Inter Milan are champions of European football after 45 years

Inter Milan reached the summit of European soccer for the first time in 45 years when Diego Milito scored two superb goals to give them a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Argentine struck in the 35th and 70th minutes to seal a deserved victory for Inter at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and complete an unprecedented treble for a Serie A club following their Italian league and cup double.

It was also a personal triumph for Inter's Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, who became only the third man to win the European Cup with two clubs.

Milito, who had spent much of his career as a journeyman striker, has reached the heights this season with 22 goals in his first Serie A campaign for Inter.

He scored the goal that clinched the Italian title last weekend, got the winner in the Italian Cup final, and sent the Inter fans wild in Madrid with a clinically taken opening goal that set them on their way to their latest triumph.

He nodded goalkeeper Julio Cesar's long punt down to playmaker Wesley Sneijder, ran on to the Dutchman's pinpoint through ball, and then shimmied to make space for himself before lifting a shot high into the net over goalkeeper Hans Joerg-Butt.

His second goal was also superbly taken with Milito leaving Bayern defender Daniel van Buyten bamboozled and beaten before firing past Butt into the far corner of the net."It's a joy I've never experienced. Incredible. I am so happy for Inter because we wanted this so badly. We are so happy and it's a unique sensation," Milito later told reporters.

Before his decisive second goal, Bayern twice came close to an equaliser through striker Thomas Mueller and pacy Dutch winger Arjen Robben.

Inter also went close to more goals, especially from Sneijder just before halftime, but they were denied by some excellent goalkeeping from Butt.

With one end of the stadium decked out in the red of Bayern and the other filled with blue-and-black-clad Inter fans, both teams made a cautious start on a balmy Madrid evening.

The build-up was dominated by the coaching duel between Bayern's Louis van Gaal and his one-time Barcelona assistant Mourinho, but almost from the kickoff it was clear that both coaches had given the same instructions to their team — go for goals.

Inter's attempts obviously proved more fruitful, but even before Milito put them ahead, their attack looked sharper and they always looked the more likely to gain the early advantage.

Samuel Eto'o and Milito were constant threats to the Bayern defence while Bayern's front men Ivica Olic and Thomas Mueller ultimately made little impression though Robben toiled hard on the right wing and provided them with several opportunities.

Fears that the game might turn into a sterile, defensive affair were unfounded and Inter, who won the European Cup in 1964 and 1965, claimed a long overdue third crown with a performance of passion, skill, and rugged flair.

"Inter were the better team over 90 minutes and deserved to win," Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer told German TV after the match.

Their display was typified by their excellent skipper Javier Zanetti, who will never forget his 700th match for the club.

The marvellous Mourinho also will never forget what might well have been his last match in charge of Inter.