From Acerbi to Martínez: five key Inter players in Champions League final

Whether Edin Dzeko or Romelu Lukaku lines up alongside him, Martínez is the sure thing in Internazionale’s attack. He won the World Cup in December, even if not everyone was keen to give him much credit after a tournament in which he failed to register a goal or assist. It later emerged that he had been playing on an injured ankle that required pain-killing injections throughout.

In any case, he has been prolific for Inter, scoring 28 times – two shy of Diego Milito’s tally during their 2010 treble-winning campaign. Martínez is all too aware that his compatriot completed his haul with a pair in the Champions League final. “I hear about these things,” he said. “Sometimes you believe [history can repeat], sometimes no. The important thing is to be ourselves and attack City with courage. They ought to be worried about us, too.”

No Turkish player has won the Champions League but Calhanoglu, captain of the national team, hopes to become the first in Istanbul. “It’s the most beautiful city in the world for me,” he said in an interview for Uefa last week, adding that he hoped the final could bring some joy to his country after the earthquake that cost tens of thousands of lives this year.

Adapted by Inter’s manager, Simone Inzaghi, from a No 10 into a deep-lying playmaker, his position changed again when Henrikh Mkhitaryan was injured in the second leg of their semi-final win over Milan, moving into a box-to-box role on the left of the midfield three so that Marcelo Brozovic could slot into the middle. Regardless of where he lines up, Calhanoglu will back himself, recently saying: “I see myself as one of the top five in Europe at what I do.”

Samir Handanovic remains Inter’s captain, and others have worn the armband since the