International Champions Cup: Who Are Inter Milan And Paris Saint-Germain?

Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan come to Eugene as Powerhouses in their respective countries and will compete to stay in the running for the International Champions Cup at Autzen Stadium on Sunday.

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Soccer has been an International Sport for what seems like forever. When teams here in the United States are starting to breakout and schedule League games in Mexico and London like the NFL. The NCAA is taking football down under, and Baseball most recently played a game in Cuba. Soccer has been borderless for much longer.

While popularity for the sport is gaining traction here in the US with MLS, Eurpoe has long been the place to be when it comes to Soccer. Inter Milan has been around for 108 years, Paris Saint-Germain, just over 45 years. For many, PSG can be seen as the team of our generation, that is if you follow the sport that closely.

In recent years both teams have been very successful in their respective countries, winning more than a handful of titles. In the early days of the game, before free agency – similar to the NFL or Major League Baseball. According to Wikipedia, Inter Milan had several players who just played and stayed with the team. There were six in all. Giuseppe Bergomi was the last to do it. He remained, as a Right Back with the team for 19 years.

For Inter Milan, what to watch for on Sunday is the performance of Mauro Icardi, who has 16 goals from th 2015-16 season, leading the team. He also has four assists, good enough for third. According to ESPN, their longest winning streak was five games, and their largest margin of victory was four goals.

Paris Saint-Germain is historically the younger of the two teams in this matchup, but recent history will see both teams with roughly the same amount of team titles and accolades. Zlatan Ibrahomovic was the Star of this team, leading them to four titles during the 2015-16 season. It is a fresh start of sorts for PSG on Sunday as the Star player has moved on and signed with Manchester United for the upcoming season.

While that leaves a hole in the lineup, Paris Saint Germain sill has the talent to get the job done and be competitive. Bleacher Report says the one player they could turn to is Marco Varetti, but he likely won’t be on the pitch on Sunday as he is recovering from surgery and an injury. Javier Pastore and Edinson Cavani will need to be the ones to lead the charge as the International Champions Cup commences at Autzen Stadium.

Autzen Zoo will have Coverage of the Match between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain starting at 1pm Pacific Time on Sunday.