Thuram and Inzaghi bidding to better family members by winning the Champions League

MILAN (AP) — Marcus Thuram is aiming to go one better than his more lauded father. By winning the Champions League.

Lilian Thuram enjoyed a trophy-laden career with Monaco, Parma, Juventus and Barcelona and helped France to the 1988 World Cup.

However, one trophy eluded one of the all-time great defenders, the Champions League. The closest Lilian got was the 2003 final where his Juventus lost to AC Milan.

Lilian’s son Marcus is all but certain to spearhead Inter Milan’s attack against Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday’s Champions League final in Munich.

“I hope I’ll get to explain to him how to win the Champions League,” Marcus said with a laugh on Monday.

Marcus has gone from strength to strength in his two seasons at Inter, since joining as a free agent from Borussia Mönchengladbach.

He seamlessly replaced Romelu Lukaku alongside Lautaro Martínez and the duo swiftly developed into Serie A’s most dangerous strike pairing.

The Italian media replaced the nickname “LuLa” — from the first letters of Lukaku and Lautaro — to “ThuLa.”

Thuram set a new personal record of 14 league goals in this campaign, and added seven assists. The 27-year-old also netted four times in the Champions League.

“To play alongside a player like Lautaro Martínez is easy for any player,” Thuram said. “He’s our captain, he’s our leader. He helped me a lot since I came into Inter and it’s a great joy to share the pitch with him.”

Thuram is not the only person at Inter looking to best a family member. His coach, Simone Inzaghi, also wants to achieve something his big brother never managed.

While Simone Inzaghi played on the star-studded Lazio team that won Serie A in 2000, Filippo “Superpippo” Inzaghi gained bigger headlines by helping Juventus and Milan to domestic and European titles — including two Champions League triumphs — and Italy to the 2006 World Cup trophy.

However, Filippo has spent most of his managerial career in Serie B, although he's set to face Simone next season after “Pippo” steered Pisa back to Serie A for the first time in 34 years.

Simone was asked at Inter’s media day ahead of the Champions League final whether it was more important to win the trophy as a coach or a player. The normally serious coach laughed in delight at the question.

“Let’s hope that there is also this problem of having to decide that,” he said. “And then, well, Pippo and I will ask our parents what was the greatest satisfaction for them.”

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Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez controls the ball during a training session of the Champions League Media Day in view of the Saturday's Champions League final against PSG, at the Inter Milan training center, in Appiano Gentile, Italy, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez opens a bottle of water during the Champions League Media Day in view of the Saturday's Champions League final against PSG, at the Inter Milan training center, in Appiano Gentile, Italy, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram and his teammate Carlos Augusto play during a training session of the Champions League Media Day in view of the Saturday's Champions League final against PSG, at the Inter Milan training center, in Appiano Gentile, Italy, Monday, May. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi watches Hakan Calhanoglu, center, and his teammate Marcus Thuram during a training session of the Champions League Media Day in view of the Saturday's Champions League final against PSG, at the Inter Milan training center, in Appiano Gentile, Italy, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram answers to reporters during the Champions League Media Day in view of the Saturday's Champions League final against PSG, at the Inter Milan training center, in Appiano Gentile, Italy, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)