How Many Times Have Inter Won The Champions League? | OneFootball

While preparing for Inter’s Scudetto defence, Simone Inzaghi surely mustn‘t have given Scott McTominay’s Neapolitan arrival too much thought.

Sure, Napoli, title winners two seasons ago, had appointed Antonio Conte, but they hadn’t done all that much in the transfer market to best place the Italian up for guaranteed success. What Inzaghi didn’t realise, however, was that Campania’s San Marzano tomatoes had converted the previously unheralded McTominay into 'McFratm'.

That’s how Inter lost their league title.

However, the Nerazzurri can swiftly atone for domestic heartbreak in Munich, where Paris Saint-Germain await in the Champions League final. Inzaghi’s men are returning to club football’s grandest stage just two years on from their defeat in Istanbul, and this group of players have another shot at etching their names into club folklore.

They’re no strangers to success on the continental stage, but how many times have they won the Champions League?

How Many Times Have Inter Won The Champions League?

Inzaghi came up short in his bid to earn Inter their fourth European Cup/Champions League when they faced treble hopefuls Manchester City two years ago, but after downing Barcelona in one of the all-time great semifinals, Inter have earned another chance in Munich.

The Nerazzurri are three-time winners of this competition, and only six clubs have been more successful. They’ll draw level with Ajax and their four triumphs should they topple Luis Enrique’s PSG.

You have to go way back to the mid-1960s for Inter’s first success, which arrived under Argentine Helenio Herrera. In fact, Herrera’s team went back-to-back between 1963 and 1965 before losing to the Lisbon Lions of Celtic in 1967.

While there have been a whole host of teams, both domestic and international, to enlighten us with their distinct styles, only a handful can be looked back upon retrospectively as true revolutionaries. Herrera may not have been the inventor or pioneer of 'catenaccio', but he was undoubtedly its greatest exponent.

The defensive system, which added a 'libero' (sweeper) as a safety net behind four man-markers, ideologically contrasted the spellbinding individualism propagated by the stars of Real Madrid, and, fittingly, Inter met Los Blancos in the 1964 European Cup final.

The two captains meet ahead of the 1964 European Cup final in Vienna. / IMAGO/Horstmüller

They were tasked with shunning the marvels of Madrid: Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Paco Gento, but Inter’s collective security won out in Vienna, with their own swashbuckling forays forward complementing their rigid defensive work. They raced into a 3–0 lead on the hour before Madrid scored a consolation. Herrera had won the ideological war.

Inter proved their success was no fluke by winning again the following year, downing the mighty Liverpool on their way to the final. On home soil, Inter’s defence had the not-so-simple task of taming Benfica’s Eusébio, perhaps the finest number nine of his time. However, thanks to the efforts of iconic skipper Armando Picchi, the Portuguese great was no more than a bystander at San Siro, and Jair’s 43rd-minute strike proved to be the difference.

If Madrid were the team of the 50s, 'La Grande Inter' outfit led by Herrera were the dominant force of the 60s. After their triumph over Benfica, the majority projected a sustained period of continental supremacy. Instead, Inter would have to wait until 2010 to next ascend the European summit.

Roberto Mancini had evolved the Nerazzurri into Italy’s perennial champion in the wake of the 'Calciopoli' scandal, but success on the continent continued to elude them. Thus, they pivoted to José Mourinho in 2008.

Year one ended with a round of 16 elimination to Manchester United, and year two looked set to conclude with an even earlier exit. However, they scraped through their group and impressively overcame Mourinho’s former club, Chelsea, in the last 16. After easing past CSKA Moscow in the quarterfinals, Inter faced Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona with a spot in the final at stake.

Iconic. / IMAGO/Ulmer/Lingria

Barca craved Champions League glory on Madrid’s home turf, and the Santiago Bernabéu was hosting the 2010 final. Rejected by the Catalan club in favour of Guardiola a couple of years prior, Mourinho was intent on dashing Barcelona’s dream. What followed was some of the best 180 minutes of Champions League action we’ve ever seen, with Inter’s attacking slickness in the first leg complemented by miraculous grit in the return fixture.

That was Mourinho’s masterpiece, and there was no chance they were losing the final. Diego Milito’s brace thrust Inter to their third Champions League trophy, as Bayern Munich were cast aside in Madrid without much fuss.

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