Soccer
Borja Valero picks winner as his two former clubs meet in the Champions League
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The Champions League gets underway tonight and with it an opening-day clash that's worthy of a final, as two of Europe's elite clash in the league phase.
Real Madrid and Inter share 18 combined wins in the competition, and their clash at the Bernabéu reeks of narrative even before a ball has been kicked.
At the centre of it all, as always, is Jose Mourinho, who returned to the Spanish capital this summer and now faces the side he tasted European glory with back in 2010, as part of Inter's historic treble.
The teams have only met in three separate seasons during the Champions League era, with Madrid winning six of the seven games, and over the years some of football's biggest names have worn the famous shirts of both clubs.
One of those men is Borja Valero, who started his career with his hometown side Real in 2004, before going on to star for Inter in a three-season stint.
Ahead of his team's latest encounter, the 41-year-old spoke exclusively to DAZN News, and, despite becoming a hero for the Nerazzurri, is predicting a win for the Spanish giants on Tuesday night.
He said, "Real Madrid are always favourites because their DNA is about winning, about trying to win everything.
"It’s true that they are coming off a season that wasn’t particularly positive, but with the players they have and the transfer business they’ve done, they are always a team that has to be considered among the potential winners.”
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Valero, who also spent time in the Premier League with West Brom, played 100 times for Inter, helping them reach the Europa League final in 2020, but his heart still remains with the club where he began his footballing career.
Making his debut after coming through the youth ranks, the midfielder only made two first-team appearances for the senior Real Madrid side, but the club will always be his first love.
"Obviously, my heart goes with the white side because I was there practically from when I was a child until I became a man," Valero admitted.
"I spent 11 years in Real Madrid’s youth academy, eventually making it to the first team, so my heart remains there. But I have to say that I was really happy at Inter and I’m proud to have been part of the Nerazzurri as well.”
It's now been sixteen years since Inter won the Champions League, when José Mourinho led the club to three trophies in one memorable season.
Since then, no Italian side has managed to win the competition, with Inter coming closest with their two final appearances in 2023 and 2025.
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Having won Serie A last season, Cristian Chivu's men go into this season's European competition as a contender once again, but their former Spanish midfielder thinks it's difficult for Italian sides, given they tend to spend a lot less compardd to clubs in Europe's other elite leagues.
Adding, “It’s difficult to compete with the big European teams because Inter, who have been the dominant team in Italy in recent years, spend money, yes, but relatively speaking, much less than the big European clubs.
"They’ve had a great group of players for years, but at European level it’s difficult. They’ve reached two Champions League finals in recent years, which shows that things are being done well, but then the European teams spend €100–200 million on a single player, so obviously you have a harder time.
“But football is beautiful because even without all that money, you can build a team that competes, and Inter have done that in recent years.”
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