Inter Milan icon opines on UCL semi-final tie vs Barcelona – ‘Bayern scared me more’ | OneFootball

Marco Materazzi, a legendary figure at Inter Milan, has declared his confidence in the Italian side’s chances of overcoming Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

The two teams will square off in the final four of the competition, with the first leg set to be played at Montjuic on April 30 and the reverse fixture in San Siro on May 6.

Barcelona have been brilliant in the Champions League thus far but Inter Milan have the tools necessary to pose a major problem for Hansi Flick’s men.

In fact, Materazzi believes that Bayern Munich, whom the Nerazzurr eliminated in the quarter-finals, posed a bigger threat than Barça and that Simone Inzaghi’s men are the favourites for the semi0final tie.

Speaking on the YouTube channel Viva el fútbol (h/t SPORT) the former Italian international made no secret of his position, saying:

“I have said it before and I will say it again. Bayern scared me more than Barça in these semi-finals. The Germans were more prepared than Barcelona to hurt us because of their playing style.”

Materazzi confident Inter can beat Barcelona. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Materazzi dismissed the threat posed by Barcelona’s young squad and insisted that Inter remain strong favourites.

“Barcelona scored four goals against everyone; they are a young and very respectable team, but personally I saw the Germans as more capable of creating problems for Inter,” he said.

“Inter fought until the 96th minute. Now they have a decisive match against Bologna and not much time to recover.”

Materazzi also praised manager Simone Inzaghi for his preparation and focus, expressing faith that Inter are ready to knock out Barcelona.

“I see Inter as mature and prepared. These are the decisive matches. They made some mistakes in the league, suffered too many comebacks, and could have had more breathing space to focus on the Champions League.

“But even for us in 2010, when we won everything, it was an obstacle course. We drew in Florence and many thought we had lost the league, but then Sampdoria beat Roma and we overtook them. Even without strength or energy, we pushed on towards the goal.”

Former Real Madrid and Italy manager Fabio Capello also shared similar thoughts to Materazzi insisting that Inter Milan can get past Barcelona. It remains to be seen how Flick & co. fare when they come face to face against the Serie A giants.