How Enrique and Inzaghi built Europe’s best teams | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain will face Inter Milan in the Champions League final later this month.

Both sides overcame tough semi-finals to reach the decider, in a contest full of intrigue. There’s often a perception that the teams with the biggest budgets and best players prevail, though this season’s finalists have, in contrasting manners, challenged those theories.

For Paris Saint-Germain, this is no underdog story, but the club’s transformation from a collection of superstars to a superstar collective has been a fascinating watch. The French side has been arguably Europe’s biggest underperformer in recent years. Despite setting transfer records and boasting the biggest wage bill in European football, their search for a maiden Champions League crown has frustrated.

Since their Qatari-backed takeover over a decade ago, PSG have reached just two semi-finals and lost one decider, before the current campaign. This is a side that broke the world transfer record to sign Neymar, paired him with the second-most expensive footballer ever in Kylian Mbappe, and added Lionel Messi to the mix.

It was a constellation designed to take the next step, but instead resulted in consecutive Round of 16 exits. PSG needed a rebrand, and Luis Enrique has driven the culture change.

Last season, footage emerged of him demanding more defensively from Mbappe, a footballer whose career with the club concluded last summer with a record-breaking 256 goals in 308 games. Enrique, however, knows the team comes first, and his press is only as strong as its lead.

With Neymar, Messi and Mbappe all gone, PSG have emerged as Europe’s most exciting side. Ousmane Dembele has stepped out of the shadows to emerge as a Ballon d’Or contender, fulfilling the potential that had only flickered previously.

In Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue, there’s a supporting cast of pace, work-rate and quality. Behind them, João Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha combine tenacity with technique. With the long-serving Marquinhos holding a fort that allows Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes to bomb on, and Gianluigi Donnarumma saving his best for Europe, PSG will start this month’s final as favourites.

But it will be no straightforward challenge.

Inter Milan are into their second final in three seasons, a feat achieved despite resources that pale in comparison to their opponents.

Across the last five seasons, Inter rank only 29th for expenditure in world football. They sit behind clubs including Leeds United, Southampton and Nottingham Forest for spending, while making a profit in that period. Across the last four seasons alone, Inter have returned a €115m profit on transfers and continued to get better.

Romelu Lukaku, Achraf Hakimi, Andre Onana, Marcelo Brozovic, and Milan Skriniar have all departed, each replaced with cost-effective – and often superior – signings.

Take, for example, Yann Sommer. After Onana’s big-money move to Manchester United, Inter resisted the temptation to spend big. The veteran shot-stopper was snapped up from Bayern Munich for just £5m, after a short spell in Bavaria deputising for the injured Manuel Neuer.

Sommer’s debut season saw him lead Europe’s top five leagues for clean sheets and lift the Scudetto, while he was outstanding over two legs of the semi-final win over Barcelona.

Elsewhere, Marcus Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Piotr Zieliński, and Mehdi Taremi all arrived on free transfers. Veterans are admired rather than discarded, with the hero of their semi-final case in point. 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi did not become a Serie A regular until the age of 26, joined Inter at 34, won his first league title last season, and netted his first-ever Champions League goal this week. Inter’s record signing in the Inzaghi era is Benjamin Pavard, recruited for a modest €30m.

Since arriving at Inter in 2021, Simone Inzaghi has led the side to two Coppa Italias, a Serie A title, and now two Champions League finals – all without the resources of rival teams.

Big budgets and star signings can contribute to success, but the right recruitment and quality coaching will always prevail. Enrique and Inzaghi are perfect examples of that.

Read – Champions League Awards: Inter ecstasy, PSG prevail

See more – When is the 2025 Champions League final? Date and venue for PSG vs Inter

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