Champions League Winners: Inter Milan 2009-10 Quiz

Answer: 13

Inter were one of 13 teams that won their national title and thus earnt automatic qualification to the group stage of 2009-10 Champions League. Clubs who had won other leagues had to reach the group stage via qualifying rounds. The 13 countries with the best UEFA co-efficient (based on the performance of clubs from those countries in recent European competition) all saw their champions qualify instantly.

The 13 teams in question were Barcelona (Spain, also qualified as title holders), Manchester United (England), Inter Milan (Italy), Bordeaux (France), Wolfsburg (Germany), Rubin Kazan (Russia), Unirea Urziceni (Romania), Porto (Portugal), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), Rangers (Scotland), Besiktas (Turkey), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) and Standard Liege (Belgium).

Answer: Dejan Stankovic

Stankovic was the first player to score for Inter in the tournament, netting in the team's 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan in the second matchday. He also scored in Inter's 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev. Milito and Sneidjer each scored late goals in Inter's 2-1 win in Kiev while Muntari did not score any goals.

The other scorers were Walter Samuel, who also netted in the 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev, alongside Samuel Eto'o and Mario Balotelli who found the net in the 2-0 win over Rubin Kazan on the final matchday that sealed Inter's place in the knockout round.

Answer: Barcelona

Inter were fairly low seeded for the group stages of the 2009-10 Champions League as the club had not made it beyond the quarter finals of the Champions League since 2003 and had been eliminated in the Round of 16 in the previous three seasons. As a result, the possibility of Inter being matched with the defending champions Barcelona emerged.

It could be argued that the exchanges between Inter and Barcelona in the 2009-10 group stage were the beginning of the manager rivalry between Inter boss Jose Mourinho and Barca manager Pep Guardiola. While Barca would win the group it would be Mourinho and Inter who had the last laugh in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Answer: Inter won both legs of the tie

Inter, as a runner-up in the groups, faced Group D winners Chelsea. In the first leg at the San Siro, it was a dream start for Inter as Diego Milito opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, with goals from Salomon Kalou for Chelsea and Esteban Cambiasso for Inter sealing a 2-1 win for the Nerazzurri. In the return leg at Stamford Bridge, a goal from future Chelsea forward Samuel Eto'o sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory for Mourinho's men.

While it was the first time Mourinho and Ancelotti had met in a two-legged European encounter, the pair had actually met in the 2003 UEFA Super Cup after Ancelotti's AC Milan won the 2003 Champions League and Mourinho's Porto won the 2003 UEFA Cup. Milan won 1-0. Ancelotti's earliest European exit at the time was a Round of 32 elimination from the 2009 UEFA Cup to Werder Bremen in the Italian's final year as Milan boss.

Answer: CSKA Moscow

It was the first time that CSKA Moscow had ever qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Cup. En route to the quarter-finals they had finished second in their group behind Manchester United, finishing above Besiktas and Wolfsburg. Then in the Round of 16, they had defeated Sevilla.

The tie itself was not memorable by any means, with Inter winning both legs 1-0. Diego Milito scored the only goal in the first leg while Wesley Sneijder scored an early goal to kill the game off in the second leg.

Answer: It was Barcelona's only elimination from a competition in 2009-10

The first leg did not start too well for the Nerazzurri, with Barca taking the lead in the 19th minute after a Maxwell cross found Pedro who made it 1-0. However, only 10 minutes later Wesley Sneijder fired Inter level after a pass from Milito. Early in the second half, Milito also teed up Maicon who made it 2-1 before the Argentinian forward got in on the act himself to make it 3-1.

With the strength of an away goal, the 2009 winners certainly came into the second leg with hope. However, Barca were only able to get one of the two goals they needed to reach the final, winning 1-0 on the night and losing 3-2 on aggregate.

Answer: 7-3

Inter's appearance in the 2010 final was the Nerazzurri's first appearance in the final of Europe's most prestigious tournament in 38 years. They had previously won the competition in 1964 and 1965, defeating Real Madrid and Benfica respectively in the finals. They also lost in the 1967 final (Celtic) and the 1972 showpiece as well. (Ajax) They also won the Intercontinental Cup, the precursor to the FIFA Club World Cup, in 1964 and 1965 and defeated Argentinian giants Independiente in both finals.

Inter also reached four UEFA Cup finals in the 1990s. They won three out of four, defeating Roma in 1991, Casino Salzburg in 1994 and Lazio in 1998. Their only blip was the 1997 final, which they lost to German club Schalke. Thus, their overall record in European/international tournament finals heading into the 2010 Champions League final was 7-3.

Answer: First time the final had been held on a Saturday

Traditionally, the Champions League final was always played on a Wednesday night. However, a meeting of UEFA's Executive Committee in November 2007 decided to change the day of the final to a Saturday. The move was extremely popular with fans and players alike, giving players more chances to recover from their domestic schedules before the big game and offering more fans the chance to see the game.

While Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan was a German/Italian affair, this was not the first time this had occurred. Hamburg defeated Juventus in the 1983 final while Borussia Dortmund would also defeat the Turin side in 1997. 2010 however did mark the first time an Italian side had conquered a German side in the final. Howard Webb was the man in charge, but other English referees such as Jack Taylor (1971) and Philip Don (1994) have also refereed the final. Inter manager Jose Mourinho was 47 when the match was played, while his counterpart Louis Van Gaal was 58.

Answer: Nottingham Forest

Inter deployed a fool-proof counter attacking strategy, allowing Bayern to have large amounts of possession while attacking with vigour whenever the opportunity arose. Milito scored in the 35th and 70th minute, and described his "incredible happiness" at scoring the goals that sealed Inter's first European Cup/Champions League trophy in nearly half a century. The win was arguably Mourinho's greatest defensive masterclass, allowing Bayern only one shot on target despite having two-thirds of possession. Mourinho left Inter six days after the final, joining Real Madrid in the hope of becoming the first manager to conquer Europe with three clubs.

The 2010 showpiece was the first European Cup final at the Santiago Bernabeu since 1980, when Nottingham Forest defeated Hamburg 1-0. AC Milan were crowned European champions at the stadium in 1969, when they defeated Ajax. While Red Star Belgrade did win the European Cup in 1991, they were crowned champions at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy.

Answer: 4th

Sneijder eventually finished 4th in the poll, behind Barcelona trio Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. Sneijder received over 14% of the overall vote, just slightly behind the two Spaniards who took 2nd and 3rd. The winner, Lionel Messi, received under 23% of the overall votes cast. Sneijder could at least claim to have finished above some big names in the Ballon d'Or voting that year, receiving more votes than all-time greats in Cristiano Ronaldo (6th), Iker Casillas (7th), Didier Drogba (9th) and teammate Samuel Eto'o. (12th)

Jose Mourinho pipped World Cup winning manager Vicente del Bosque to the FIFA World Coach of the Year award.