Inter Milan crush city rivals to clinch first Champions League final appearance in 13 years

Inter's journey to the Champions League final has not been straightforward. The team was drawn into the most difficult qualifying group and faced Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the opening matches. Making it through that gauntlet—and defeating local rival AC Milan on the way—is a huge achievement for Inter.

It's also a fantastic sign for Italian soccer in general. With the Italian national team missing out on two consecutive World Cups, many feared for the future of Italy in the ever-changing world of global soccer. But with two Italian teams (and three Italian coaches) present in the Champions League semifinals, those fears appear to be misplaced.

Inter's success came down to the midfield. Coach Simone Inzaghi packed the park with five central players and gave them important jobs. The outer two (Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco) were to mark AC Milan's playmakers and win back duels while the inner three (Mkhitaryan, Nicolo Barella and Hakan Çalhanoglu) were to win second balls and feed the attackers.

Through this two-pronged effort, Inter dominated the middle of the park and kept AC Milan from establishing passing rhythm.

Outside of that midfield trickery, Inter's man of the match was Džeko. At 37, he's one of the most senior outfield players left in the competition, but you wouldn't guess it from his statistics. He was omnipresent for Inter, regularly sprinting the length of the field to help with defensive duties or launch Inter attacks. 

After a frustrating start to the season in which he got benched, Džeko appears to be finding his form at the right time.

The Champions League final will be played in Istanbul on June 10. Inter will face one either Manchester City or Real Madrid. It will found out which after Wednesday's other semifinal.

But no matter what happens in Istanbul, Inter fans will be thrilled with this season. They've watched their team climb from relative obscurity to the top of Europe—and, most importantly, they've watched them vanquish their greatest rivals in style.