FC Bayern’s Champions League encounter with Inter Milan on Tuesday sees a combined nine European crowns and 51 league titles on show as two of Europe’s biggest names face off at the Allianz Arena in Munich. But a history of success and trophies isn’t all the clubs have in common. A number of players have also represented both the 32-time German and 19-time Italian champions. fcbayern.com takes you through this combined Bayern-Inter team.
1. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
After 10 glorious years at Bayern, two-time Ballon d’Or winner Karl-Heinz Rummenigge made the move to Milan in 1984. He spent three years with Inter before hanging up his boots in Switzerland with Servette.
2. Andreas Brehme
Brehme would lift the World Cup in Rome in 1990, but he joined Bayern in 1986 and won the Bundesliga in his first year. After two years in Munich, the Hamburg native moved to Milan, where he won a Serie A Scudetto and also the 1991 UEFA Cup during a four-year stint in Italy.
3. Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Matthäus moved to Milan two years before winning the World Cup in 1990. Germany’s most capped player had previous spent four years with Bayern. He also spent four seasons in Italy, where Il Grande Lothar also won the 1990 Ballon d’Or. He returned to Munich in 1992 and racked up more titles over another eight campaigns.
4. Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann rocked up at the Nerazzurri in 1989, joining international teammates Brehme and Matthäus, and scored 40 times in 123 games for the Italians. After spells at Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur, the striker joined Bayern in 1995 for two seasons.
5. Ciriaco Sforza
Former Switzerland international Ciriaco Sforza enjoyed two spells at Bayern (1995-96 and 2000-02), winning the Champions League in 2001 and the 1996 UEFA Cup. The midfielder also spent the 1996/97 season at Inter, scoring four times in 40 appearances.
6. Lucio
Lucio made his move to Munich from Bayer Leverkusen in 2004 and spent five seasons at Bayern, winning the double three times to go with his 2002 World Cup medal with Brazil. The no-nonsense central defender would join Inter in 2009 and win the treble in his first season – unfortunately at the expense of Bayern, who Lucio helped shut out for a 2-0 win in the 2010 Champions League final.
7. Arturo Vidal
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal has always impressed viewers with his robust play and tireless fighting spirit, regardless of club. He proved that during his two seasons in Milan between 2020 and 2022. The now 35-year-old had first joined Bayern from Juventus in 2015, spending three years in Munich before a move to Barcelona.
8. Lukas Podolski
Lukas Podolski joined Bayern from hometown club Köln for the 2006/07 season. The forward would return home for three years in 2009, having won the double the previous campaign. The 2014 World Cup winner would later play for the likes of Arsenal, Galatasaray, Vissel Kobe and Inter. He made 17 appearances for the Italians in 2015.
9. Xherdan Shaqiri
Bullish winger Xherdan Shaqiri signed for Bayern in 2012, where he won the Champions League in his first season, plus three Bundesliga titles and two DFB Cups. The 108-time Switzerland international then joined Inter in January 2015, where he spent the remainder of the season before heading to England.
10. Ivan Perisic
Bayern brought in someone with Bundesliga knowledge in 2019 when they signed 2018 World Cup runner-up Ivan Perisic on loan, having previously spent a combined four years with Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg. The winger only had a season in Munich but was part of the team that won the treble in 2020 before the Split native returned to parent club Inter for a further two years.
11. Philippe Coutinho
The 11th and final player to have plied his trade in Milan and Munich is Philippe Coutinho. Inter was the Brazilian’s first club in Europe back in 2008. After spells at Liverpool and Barcelona, the attacker joined Bayern on a two-year loan in 2019 and filled his trophy cabinet, including with the 2020 treble.
Bayern and Inter produced an epic encounter in the 1988 UEFA Cup:
