A member of Inter’s treble-winning squad and an ‘Interista’ through and through, Goran Pandev reveals the secrets behind the making of José Mourinho’s legendary squad and roots for Simone Inzaghi to win the Champions League.
By Filip Mishov
It’s been 15 years since Inter last won the Champions League back in 2010 after defeating Bayern Munich in the final at the Bernabéu in Madrid, and thus, became the first-ever Italian club to claim the treble, a historic feat unmatched by any other Italian side since.
A vital part of the Nerazzurri’s legendary squad that season was Goran Pandev, one of only three Macedonian players, alongside Ilija Najdoski and Darko Panchev , ever to have lifted Europe’s most coveted trophy (the latter players won the old European Cup with Red Star Belgrade back in 1990/91).
On the 22nd May, the actual 15th anniversary of arguably the club’s greatest success, and ahead of this season’s final between Inter and Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Saturday, I sat down with the so-called ‘Il Grande Macedone’ for an exclusive one-on-one interview for FotMob.
We revisited the magical night in Madrid, talked about the making of Massimo Moratti’s iconic squad, discussed the influence of The Special One and finally, we looked ahead to the upcoming final as the Macedonian is rooting for his former teammate and dear friend, Simone Inzaghi to lead Inter to European glory.

“Winning the Champions League is every kid’s ultimate dream when one starts playing football, as the Champions League is simply the pinnacle in football, and I definitely achieved the biggest success in my career with Inter. However, my road to success was not easy at all, as I come from a small country like Macedonia, and it was not straightforward at all. But with a lot of self-belief as well as hard work and with the help of my family, my friends, and even former coaches from the Macedonian national team and in the clubs that I played for, my childhood dream came true, and I am really, really happy about winning that trophy,” begins Pandev with a proud smile on his face.
The Strumica-born forward’s club career was at a crossroads in the summer of 2009 after the in-form Macedonian expressed a desire to experience a new challenge during the summer transfer window and subsequently, Lazio’s owner – Claudio Lotito froze Goran Pandev out of the squad in Rome. The player even raised the issue with Italian football’s governing body and after spending six months on the sidelines, Pandev was ultimately released from his contract by the ruling of Lega Calcio in late December. He was free to join any club, but a certain Portuguese coach had been closely following the legal battle.
“I joined Inter in the January transfer window after I had a difficult six months of being sidelined at Lazio and José Mourinho insisted that I signed for him. He was a big influence on all of us and not only on me because I was one of the younger players in the squad, but he had influence on much more experienced players like Javier Zanetti and we know what the Argentinean has done for Inter and about his role as captain. José Mourinho definitely had a big influence as he was the one who wanted Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder and Lucio as well, and he simply made a team that breathed as one and we did the unthinkable that season. I think that for many years to come the Italian clubs will have a hard time trying to replicate our success.”
The Macedonian forward made 27 appearances, scored three goals and recorded six assists across Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League in the record-breaking 2009/10 campaign, and Inter’s no. 27 was also part of the starting XI for the final against Bayern Munich.
When asked whether the squad believed in success ahead of that game, he says: “Of course, we had confidence because when you put on Inter’s shirt, you feel a certain amount of weight on your shoulders and you have to give your best. Inter’s shirt means a lot to Italian football, and we won the Champions League after a gap of 45 years, with Inter’s last title in the competition back in 1964/65. We had a top squad led by José Mourinho, but I think Massimo Moratti deserves the biggest praise as he built that squad. It took him a long time to make a winning team and to win the Champions League. In the previous years, Inter had so many great players, and still could not win it. We made it the greatest success in the history of Inter, and when you write yourself with golden letters in Inter’s history, it means that you have done something special in your career.”
Inter secured 37 wins, drew 13 times and suffered only six defeats on the way to completing the treble. They scored 98 goals, which speak volumes about the quality of the squad, but according to Pandev, the decisive factor was the tight-knit bonds between the players in the dressing room: “This team had everything, it had character, it had quality, and we had players like Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder, Lucio, Walter Samuel and I can go on and on, as all of them were top players. Also, I believe that we had the best coach in Europe at that time in Mourinho, and that was proven by the results we achieved and the discipline we had. We were a squad of 22-23 players and everyone played at a very high level, all were a part of their respective national teams as well, and it was not easy to create this team, but we worked as a family, and we had a big friendship between us and I think that made the difference.”
Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito formed a lethal partnership and together with Goran Pandev, became an attacking trident in which each player knew his task. Pandev hails the role of the Cameroonian on and off the pitch.
“We had a lot of talent in the squad, but I think with bringing Samuel Eto’o in, this team gained a lot of experience and acquired that winning mentality because before he came to Inter, he’ won the Champions League’s won it all with Barcelona. He was playing at the highest level, and he brought that winning mentality to the dressing room, his attitude both in training and on the pitch made the difference that season. Also, Diego Milito had a phenomenal season as he scored the key goals in the Coppa Italia, scored in the last match against Siena, and scored a brace against Bayern in the Champions League final, which was the icing on the cake.”

Goran Pandev and Simone Inzaghi spent five years together at Lazio during their playing days and the forwards even led the Rome-based club’s attack together on a few occasions. The former describes the latter as his dear friend and speaks with great admiration about the work of Inzaghi as a coach, and Pandev is closely following Inter and has even visited the squad a few times throughout this season.
“I have watched almost all the matches in the Champions League this season and they play good together and are being compact as a team. With Simone Inzaghi and Giuseppe Marotta coming in, Inter changed a lot, both from tactical perspective and in the transfer market as well. It is an experienced and quality side and that is shown by the results achieved as this will be their second final over the past three years. The Champions League is a very difficult competition where the best players and teams play and Inter has been playing at a high level in Europe for two or three years already, and that gives them hope ahead of the final.”

Inter’s path to reaching the Champions League final involved a semi-finals classic against Barcelona, which needed 13 goals to decide the winner and Pandev found watching the match nerve-racking: “It was an amazing match, one to get a heart stroke as we say (in Macedonia). Not only for me, but for all the players and fans that were present at San Siro. After the goal we conceded at 2-3, no one believed that Inter would defeat Barcelona. But the experience, the self-belief, the luck and the help from God, because you need to be also lucky in that moment for Francesco Acerbi to find himself in the penalty box in the 93rd minute and in that situation, that is the real character of this team. As I previously said, Inter’s shirt is very heavy when you put it on, and it demands for trophies to be won, and I believe in this team, I think they have the quality to win the Champions League.”
Even though Lautaro Martínez & co. might become the first Inter squad to win the Champions League since 2010, Pandev says “I don’t think the squads can be compared because we played in a different formation with different tactics and I think those are completely different squads. Even though the Italian media likes to compare this team with the 2010 squad, I think there are a lot of differences. To be honest, I think the quality of Italian football is much lower today than it was 15 or 20 years ago.”
Goran Pandev himself is not a big fan of 3-5-2, but he offers a tactical insight into how Simone Inzaghi has mastered the formation with the help of his players: “I think that these two teams know each other very well and this final will be decided in the middle of the pitch. Inter play just a little bit more defensive football than PSG as they like to counter-attack with Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco, who are the ones making the difference. Also, Marcus Thuram is a very dangerous striker and one who attacks the free space really well, we just hope that Lautaro will be 100% ready for this game as he was recently injured. Inter are destined to play 3-5-2 as I think they won’t change this approach which brought us so much success this season.”
Luis Enrique is the architect behind the current Paris Saint-Germain’s squad and Pandev maintains huge respect for the Spanish coach, but also adds that watching Inter on TV and live in the stadium, is a completely different experience, and disagrees with the claims that Inter play defensive football under Inzaghi.
“I prefer 4-3-3 more, but both teams play attacking football if I am being honest. Everyone thinks that Inter are playing defensive football, but when Dumfries finds space to get to the opponents box, there are four or five players there like Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nicolo Barella who are quality players and then you have Martínez and Dimarco on top of that. Everyone thinks that this system is mainly a defensive one, but when you watch Inter live, it is quite the opposite. When they have the ball in possession, they play with a lot of freedom in the wide areas, and it quickly converts to an attacking formation. Luis Enrique is an excellent coach, and we know what the Spaniards are like, and I think that he’s made a perfect team at Paris Saint-Germain, a team that was built by him. Every player is a technically gifted footballer, and I think after the big stars left, PSG are playing much better football.”

“I will be present in Munich and watch the final live. I hope for Inter’s victory, but anything can happen over the course of one match. Paris Saint-Germain has a quality team, a young team with some great talent. The experience is on Inter’s side and I think Inter deserve the trophy. They had a lot of injuries during crucial parts of the season with key players being out. I hope Inter will win the Champions League especially because of Simone Inzaghi, who is a very good friend of mine and I really hope that he will lift the trophy.”
(Image from IMAGO and courtesy of the Football Federation of Macedonia)
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The second part of the exclusive interview focuses on Goran Pandev’s new role as sports director of the Macedonian national teams and will be released in early June ahead of Macedonia’s match against Belgium in the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
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