Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez is determined to seize the moment as he looks to follow up his World Cup triumph with Champions League success.
The Italian side take on favourites Manchester City for Europe’s top prize in Istanbul on Saturday and Martinez is hoping to round off a memorable campaign that also saw him help Argentina to international success in December.
Martinez said at a press conference at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium: “These are the two major finals a footballer can play.
“It has certainly been a very positive season for me. I am pleased with how it has gone and how I have done. Now we hope to finish off in the best possible way.
“If you want to achieve your goal this is the very last step and we must be ready to take it. It will be a very important game for everyone at Inter and the club.”
Saturday’s match will see Martinez come up against his Argentina team-mate Julian Alvarez, with whom he shared glory in Qatar.
Martinez said: “I have not been in contact with Julian. I got married recently and invited him but he was unable to attend.”
Inter, who finished third in Serie A, are rated as the underdogs against a City side bidding to complete a treble.
Coach Simeone Inzaghi said: “After reaching the final we didn’t have time to think about it as we still had games to play.
“Only now are we realising what we have achieved but we are not relaxed. We are concentrating very much and we will fight for every inch of the pitch against an excellent team.
“We must be fully focused and make no mistakes.”
Stopping the prolific Erling Haaland, who has scored 52 goals for City this season, will be key to Inter’s hopes.
Inzaghi said: “We know who we have to play. We know Manchester City are probably the best in the world. They have proved that, they have been defeated very few times.
“We know what a player Haaland is. Clearly we will have a special eye on him.
“I have prepared something but it will be all of Inter that have to defend, trying to limit not only Haaland but all of City.”
Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, the Turkey international, hopes to have the locals in the crowd on his side even though City captain Ilkay Gundogan also has a proud Turkish heritage.
Calhanoglu said: “I think it will be a very special game for me. It is special for a Turk to play in Istanbul.
“I want to enjoy this moment and I don’t know if I will play another final. We will give it our very best shot.
“I know Turks will support me. Gundogan is on the other team but he plays for Germany, so for our people it is perhaps more important I win. That is my dream.”
Former Manchester United forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan has returned to training for Inter after a thigh injury but remains a doubt.
Inzaghi said: “We have a positive feeling but he is not 100 per cent. I will have to decide whether to field him from the beginning or send him on during the match.”
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
Rangnick turns down Bayern to stay in Austria job
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will remain in charge of Austria's national team beyond Euro 2024, having turned down Bayern Munich's interest.
Rangnick confirmed last week that Bayern had been in touch regarding the possibility of him taking over ahead of next season.
Bayern are aiming to fill an impending void, with current coach Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
But Rangnick has now confirmed he will be staying put, though he insisted he did not "reject" Bayern.
"I am national team coach of Austria with all my heart," he said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
"This task brings me a lot of joy and I am determined to continue down the road we have started.
"I want to clearly stress that this is not a rejection of Bayern Munich but rather a decision for my team and our common goals."
"We are fully focused on the Euro. We will do everything we can to go far."
There have been calls from some Bayern fans for Tuchel to stay in charge, with some going as far as to sign a petition.
Bayern wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso as Tuchel's successor, but the former midfielder has elected to stay with Bayer Leverkusen.
While Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title to end Bayern's 11-year dominance of the competition, Tuchel's team can still salvage silverware in the form of the Champions League.
Bayern head into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Real Madrid on the back of a 2-2 draw in Munich in Tuesday's first leg.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
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