The Language of the Champions League Final 2023

Saturday night see’s two of Europe’s top football clubs faceoff in this years Champions League Final! Manchester City and Inter come head-to-head in Istanbul for the coveted Champions League trophy. It promises to be an exciting and spectacle filled match. With teams across Europe competing with such diverse squads with players from across the world, we have decided to have a more in-depth look at the language of the Champions League final. From the players to the managers, there are a lot of different languages floating around each team in the final this year.

Language of the Champions League Final

The Champions League Final is the pinnacle of domestic club football in Europe. 32 teams started the group stages back in September. Over the past 9 months this number has been condensed down to just two teams: Manchester City and Inter. The final itself takes place this Saturday (10th June) at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Manchester City Football Club is going in as heavy favourites over the Italian side, but there is always the chance for an upset. Lets dive in to the language of the Champions League Final.

Manchester City

Manchester City have already won the Premiere League and FA Cup this seasons. This means they are on course to with the treble should they defeat Inter in Istanbul. Due to their success over the years it is no wonder that some of the best players from across the world want to play for the side in blue. We have taken a look at how their squad splits down in regard to players native languages.

Language of Manchester City

Outside of English, the second most prominent native language for the Man City team is Spanish. Top players as Sergio Gomez, Rodrigo and Aymeric Laporte are Spanish. But manager Pep Guardiola and the majority of his coaching staff are as well! The Spanish use in the squad doesn’t end there. Maximo Perrone and Julian Alvarez are native Spanish speakers thanks to their home nation being Argentina.

Then we have Portuguese! Ederson, João Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Bernado Silva make up the Portuguese speaking elements. While Cancelo, Dias and Silva are all from Portugal, Ederson is actually Brazilian and the only first team player from.

The rest of the squad is made up with players with a variety of first languages. Superstar Erling Haaland is the only Norwegian player on the team. This hasn’t stopped him having an amazing season and seeing him securing the Golden Boot in the Premiere League.

Kevin De Bruyne is the only Belgian player in the squad. Belgium’s official languages will no doubt help him when it comes to communicating with his other team mates from central Europe. Manuel Akanji hails from Switzerland while Nathan Ake is from the Netherlands. De Bruyne will have no doubt be fluent, or at least have a good grasp of Dutch and French being from Belgium.

In total, the Manchester City first team players have 8 different native languages shared between them. While this may seem like a large number, it isn’t as high as Inter’s.

Inter Milan

While they may not be the favourites for Saturday nights match, Inter have had a successful season in Italy. They won Coppa Italia and finished third in Serie A. They also defeated local rivals AC Milan in a convincing 3-0 victory in the two-legged semi-final to secure their place on Saturday night. Inter last won the Champions League in 2010 and so will be keen to take the trophy home once again.

But what about the Inter squad? Will language differences play a part in the final in Istanbul? We have taken a look at the language diversity in the Inter Milan first team.

Language of Inter Milan

The first thing to note about the Inter squad is the high number of Italian players. While this may sound obvious, it is quite common to see a much larger mix of nationalities in the top sides across Europe. For example, the number of Italian players in Inter’s first team is higher than the number of English players in Manchester City’s. Though from there the Inter squad diversifies dramatically.

Spanish is one of the most prominent native languages of players after Italian. However, there are no Spanish players in the team. Instead the Spanish language contingent is made up of Argentinian players such as Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Valentin Carboni.

Captain and number one goalkeeper Samir Handanović is Slovenian but has a couple of teammates from very nearby. Edin Džeko is Bosnian and Marcelo Brozović is from Croatia. However, Slovenian differs quite a lot from Bosnian and Croatian. Džeko and Brozović however might find that they can communicate together quite easily due to the almost identical nature of their native languages.

It should be noted as well, from a Manchester City point of view, that no first team players for Inter have English as a native language. And with an Italian manager in the form of Simone Inzaghi, the chances of them catching any tactics being called from the touchline is very slim. It also won’t help not having any Italian players on the Man City side who could keep their ears open.

Language of the Champions League Final 2023

The Champions League Final is always one of the biggest nights in domestic football across Europe. Whether you are supporting a team or not, it is a showcase of world-class footballing and the scale of the event is second-to-none.

To celebrate Manchester City and Inter reaching the final, and that it is taking place in Istanbul, Cactus are offering a huge discount on English, Italian and Turkish courses for 72 hours over the weekend!

You can save 40% on English, Italian and Turkish courses, both online and face-to-face when booking this weekend!

The discount is available from Friday 9th June through to midnight on Sunday 11th June!

If you’d prefer to study another language with us then you can still save 25% on all other courses. Be it a 10-week course or a conversation course to top up your speaking and listening skills, we have you covered. Cactus offer courses in over 20 different languages available in a range of levels to suit your ability level. Our beginner courses are designed for those completely new to the language you choose, so you don’t have to have any language skills before you start. Not only can you study in one of our language centres, but you can also study at home! With weekly lessons, you can soon build up your skills to be able to converse in one of these countries.