Welcome to the Total Soccer Show and our preview of the 2025 Champions League final between Internationale Milano and Paris Saint-Germain.

It's taken place this Saturday at 1pm Eastern.

On this episode, we're previewing the big game looking at how the teams will set up the key players, the things you look out for and much much more my name's Ryan Bailey joining me today someone who may or may not

sing the Champions league theme right now taylor rock girl the champions

he did it he did it I tried I tried you did very well I am reliably informed by my wife on a

consistent basis that I don't fully understand, like, pitch or key or anything like that one. So hopefully I did okay. You did great, buddy. Thank you very much for that. Joe Lowry. We were whistling before we started the show, and Ryan whistled in a way that I can never imagine another person could. Ryan is the chief musician of all things, Ryan. Can you do the thing with your fingers, Ryan, whistling? Or the hand one. Do the hand one where you, like, blow into your hand. Yeah, do the hand and fingers one, Ryan. Do you want to introduce Joe? Joe, how you doing, buddy? I'm great, Taylor. Thanks for asking. Ryan would never throw to me, and I was just, I was disappointed. I wasn't mad. I was just disappointed.

What I'm most looking forward to from the Champions League is what happens after the Champions League to see who follows Cole Palmer's heroic lead and stuffs their metal into their pants. That is the big storyline. I'm expecting at least we're going to do a full segment on that trend. Yes? Yes. I would like to do a full series. I got no pockets. Yeah. So, listen, if you didn't catch the Europa League, the Europa Conference League final, congratulations to Chelsea, by the way that. Also, congratulations to you for not watching that game. Continue. I watched it. Comeback win of a bit of a piece, baby. It wasn't then. Yeah, I guess not. But I did watch all the way through the coverage, and Anita Jones

interviewing Cole Palmer afterwards, and he had his Man of the Match trophy, as we all

would, stuffed in the front of his underwear and sticking out the band of his shorts.

And she said, that's an interesting way to hold that. He just deadpanded anything. Got no pockets, have I? Which is a fair answer. The man... He had two hands, Graham. He had two hands! And one waistband. There are other players who have done worse with their man-of-the-match trophy with said two hands. So he didn't do it, Amy Martinez. So it's all good in my book. Okay, all right. We love you, Cole Palmer. Congratulations once against Chelsea on the conference league win. But this episode is all about the Champions League final, of course, before we get there. Patreon.com slash total soccer show. If you'd like to support us for our bonus content, bonus episodes, bonus videos, access to our Discord server.

The best way to do so, patreon.com slash total soccer show, please, and thank you.

All right. Let's talk a little bit about the path to the final for both teams. If you'll indulge me here, PSG, I think fair to say, a bit of an up and down affair in the league phase,

colon the phasening. They finished in 15th. They lost three games in the league phase,

did PSD. They lost Arsenal, By and Athlete. They picked up a bit, of course, when they got to the

knockouts, that 10-0 aggregate win over Brest in the knockout round. Seems like forever ago.

It wasn't that long ago.

Then they beat Liverpool, Villa and Arsenal, of course, en route to the final.

Inter, on the other hand, they finished fourth in the phasening, very consistent, as I suppose

they've been very consistent across the board. No of the competitions they've been in.

Six wins and a loss in the phasening. Then they beat Fyernord.

Bayern and Barcelona in the knockout rounds. Excellent stuff from then, of course, beating two of the best teams in Europe and Fynod to get through to the final.

Joe, how do we feel about the fact that we have Inter and PSG in this final. Are these the princes we were promised?

...