Hakan Calhanoglu admits it ‘was not easy’ to cross from Milan to rivals Inter, but he ‘knew’ they could reach the Champions League Final and has a special rivalry with Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan.
The showdown is at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul on June 10, so this will be the venue for either Calhanoglu or Gundogan to become the first Turkish player to lift the Champions League trophy, doing so on home turf.
“I love Istanbul, it’s the most beautiful city for me. I can’t wait to be there and am very happy to be playing in Turkey,” Calhanoglu told UEFA.com.
“Gundogan is the captain of Manchester City and I have great respect for him. It won’t be easy for him either, even if he is a great player. I have respect, as he is more experienced than me, but I’ll do everything I can do beat him.
“I want to become the first Turk to win a Champions League, and to do it in Istanbul, that would be a dream come true.”
The midfielder was born and raised in Germany, but opted to represent the country where his parents came from.
He has been in Serie A since 2017, first for Milan and then crossing the city as a free agent when his contract expired to join their bitter rivals Inter in the summer of 2021.
“The first day I arrived, everyone knew it was not an easy step for me to take, but the club and my teammates gave me a great welcome and I was happy right away.”
Milan won the Scudetto last season, but Calhanoglu and Inter took revenge this time by beating them in the Supercoppa Italiana and winning both legs of the Champions League semi-final at San Siro.
“We are so close now that dreaming is natural. I knew that we could get here, I’m honest about that.”