minute, Diego Milito headed a long ball clearance by the goalkeeper Julio Cesar to Wesley Sneidjer, who then passed it back to the Argentine to put in the back of the net.
The second half started in electric fashion with Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger finding himself in space 25 yards from goal, but he chose to pass instead of shoot. During the rest of the game Inter sat deep, defending splendidly and letting Bayern control possession. In the 70th minute, a Samuel Eto'o pass found Diego and Milito Magic struck again, with the Argentine adding to his goal tally with a sensational goal that effectively ended the contest.
Inter's win makes Jose Mourinho's famous quote about being the "Special One" truer than it has ever been before. No one predicted that Jose's Inter Milan would become the Champions League holders this season, let alone that they would beat English Premier League champions Chelsea, Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona and the Bundeslige Champions Bayern Munich on the way. What makes the win even more special for the Portuguese manager - who had won the Champions League with Porto in 2005 - is that he becomes only the third man to have ever won the Champions league with different clubs.
He achieved this feat by completely outplaying Bayern Munich, who are managed by Mourinho’s mentor Louis Van Gaal. The duo had worked together in the 1990's at FC Barcelona, where Mourinho started his career as a scout and interpreter. This earned him the nickname of 'The Translator' with which Barcelona fans had taunted him during their game.
It has been a season of personal vindication for the outspoken Portuguese, who has a very frosty relationship with the Italian media and has often admitted to not being happy in Italy. Many reports link him with a move to Real Madrid. It seems almost perfect that his final victory at Inter Milan should come at the Bernabeu, Real's home stadium.
The final whistle saw a warm hug between the protege and the professor as Mourinho went on to celebrate with his team and lift the trophy, while Louis Van Gaal waved impassively at the supporters.
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