Inter Milan have been in 11 major European competition finals lifting the trophy in six of them.
The Nerazzuri are in the Champions League final for the first time in 13 years and they play treble-seekers Manchester City for the prize in Istanbul. Inter Milan are one of the most successful sides in the competition having won it three times while winning three more showpieces in other European finals of their history. They are the second team from Italy and the city of Milan to have the most number of claimed trophies in Europe.
Inter have celebrated a lot of success in the European Cup, the former name of the Champions League, in the early 1960s and also in the UEFA Cup, Europa League now, during the 1990s. In both competitions, 98 wins were registered with a nearly fifty per cent winning rate. Inter also scored close to 300 goals in each contest. Their last European success remain in 2010.
Here are all of their European final victories so far:
Inter Milan 3-1 Real Madrid (1963–64 European Cup Final)
The first success at the continental level could not have tasted sweeter for Inter as they defeated five-time European Cup champions Real Madrid in the 1964 final. The Los Blancos side had legendary forwards like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás who tasted numerous successes in the competition. But The Nerazzuri too boasted massive figures like Sandro Mazzola and the Spanish great Luis Suarez among others. The former scored a fantastic brace in the final along with Aurelio Milani for the 3-1 win. Felo scored the only goal for Real Madrid.
Inter Milan 1-0 Benfica (1964-65 European Cup Final)
Inter then went on to lift the title for the consecutive season remarkably against another former in Benfica. The final was also hosted in the San Siro, their home ground shared with rivals AC Milan. Mazzola and Suarez were both in the starting eleven this time as well although it was Jair da Costa who scored the only goal of the game before half-time. The Portuguese side was star-studded having one of the nation’s greats in Eusebio in the ranks. Inter also fought giants like Glasgow Rangers and Liverpool to reach this stage. This remains the most watched final for Inter with a huge 89000 attending the game.
Inter Milan 2-1 Roma on aggregate (1990-1991 UEFA Cup Final)
The Nerazzuri reached two more European Cup finals after this but tasted defeat in all. They lost the 1966-67 edition to Celtic by 2-1 and 2-0 to Ajax a decade later. After a long wait, Inter once again reach the top of Europe this time in UEFA Cup by beating fellow Roma. In the final which was double-legged, Lothar Matthäus and Nicola Berti scored the goals for a 2-0 win at home while suffering defeat in the returning match at Stadio Olimpico through a solitary goal from Ruggiero Rizzitelli. Inter were crowned champions for a 2-1 aggregate win.
Austria Salzburg 0-1 Inter Milan (1993-94 UEFA Cup Final)
This was another UEFA Cup encounter for Inter and their fourth European honor. Their opponents Salzburg lost both legs as the 19 times Italian top-flight winners secured 1-0 victories. Berti was on the scoresheet again in the first leg while Wim Jonk found the net at San Siro. 80,000 turned up at the venue. Dennis Bergkamp was also a member of this Inter team and ended the competition as the top-scorer with eight goals.
Lazio 0-3 Inter Milan (1997-1998 UEFA Cup Final)
Inter scored the most goals in a European final in the 1998 edition of the UEFA Cup. For the first time in a one-legged affair in competition history, the Nerazzuri left no mercy on the pitch as they defeated the other half of Rome in Lazio. The Chilean Iván Zamorano opened the scoring only five minutes into the game before Javier Zanetti and Ronaldo Nazario completed the scoring in the second half. The Brazilian scoring machine helped the club win the silverware in his first season in Italy. This team also contained now Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone in the midfield.
Bayern Munich 0-2 Inter Milan (2009-10 UEFA Champions League Final)
While Inter kept picking up trophies in UEFA Cup, winning Europe’s premier competition eluded them since their 1965 success. After 45 years, they finally got to lift one beating German giants Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. Diego Milito scored in either half with two brilliant strikes to crown Inter the long-awaited Champions League. In his second European final, Zanetti captained the side this time. The club also completed the treble that season by winning the Scudetto and the Copa Italia, pipping Roma in both.
