Inter have already won the Champions League. Why? The curse of the Croatian players is to blame

Tonight we have the Champions League final between Inter Milan and Manchester City. The English team is the clear favourite, but the Italians have a rule on their side that has been in place for a long time.

Manchester City have reached the final despite a very difficult draw. It was still a warm-up phase for them in the eighth round, when after an away draw with Leipzig they blasted the German side 7-0 at home, but then the real test began.

They faced Bayern Munich, who had just knocked out PSG. The Citizens won 3:0 at home, but in the rematch they secured a 1:1 draw and advanced to the semi-finals. There they faced the toughest calibre.

Last year’s winner Real Madrid, who the Citizens had also failed to beat the year before. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, but in the return leg the Citizens showed tremendous quality and won 4-0.

Inter had an objectively easier path to the final, they did not have to knock out any giant and favourite of the competition. First they beat Porto, then Benfica and then AC Milan in the city derby.

Manchester City is the clear favourite in the final, although they have never won the Champions League, but they have probably the strongest team in the world at the moment.

Ten Croats in a row

But that’s not what you play for in the final and it’s quite possible that even one slight curse will tip the balance in Inter’s favour. Since 2013, the rule has been that only the team with a Croatian player in its squad wins the Champions League.

In 2013 it was Mandzukic with Bayern, in 2014 Modric with Real, a year later Rakitic for Barcelona, and in 2016-2018 Modric and Rakitic in a Real jersey.

In 2019, Liverpool’s Lovren celebrated the win, and a year later Perisic lifted the trophy with Bayern. The year 2021 brought a Chelsea win with Kovacic in the squad, and last year Real won again with Modric.

This fan rule has reached the players too. “You have to have a Croatian in your team to win the Champions League, ” Modric announced in the booth after last year’s final win over Liverpool.

And how about this time? Manchester City have no Croatian in their squad, Inter have Marcel Brozovic on their roster. The winner may already be decided in advance…

It’s just hyperbole, of course, but it will be interesting to see if the rule proves true and the Champions League trophy goes to Croatia for the 11th time in a row.

Source: ESPN, UEFA