Inter Milan star Welsey Sneijder passed out halftime in their Serie A match against Brescia on Saturday and was later diagnosed with anaemia.

Sneijder helped guide Inter to the Treble last season and then steered Holland to the World Cup final.

But the 26-year-old playmaker’s sterling efforts for club and country have left him exhausted.

He said: “I started to shake and felt pain in my entire body. In the changing room I got sick and passed out briefly.

“My heart and blood pressure were checked immediately. Later I traveled to the Netherlands for a second opinion.

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Inter Milan and ex-Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez blames the club’s previous American owners and managing director Christian Purslow for the woes that the Reds are facing currently.

Benitez left Liverpool for the European champions in the close season but, with so many English journalists in town for Wednesday’s Champions League Group A match with Spurs, many of the questions at his news conference focused on his former side.

Liverpool were sold to New England Sports Ventures last week after a legal battle with unpopular American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett but still lost 2-0 to city rivals Everton on Sunday to prolong a slump which started in Benitez’s final season.

“The only thing I can say is that I am very sorry for the fans. We have a saying in Spanish that says ‘white liquid in a bottle has to be milk’,” the Spaniard said.

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Lionel Messi and Barcelona had excellent starts to the Champions League last night with Manchester United and Inter Milan struggling in their first games in Europe.

The Argentine, like last season, treated Europe’s blue riband club competition as his personal playground, scoring two classy goals before missing a penalty as Barca recovered from an early shock to thrash visiting Panathinaikos 5-1 in Group D.

Inter took the lead but then had to come from behind to draw 2-2 at Dutch debutants Twente Enschede in Group A with the Italians losing forward Goran Pandev to a knee injury.

A much-changed Manchester United could find no way past obdurate Scottish visitors Rangers in Group C, drawing 0-0 in a game overshadowed by a serious ankle injury to Antonio Valencia.

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European and Itallian champions Inter Milan and Rafael Benitez are after the signature of Bafana star and current Everton player Steven Pienaar.

Pienaar, who left the country two days ago after an extended holiday following the World Cup has been under the radar of new Inter coach Rafael Benitez, who is believed to instructed Inter president Massimo Moratti to contact the Blues with a view to signing Pienaar.

Pienaar had an impressive run last season where he was also voted Everton’s player of the season. That performance got the attention of a number of major clubs including Liverpool. The player has yet to reach an agreement on a new deal at Goodison and David Moyes is keen to avoid the type of ongoing saga that saw Jolean Lescott leave the club in acrimonious circumstances last season.

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Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho described his team’s qualification for the Champions League final as the greatest moment of his life.

Inter beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in their semi-final despite losing the second leg 1-0 and playing an hour of the game at the Nou Camp with 10 men.

Mourinho’s Inter, who won the first game 3-1 last week, will face Bayern Munich in the final on May 22 in Madrid.

“It’s the greatest moment of my career,” said Mourinho. “For the players, me, the fans, it’s the greatest.”

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Inter Milan reached the Champions League final last night by beating Barcelona 3 – 2 on aggregate after having to play with only 10 men for more than an hour.

After losing last week’s semi-final first leg in Milan 3-1, Barca’s hopes of meeting Bayern Munich in Madrid on May 22 were lifted when Inter defender Thiago Motta clashed with Sergio Busquets in the 28th minute and was sent off.

The home fans filled the vast Nou Camp arena with noise and Barca dominated possession but struggled to create clear chances.

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Inter Milan made a brilliant comeback from 0 – 1 down to to beat title holders Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League semifinal first leg at the San Siro on Tuesday.

Goals from Wesley Sneijder, Maicon and Diego Milito extinguished Pedro’s opener for Barca and sent the nerazzuri faithful into raptures ahead of next week’s second leg at Camp Nou.

It was a tactical masterclass from Jose Mourinho as his team wiped out memories of the footballing lessons Barca gave them in the group stages back in September and November.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was magnanimous in defeat and refused to blame the team’s 14-hour coach journey for the loss.

“This can happen, especially when you’re playing in the semifinal of the Champions League and against Inter Milan,” he said.

“Of course it’s not ideal losing like this but we can still do it.

“The result is not good, we gave away too many balls, we can do better. This wasn’t our best game and Inter don’t make it easy for you to play.

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