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Signings were they key to Inter's success. AFP

The key to Inter's Champions League win: signing players that Barca and Madrid didn't want

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Inter Milan sporting director when José Mourinho was there, Marco Branca, explained how Inter were able to become a winning team under the Portuguese manager.

Inter Milan surprised the world of football in Europe when they won the 2010 Champions League. They left a Barcelona that seemed invincible in the gutter in the semi-finals and hammered Bayern in the final.

The sporting director of that great team, Marco Branca, gave the key to the success of those players on 'TMW'.

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"The key to the triumphs of that time is simple. We signed players who were angry and motivated because they were not wanted. There was a big renewal," he said of the arrival of Samuel Eto'o, whom Pep Guardiola replaced with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Wesley Sneijder, who left through the back door of Real Madrid.

They weren't the only signings from Inter, who also got Bayern CB Lúcio, and other stars such as Diego Milito, Thiago Motta, and Gordan Pandev, who had been shining in Italian football for some time but hadn't been given a chance in a big team.