Everyone throw your minds back: remember at the end of the Dynamo game, when someone in the stands threw an empty plastic bottle on the pitch? Well, when Deki threw it off to the sidelines he apparently made this rude gesture to the fans, or at least that is what La Repubblica is saying.

I have seen the video and I just cant help but think that poor Deki was misconstrued. I am sure he wasn’t doing a Maradona – he is just not that sort of boy.

The gesture:

I mean, clearly he is just doing… something else. I dont know what, but I am sure it is not what they say it is. It just cant be… Can it?

Is this really the face of a rude gesturer? (No, it isn’t!)

I think something must have been lost in translation – all those journalists with their minds in the gutter. I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable, not sexual, explanation. I just know it.

FORZA INTER
(Poor Chivu, now someone is going to have to explain to him what it is supposed to mean)

Alright.

Allow me to summarize my reaction to the first 84 minutes of this game: Here we go again.

I thought: another game in which we are the better team and not necessarily acting like it. Oh, we had most of the possession… even in the first half if that means anything. We had more corners, way more shots on target, and more shots in general, etc., etc. But we weren’t putting the ball in the net. Which is not the norm when we play in Serie A. We have a fantastic offence in Serie A. In Europe, we squander chances, it seems, even against the Anthoris Famagustas of the world. I can only hope that the team that shows up against Barca is the team that won the second half and the game in Kiev.

I also, before I get to the meat of this review, I wish to share an experience. I watched the Barca game and heard the commentators talk about our “group of death” about 3 times. After our game yesterday, I read about our “group of death” and our “group of champions” several times. Why do I bring this up? Well, I used these phrases two weeks ago and a frequent visitor to this board told me I was full of it and an apologist for my team. It’s nice to be vindicated, again.

Okay, my Inter Man of the Match:

Highlights after the break.

Stats Home Team First

Shots (on Goal): 9(1) 19(8)
Fouls: 19 19
Corner Kicks: 3 7
Offsides: 3 1
Time of Possession: 40% 60%
Yellow Cards: 2 2
Saves: 6 0

Yep that’s right. 19 shots on goal and 8 were on target. Meanwhile we only had 1 shot on target… and it went in. It was a perfect European game by our boys. Did someone mention “Bad Luck” in the comments during the games yesterday? I have no reason for mentioning it… nope no reason at all…

Pagelle:

Cesar: He one shot against that required a save. One. It wasn’t even a hard shot. It did seem deflected, so I will give him that. Otherwise, yikes. 6.0

Maicon: He couldn’t maraud his way forward too much because he had a forward in front of him, but he wasn’t as solid as I thought he should be considering the situation. 6.5

Samuel: Once again, our best defensive player was Walter. He almost scored again, too. We made a great purchase when we bought him. 7.5

Lucio: He had the worst game of his short Inter career against this very team a couple of weeks ago. But he bounced back beautifully. He pushed forward and pressured like he was brought on to do. 7.5

Chivu: He had a decent outing, which is his norm nowadays. None of the back four looked too bad yesterday, since they didn’t have too much to do. 6.0

Zanetti: Solid, solid, solid. Maicon didn’t look like he was handling his area very well and Zanetti came in and shored up the right. Wasn’t his greatest passing night but he contributes in so many ways its hard not to overlook one bad aspect of his game. 6.5

Cambiasso: Cuchu has looked out of sorts in some games since his return from knee surgery. This was one of those games. He is at least as much at fault as Chivu for the goal. He was subbed at halftime correctly. 6.0

Stankovic: Deki has been so solid for us this season that’s its even more glaring when he’s having only a decent game. He took some shots and worked his ass off. I can’t really fault him for that. 6.5

Sneijder: Here’s the thing. Kiev is a big powerful team. They play the power game at least as well as we do and it bugs us when we can’t run over people – which is why we had so much trouble with these guys. I think Sneijder was a little intimidated. He stays out of Schmujko-land because in the second half he took it to Kiev and he finished off a goal that noone would have thought any less off him if he didn’t put in that extra effort. PS. I think that the pass to Milito for the fisrt goal was a wayward shot. I don’t think that I care too much though. 8.0

Eto’o: I am really disappointed in how Eto’o played. He had 2 golden, and I mean golden, opportunities to finish off these bastards and he whiffed on both of them. No one ever said that he was a clinical striker, but c’mon. 6.0

Milito: He really came on in the second half. His goal was deflected which was lucky and his effort not only saved the ball from going out after Muntari put a rocket on net, but his excellent shot and subsequent defelection is what served up the goal for Sneijder. 7.5

Balotelli: Was brought in too provide a spark and perhaps a goal. That’s exactly what he delivered. He provided a spark and missed a 1v1 with the keeper, Ibra-style. 7.0

Motta: Handled midfield duties very well – he pushed up and fell back and was relatively effective. Definitely the right choice to bring in for Cambiasso who was struggling. 7.0

Muntari: He was the last gasp sub that Mourinho could possibly bring on. It was his blistering shot from distance – on net – that the Kiev keeper fumbled that allowed Milito and Sneijder to capitalize. He played a wonderful 15 minutes or so. 7.5

Mourinho: I don’t always grade Mourinho, because sometimes the game doesn’t need to be determined by a sub or a change in formation. This game, needed both. And what a job he did. Quick what does Milito, Muntari and Sneijder all have in common? Remember those people that kept coming onto this board and jeering at Mourinho’s mercati? Funny, huh? 9.0

Analysis

It goes without saying that if we were playing against a Serie A team, I would have been more upset. My ambivalence towards the contemporary so-called Champions League has been well documented. I have been told that I don’t like it because Inter can’t win it… which is funny since Inter has won it twice. So that’s obviously not why I just don’t care about it. The format really bugs me. The format used to be called the UEFA Cup in days gone by – a format which Inter has won 3 times. But with this format it’s not really a Champions League. It’s The First Two, Three or Four Domestic League Table Spots League, really.

For those who don’t know, the current format and rebranding is an effort for UEFA to keep the top teams in England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy from forming a European Super League whose TV deals would bypasses UEFA’s accountants – like the Premier League’s in England bypass the FA. Which is why it’s so inclusive – to keep enough teams happy so that they will keep the UEFA leadership in place.

It’s also why I don’t consider it too prestigious. It’s panem to keep the mobs (in this case the teams) happy enough accept leadership. So as long as they are dishing out huge plates of money I am happy for my team to do well enough to maintain a further financial advantage over the majority of Serie A.

That being said, I want my Beloved to do well. I just wish that we didn’t have to wait until the second half of all these games before we decide to lock it down and press. If we could ramp up to gear faster, I think that would be ideal. Of course, if we could have had our major contributing players not just getting back from injury… that would be ideal too.

Our group:

Group F Pld Pts
Inter 4 6
Rubin 4 5
Barcelona 4 5
Dynamo 4 4

FORZA INTER

What: Dynamo Kiev v FC Internazionale Milano, Group F Champions League Matchday 4
Where: Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Wednesday, November 4, 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)
How to watch: FSC is showing the game at 10pm pacific, 1am eastern. If you want to watch it live, you can see it ppv at UEFA.com ($9.99) or try to find a stream. (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).

Right. So we haven’t exactly made Europe our bitch or anything. Still, we haven’t completely embarrassed ourselves either (well, the Lucio own goal was pretty bad, but it so could have been worse – it could have been the winning goal). Still, our position is precarious and this game is very, very (very very VERY) important. Basically, if we don’t pull a win out, then bye bye CL dreams. No pressure,though.

Last time we met, we just about had them but for a slip of the head by Lucio. In the end, Inter and Kiev shared points with a 2-all draw:

Ok, confession time: I haven’t really been watching our Champions League matches.
There, I said it.
I think that the only one I watched from start to finish was the first Barcelona game. After that, I watched a bit here and there, followed the game on the UEFA live match thingy, but I have not really watched any of them. To tell the truth, I am having a hard time really finding the will to care. I mean, I would love to finally win a game (winning is always fun), but… well, the champions League just doesn’t mean anything to me. I know, all you Milan and Juve fans are saying that is because Inter hasn’t won one in recent memory – if we had, I would be pumped to win another. And I am sure that is probably the case. To me, the CL has always been like winning the lottery: it would be fantastic, but I am not holding my breath. Still, I know that other, more sports-savvy minds than mine say it is important so I will play along. That, and I wholeheartedly support my team in all of their endeavors.

So if I seem a little blasé, you all know the reason.

If this were a Mustache-off, that man would win the blue ribbon

THEM

Not all that much has changed since I wrote the preview for the home leg of this tie. I still dont know who any of these folks are (aside from Shevchenko), and their coach still has an insane amount of facial hair.

According to UEFA, Valeri Gazzaev has some players either injured or doubtful:
Out - Badr El Kaddouri (ankle), Olexandr Shovkovskiy (stomach), Pape Diakhate (knee)
Doubtful - Andriy Nesmachniy (knee)

In addition, Leandro Almeida, Gérson Magrão, and Artem Milevskiy are a caution away from suspension.

Apparently, Dynamo have not done all that well in their last two fixtures: they went down 0-2 to FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup and held 1-1 by FC Karpaty Lviv in the league. Gazzaev says all this adversity has just made them more motivated for this upcoming game. Great.

Only Marco would have a huge #23 hat.

US

Well, Mourinho brought just about everyone with him for this match, fit or no.

Goalkeepers: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni, Belec.
Defenders: Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel, Chivu, Santon.
Midfielders: Stankovic, Quaresma, Thiago Motta, Sneijder, Muntari, Vieira, Krhin, Cambiasso, Mancini.
Strikers: Eto’o, Suazo, Milito, Balotelli.

Even though they went to Kiev, Thiago Motta (thigh), Sneijder (thigh), Muntari (heel), Chivu (thigh), and Balotelli (flu) are all in doubt. Mourinho said:

“I am only concentrated on Inter and today I want to see if the five players that I currently have in doubt will be able to take part in the game. I will talk to them after dinner, face to face, me, them and the doctor, because who goes on the pitch tomorrow will have to be at one hundred percent, and because it’s too important a match to have uncertainties in the hours before the match. For all of them I need replies in the last training session.”

So, we just wont know until tomorrow who will actually be available to play. T.Motta says that he “feels well” but I guess it is up to the doctors. I certainly dont want him to play before he should. The Chivu news, on the other hand, is new to me. I had no idea he was hurt. I guess now is the time for Santon to find himself. Either that, or Zanetti will play again in defense.

Both Chivu and Maicon are a booking away from missing a game. Chivu we could/can probably do without. Maicon would be a blow. Still better to lose him for Kazan over Barca, I guess. Vinod has kindly pointed out that our next CL game is actually Barcelona, so Maicon had better mind his Ps and Qs.

Vai Deki Vai Deki Vai!

For those of you who are worried about what our less that terrific start to the CL campaign might mean for tomorrow, take hear! Stankovic says:
“We will do everything to change this start to the European campaign and win tomorrow. We have worked a lot on this aspect and we know where the problem lies.”

See, problem has been identified, and you know what they say: Knowing is Half the Battle.
Scoring lots of goals is probably the other half (or, maybe scoring goals is 32.5% while keeping their goals out is the last 17.5%). Luckily, Mou has that covered as well, saying: “What do I want? I want to score a goal more than Dynamo. Nothing else.”

Lineups are a bit tricky at this stage, what with so many players on the maybe list. If anyone wants to hazard a guess, go ahead. The right one gets bragging rights for the rest of the week.

As for the stadium situation, it looks like the game will go on, as planned, with the doors open. The Mayor of Kiev had suggested that the game either be canceled or played behind closed doors, but both clubs and UEFA were none too keen on that (football stops for no man – no matter what infectious disease he may have). Basically, there have been 67 flu deaths in Ukraine this fall, which, according to the Deputy Health Minister, is not much different from previous years. Just in case, though, Dynamo (the club) has purchased 20,000 face masks to hand out to fans and the stadium staff for the game and the Mayor of Kiev is still telling people to just stay home.

It may be cold outside, but it looks like Lucio got a warm reception at the Kiev airport. The masks are a bit worrying though.

Anther issue for our boys will be the climate. According to The Weather Channel, it will be about 29°F (feels like 23°F) tonight. Nippy. At least it will be dry – no one is ready for snow.

Everyone appears prepared for the cold (love that Inter-branded puffy coat, Lucio), but I cant help but think our Brazilians will suffer. Julio Cesar is ready, saying: “I will have to cover myself very well in Kiev, I have already packed so many sweaters and protective cremes, we hope that the boys do not make me suffer in that climate too much…”

IN OTHER NEWS

Despite what Michel Platini says or thinks, F.C. Internazionale Milano is not in debt. Now, we may sometimes return a loss, but Daddy “Deep Pockets” Moratti is always there to cover the shortfalls. Inter does not owe anything to banks.

Buon Compliano, Figo.

Today was Luis Figo’s 37th Birthday. In true famous football form, he spent the day partying with half-naked models and other glitterati visiting sick children at the Institute of Neurosurgery at the Medical Science Academy and the Soleterre charity’s hospital in Kiev. Wow. I love Luis Figo. I am so glad that he is hanging around with the club.

Alrighty. To recap:
– Important game.
– Chance for redemption.
– Gotta win (but no pressure).
– Having a hard time working up the will to care – but I will. Important people say it is important so I will find the way.
– Deki is gonna solve all our problems
– FORZA INTER

What: Livorno v Inter, Matchday 11
Where: Stadio Armando Picchi, Livorno
When: Sunday, November 1, 3pm local time (6am pacific, 9am eastern)
How to Watch: Live on FSC, or on the internets (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).

Last time we played them at the Armando Picchi things got a little tetchy. There were penalties all around, a red card, a goal was disallowed (Ibra was offside), and Roberto Mancini was driving me mad with his inscrutable substitutions. But what I remember most about this game was how terrible Aparecido Cesar really was (I am getting a bit worked up just thinking about it now). I can usually find some redeeming qualities about any Inter player – the fact that they play for Inter is certainly a good start – but this guy, he was just so bad. He is like that cousin that you know you are supposed to like because they are family but you just cant because he is such a hateful jerk – lets just say we never bonded. Anyway, he was bad in this game. Here are the highlights; you will notice that he does not feature:

THEM

Livorno is not doing well this season. They are third from the bottom on the table and have only scored four goals. Yep, four goals from 10 games. Not good. A couple weeks ago the club took matters in hand, though, and fired their “coach, ” Gennaro Ruotolo (remember, he is the guy without the proper credentials to actually coach in the Serie A). They hired Serse Cosmi and things have been looking up. Cosmi has a great record in helping teams achieve great things: he took over Udinese and they beat Sporting Portugal and after taking over Brescia, they beat Juve 3-1 in Serie B! Under Cosmi, Livorno has won their last two (against Atalanta and Roma), doubled their goals scored, and all without conceding themselves. As Mourinho says, Cosmi is a wizard.

Livorno may have finally found their footing in the Serie A.

Mourinho’s take on the upcoming match and Cosimi is that:

“…he has won two games after just arriving, bringing different ideas of play, building a very solid defensive team that defends with many and that arrives in the attacking zone three or four times, scores a goal, then closes even more. I was never in the stadium in Livorno, but it seems a simple field in the atmosphere, size, and the adversarial public. It will be a tough match. “

I have not been able to find a call-up list, but Cosimi dropped some hints today at his press conference:

“Usually I present the 3-5-2 against everyone even if we can employ two or one point with an added midfielder like Pulzetti, like was deployed in Rome.” He added that Danilevicius, Tavano, and Rivas will likely play, while Lucarelli will not (he is suspended). I am very interested to see if Rivas has improved with his time in Tuscany.

Given all of that, La Gazzetta has come up with:

DeLucia
Diniz Rivas Miglioncio
Raimondi Pulzetti Candreva Moro Pieri
Tavano Danilevicius

Aside from not scoring, Livorno actually have a pretty good defensive record so far. They have only conceded 10 goals (as opposed to Genoa who have 20 or Bari who have 7). It appears that they are starting to find a system that works for the team. Two 1-0 wins dont look all that convincing, but when you look at what came before, they are stupendous.

US

With an eye to the midweek game, Mourinho has mixed it up a bit with the callup list:

Goalkeepers: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni.
Defenders: Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel.
Midfielders: Stankovic, Quaresma, Thiago Motta, Muntari, Vieira, Krhin, Cambiasso, Mancini.
Strikers: Eto’o, Suazo,Milito, Arnautovic.

Clearly, there are a few names on the list we are not used to seeing and some notable absences. First, Santon and Balotelli have been left home. Mario is unwell with the flu and his allergic reaction so has been sent home to get better. Santon, on the other hand, is having some mental difficulties (Davide non sta attrversando un momento di tranquillità) which, according to Mou, have been exacerbated by the “lies” printed on the front page of La Gazzetta. He said that the press paid far to much attention to both Santon and Balotelli, especially given that they are just boys. And then things got really fun.

Can you explain what this lie?
“On the first page of a really important and credible newspaper it has been said that after the game against Palermo, I phoned the player to talk about what had happened on the pitch.”

It was not Mourinho who phoned the player?
“No. I talked with Santon yesterday for an hour in my office, face to face with my assistant coaches who are Italians and who have known him for many years, they were the boy’s coaches and they have the rapport of a friendship with him that has lasted for years. ”

In this possible lie, which it is in your opinion while in the opinion of us journalists, it isn’t, what is so bad?
“Are you the lying reporter?”

Yes, I am the journalist, but it has not been said that I was the liar. But what’s so serious in the news reported today?
“If I’m the liar, I can not answer”

So there you nasty journalists. Quit bugging our babies or Daddy Mou will come down on you like a ton of bricks. I just love him.

Eventually, he did get back to the game and formations. He had wonderful things to say about Materazzi:

Materazzi is an intelligent person: he is aware that he has had a fantastic career and that now his is a role of a man important in the squad and in the dressing room and for his coach and this is a player who, when he plays, he always does well. And so he did last year when he took the field, for example against Juve. This season, for example, in the game against Catania, when he was on the bench, his squad was in difficulty and the coach had need of a defensive reference in the game in front of Plasmati, he was on the pitch 10 minutes and had absolute control of the situation. He has been called up for tomorrow, he will be for Kiev as well and he knows it. He is a player that is always available and that I consider indispensable. Sometimes you think that only those who are indispensable in the field are essential, but for me, so is Marco.

I know that he is just a shadow of what he was, but he was pretty great – the shadow should at least be adequate, right? As for everyone else, Mourinho said they were largely precautionary. Livorno is far enough away that he doesn’t want to get down there only to have a player come down with the flu and no understudy available.

Raise your hands, who wants to win tomorrow?

As for the upcoming CL game with Kiev, we still dont know whether it will actually happen. The Ukrainian government says no, UEFA says yes, Mou says someone better decide right now ’cause we are supposed to leave on Monday. I think that with all the difficulties in scheduling, it will happen but the venue may be moved. We will see.

So here is where I would usually put a lineup, but looking back over my last bunch of previews, I tend to totally suck at it. Most of my lineups have been flat out wrong so I am not going to bother today. I guess we will all just have to wait and see tomorrow morning.

As I said above, this will be a test of Inter’s depth and mentality. I think Livorno will play a very defensive game and hope to score on the break. Still, they play with a 3-man defense, and looking at our record against other teams who play that formation, Inter is quite good at exploiting the gaps. If we can keep our head in the game and not on next Wednesday, we have a pretty good shot of increasing our lead. If we play like we think we are better than they are, they will show us just how wrong we are and slap us down. I will be quite upset, though, if they score on us. We have just got to do something about the goals we are hemorrhaging.

Personally, I will be snug in my bed, sound asleep at 6 am. I suspect that there will more than one of you out there who will be in an alcohol stupor (if you are not already) so will also be AWOL for the match. Just remember, dont pass out with candy in your mouth – milk duds are almost impossible to get out of your hair the next morning. Blech.

Happy Halloween
and
FORZA INTER

With that out of the way…

There is a reason that there is a song called Pazza Inter. 1-0 at the first thirty minutes. 4-0 at the next fifteen. 4-3 at the thirty after half time. 5-3 at the last. It was harder than it should have been, but only because we made it harder on ourselves. It’s not like this team doesn’t already beguile and tease enough on a regular day.

If nothing else, my arteries got a good workout.

Here’s the thing. I didn’t think that we were going to get beaten by Palermo – all due respect to a good team having a good season. When Palermo decided to attack and take their chances, I didn’t think that they were going to win. I thought that we might beat ourselves.

It says something that the reason I thought that was because I don’t have a whole lot of faith in Cordoba anymore – Cordoba, a player that I always had a lot of respect for. I still think that he’s better than most of the #3 CBs out there, but that’s not really saying a whole lot.

Anyhoo, here’s my Inter Player of the Game. No real surprise is it?

Highlights after the break.

Stats Home team first

Shots (on Goal): 20(11) – 18(7)
Fouls: 14 – 8
Offsides: 2 – 4
Time of Possession: 54% – 46%
Yellow Cards: 1 – 2
Zanetti: 477

The game stats shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who watched the game. Inter dominated the first half and could have been 5 or 6 goals up at half time. During the second half, Palermo went on a run and Inter tried to stem the bleeding after falling asleep.

Zanetti has now played in more games than anyone at Inter with the sole exception of Bergomi. If he manages to stay healthy and motivated, at his current rate, he can overtake Bergomi in 2 years.

Pagelle:

Cesar: I thought that Cesar had a good game up to the second goal. By the time the third goal went in, I thought he should have had gotten one of those. I consider all the goals defensive breakdowns. 6.5

Maicon: This is the first game in a while that I thought Maicon was into the game and pressuring the other team. Nice, classy game. 8.0

Cordoba: This was a shocking game from someone who should know and show better. 5.0

Samuel: Samuel was the rock in the back line. He also kept the ball alive so that Cambiasso and Mario could put the ball in the net. 7.0

Chivu: I grow less and less enamored with Chivu as a fullback. Average. 6.5

Zanetti: He was the leader out there. He brings Mario back into the group. He’s selfless in his role with Maicon. Oh yeah, he played well too. 7.5

Cambiasso: I thought that Cambiasso was a step short and was just average. He needs to get his wind up. We need him. 6.5

Muntari: Muntari is definitely back from the funk of earlier this season. He tackles, he made smart passes, he ran up and down the left line. He did his job and he did it well. 7.0

Stankovic: Personally I didn’t think that Dejan did a whole hell of a lot in this game other than take a shot or two. He made some passes, but he wasn’t the factor here that he had been. 6.5

Eto’o: Sweet strike to score his second and he had 2 that threatened. He scares the defense so much when he’s out there it opens up for others. And he was on one foot. 7.5

Balotelli: Lately – even on the Offsides main page – Mario is being dragged through the mud. They say he’s a red card waiting to happen – he’s had 2 in his senior career. They say he throws a fit – he stood on the field disappointed. They say he’s selfish – he has more assists than goals. They say he’s a cancer – the team has never been closer. We know who’s saying these things, right? It’s a crime that he’s not on the Senior National Team – but then again, look at who’s the manager… He was the best attacking player on the field, and he only played a half because he was sick as a dog. 9.0

Santon: He didn’t do much, mostly because he wasn’t on the field a lot. He did pressure more than Chivu did. 6.5

Milito: Milito is good enough that even after a long layoff for injury he can step in and score. How about that team depth at forward!? 7.0

Motta: Like Santon he wasn’t on the field a lot. He did get a shot on goal and I don’t think he was a negative. 6.5

Analysis

Does this game tell us anything new about our team? I think it does. It tells me that we have massive depth at forward this season with Mario, Milito and Eto’o, all of whom scored. And while it’s nice to have the pedigree up front, I think that it’s more important the direction that Mourinho is taking the team the short while he’s been here. For example, many are down on the transfers Mourinho made 2 seasons ago, but I agree with the theory behind them. Quaresma and Mancini didn’t work out, but the job that was set aside for them – pressuring the outside edges of the other team, using the width of the field – is a vital part of Inter this season.

I really see a difference in the team that Mourinho puts out and the team that Mancini and his predecessors used. It’s a very in your face, high pressure playing style that we just weren’t arrogant to try under Mancini. Mancini was much more cautious, in my opinion. The pressure that we are able to generate with new-ish contributors like Milito, Eto’o, Muntari, Motta, Santon and Mario is fantastic. Yes, I put Mario in that group even though he played some under Mancini. I think that Mario is much more at home in the current style than he was under Mancini.

I just get the feeling that this is a better team. And by better yes, I mean talent-wise, but also in its organization. It’s like night and day really. I just get the feeling that there is more planning, more thought being brought to each game.

Does this mean more silverware? That’s too hard to predict – and really I don’t like doing it. What it could mean is more solvency, which might be more important. We brought down the transfer budget. We brought down salaries. We are restructuring renewal contracts. We restructure the Primavera and the senior squad facilities so that they are both supervised by the same guy. Lastly we put a product on the field that people will want to fill a new stadium to see.

Last year it was Mourinho’s plan to ease everyone into his idea for Inter. This season, we are transitioning into it.

FORZA INTER

The results are all in, and, no matter the outcome of the game tomorrow, we will still be top of the table come Friday. Although a draw would not be a disaster at this stage of the competition, a loss would sting. Plus, I want to win this one – four points in front of Juve is far more comfortable than one. Two would be barely adequate. The problem is, Palermo want it too. A win for them would catapult them into fourth, endowing them with all the bragging rights that come with that position (KJ, I am looking at you, buddy). For the record, I hate going second. I much prefer to set the pace than try to play catch-up after the fact.

What: Inter v Palermo, Matchday 10
Where: San Siro, Milan
When: Thursday, October 28, 8:45pm local time (12:45pm pacific, 3:45pm eastern)
How to Watch: Live on FSC or catch a stream (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).

Palermo do not have a lot of happy memories of the San Siro: out of 24 total games played, Palermo have only won one and that was a Coppa Italia match way back in 1980. We have drawn an additional seven games, but mostly, Inter win this tie. Oh, and just in case there is someone who keeps track, Inter have also outscored Palermo by a factor of three (scored 57, allowed 16).

Last season was one of those draws. We had them right were we wanted them, down 2 goals, then let it all slip away in the space of something like 10 minutes. This just goes to show, Palermo is a team you can never turn your back on. Here are the highlights to jog your memories:

THEM

Hopefully Steven will put something up because I think the only Palermo game I have seen all season is their Juve demolition. Basically, I am in no position to say much of anything about the team. They have been enjoying a fine run of form and are definitely looking to collect yet another scalp.

Spiderman has brought 19 players back to his old stomping grounds:

PORTIERI: Brichetto, Sirigu.
DIFENSORI: Cassani, Goian, Kjaer, Melinte, Morganella.
CENTROCAMPISTI: Tedesco Bertolo, Blasi, Bresciano, Migliaccio, Nocerino, Pastore, Simplicio.
ATTACCANTI: Cavani, Miccoli, Succi, Hernandez.

There are a few important names not on this list, including Balzaretti, Bovo, Budan, Mchedlidze, and Rubinho. Liverani is also not on the list, but from what I remember from reading the comments on the Palermo board, that is no big loss. Carrozzieri is still sitting at home wishing he just said no.

La Gazzetta thinks Coach Z will field a 3-4-1-2 formation:

Sirigu
Gojan Kjaer Migliaccio
Bertolo Simplicio Bresciano Cassani
Pastore
Cavani Miccoli

Even with all the players left at home, Zenga still has quite a bit to work with. Cavani and Miccoli both have 3 goals apiece, while Pastore (touted as the next big Argentinian thing), has a couple of assists. Sirigu may be the second choice keeper (having only started 3 games), but he has only conceded one goal. Not bad.

Their back line is a bit depleted, at least that is how it looks to an outsider. Still, they have Danish wonderboy (and teen hearthrob) Kjaer who is doing quite well indeed. So well that there have been rumors linking him to Inter even (all quickly denied, though). All I can say is that he did a pretty good job shutting down Ibra last year (see above).

They do look quite fetching skipping down the pitch, hand in hand, in their lovely pink kits.

Everyone knows that Walter Zenga has only nerazzurri in his heart. All told, he spent 22 years with the club and he has stated more than once that his dream is to one day coach the team. He even likes Mourinho, saying:

The team coached by Mourinho has tremendous potential. I have maximum respect for the Nerazzurri but we have all the characteristics to play a great game with serenity. The most important quality of my Palermo? They have zero limits. There is no need to think about the past but only what is positive that has been built, of course I go to the San Siro to get the maximum. Those who take on Inter away often pay a steep price for the impact of the environment and playing with fear is not the way to get a result. What do I like about Mourinho? Everything, he is a coach who has won everywhere and deserves great respect.

Last year, the Curva Nord welcomed Zenga back to the San Siro with open arms, I wonder if they will be so happy to see him this time.

US

Mourinho has called up 20 players:

Portieri: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni;
Difensori: Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Maicon, Samuel, Chivu, Santon;
Centrocampisti: Stankovic, Motta, Muntari, Vieira, Krhin, Cambiasso, Mancini;
Attaccanti: Eto’o, Milito, Balotelli.

Sneijder is still out, and is likely to be for another week at least. On the up side, Milito and Motta are back (hooray), and according to Mou, will start tomorrow. I know that Wesely has become a very important part of the squad, but he is out and we have to make the best of what we have (which is actually pretty darn spanky when you think about it).

It looks like we will go back to the 4-3-1-2 with Deki behind Eto’o and Milito. Plus, Mou said today that he would change three or four players against Livorno, so I think this week will be a pretty standard lineup. Lucio was going to rest either this game or the next, and given that he has been called up, I’m guessing that he will sit out on Sunday. Assuming I am right (and it is always better that you do), the lineup may go a little something like this:

Julio Cesar
Maicon Lucio Samuel Chivu/Santon?
Zanetti Cambiasso/Vieira? T.Motta/Muntari
Stankovic
Eto’o Milito/Balotelli

Mou continued the love-fest with Zenga today, saying that he respects Zenga for the path he has taken in his career, and that the two of them had a great friend in common, presumably Inter, which made them friends as well. But no matter how friendly the two of them are now, “during the 90 minutes, he will be our enemy.” He later joked:

“It’s a drag, I like Walter, but I like to win. Tomorrow we will see if he is a true Interista and loose for us. If he wins, it will not go well, how can he train Inter in the future is he wins tomorrow? It’s like the players that score against Inter, how can they claim to be part of this team?”

Most of the rest of the press conference was about Mou’s rotation. He thinks that the Serie A schedule should allow for three days between matches because “between 48 and 72 hours is precisely the time fundamentally necessary to psychologically and mentally recuperate after a game.” The journalists also pestered him about Real Madrid’s shock 4-0 loss.

Samu took some time off on Monday to go to Barcelona and do some charity work. What a great guy!

What can I say. We are top of the table, even with a game in hand, but there is still a long way to go. We clearly have the talent to take on all comers, but not always the will. We are struggling with injured players, but so is just about everyone else. I know that Palermo are coming for points, and that belief is powerful, but there is a fine line between confidence and over confidence. Sometimes, when teams come to win they play just a bit too forward, leaving lots of room to exploit at the back. It is true, I am a bit worried about the game – it is tough to lose Sneijder and Z has something to prove – but I am always worried before a match. That is the way it should be. No game is ever a sure three points. And even if they are a little rusty after such long layoffs, it sure is nice to have Milito and Motta back

Mou said that everyone had been training well, and that means Milito has had plenty of time to reconnect with Eto’o (even if he has been in Barcelona for charity functions). Balotelli (who does not drive a Ferrari, no matter what Tuttosport says) is finding his form and even Vieira has not been completely terrible. We are playing on home ground and I fully believe we are the better team. The question is, can we actually deliver on all that promise? I think we can and I am cautiously optimistic about tomorrow.

FORZA INTER

Oh Mario, I know you are trying to be all tough with your new friends, but you are just too damn cute! You just make me giggle.

Well, each of us can answer those questions on our own. At the moment I will just answer the question, “What the hell happened on Saturday?”

Well, not a lot. The game itself was a snoozer until the last 15 minutes or so when Julio Cesar and the ref made things interesting. Julio left his line to contest a 50-50 ball and wiffed. Julio, the FSC announcer and I all thought that Julio also missed the player. The ref begged to differ. I don’t think that it was a bad call per se, the ref was in a no win political position. If he lets it go, the media – Berlusconi owned and all – and the supporters of Juve and Milan were going to rise up and protest. Actually, the Roma supporters would too, but who cares about them, really.

Anyhoo, there were still two other goals scored that were not handed to anyone from a ref. Yep, those would be the goals that Inter scored. This brings me to my Inter player of the game:

Highlights after the break

Stats Home team first

Shots (on Goal) 9(4) 13(6)
Fouls 16 22
Corner Kicks 6 3
Offsides 4 1
Time of Possession 62% 38%
Yellow Cards 2 3
Zanetti 139 continuous games played
Zanetti 476 appearances ties Facchetti for 2nd in team history
Attendance @50,000

I think that last stat is pretty significant. We are one of the best, if not the best, attended football teams in Serie A. Consider that attendance is up from last season as well. Not only is gate revenue up, but so is sponsorship. Not too long ago Nike and Inter unveiled a 10 year deal starting in 2010 that will net Inter over 12 million Euros a season. No other club has such a sponsorship deal with Nike. Some of you may also have noticed the Herblife signs in the stadium this past weekend. That is also a new sponsor this season. Add all this to what could be a new stadium deal and Inter are looking very financially stable for the new UEFA rules governing clubs’ finances.

Pagelle:

Julio Cesar: It had to happen, I guess. The best goalkeeper in the world for my money had an off day and conceded an iffy penalty. Until then, he had a clean sheet despite a good chance here and there. 6.0

Maicon: Maicon is developing a nasty habit of trying to dribble up to 3 guys at a time, losing the ball and then stopping or dogging it back on D. I thought that he had better games. 6.5

Lucio: Here’s my thing. He had an iffy deflection off of his foot. If he doesn’t make that deflection of the ball, then it’s a goal for Catania, so kudos on the interception. However, he’s going to make my hair turn white. 6.5

Cordoba: In an earlier post I have said that Inter are lucky to have the depth at CB to be able to put him back there. He had a nice game. 7.0

Chivu: I am losing confidence in Chivu in yet another barely average game performance. 6.5

Zanetti: There is a temptation to grade the last 3 years of continuous play here. But for the game, he was solid, selfless and commanding. He laid a hell of a tackle right before the half that I thought was a message that he didn’t like the sleep walking. 7.0

Vieira: Wasn’t this the guy that was complaining about playing time? He did okay, which at his age and physical ability probably says more about Catania then it does him. By the way, I think that he’s in the best shape he’s been in for years. I still don’t like him. PS. he blew a 24 karat gold chance at a goal… argh. 6.5

Muntari: If there were only 3 players running and making an effort on Saturday, then Muntari is definitely one of them. Here’s a guy who was booed a month ago, and he played his heart out, even when most looked like they wanted to go home. I really like his attitude and the way he scored only shows why that attitude was important. He was pressing forward, pressuring Catania and trying to feed Eto’o. Good Karma could only come of all that. 7.5

Sneijder: I gave this guy a hard time, but he has showed a lot of heart. I said in the comments that he should have been subbed off at halftime to rest. I understand why he was kept on, though, he was one of the few who didn’t show up to get paid and nothing else. 8.0

Balotelli: Mario played a decent game, but I didn’t think that he played great. He might be one of the few attacking players in Italian football who can keep possession in the attack and wait for help or get the foul. He reminds me a lot of a young – more skillful – Toni. 6.5

Eto’o: Another one of the few who worked hard all game. Even on his gimpy foot he looked like he wanted to score more than anything. I like the attitude. I would have liked him to score too. 7.0

Krhin: He was robbed on the foul called against him. That was a hell of an effort. The few times I have seen him play he reminds me of an energizer bunny type. A midfield dynamo, if you will. He always seems to make a cunning pass in there too. He intrigues the hell out of me. There are rumors surrounding his departure. I am still laughing at those. He won’t go anywhere if we don’t want him to. 7.0

Stankovic: We will see more of him since Sneijder is out. I hope he got all the rest he needed… He was average on Saturday though. 6.5

Materazzi: Marco was put in just to get some game time in. I don’t think that Mourinho thought that Marco was going to seal the victory. I am extremely nervous that Mourinho is trying to get Marco up to game shape to use in a Champions League game. Not a good thought. 6.5

Analysis

This looked very much like a tired team that played midweek and wasn’t interested in going up against Catania. The first half was wonderful. It wasn’t a sharp exhibition, but it was dominating. The second half was another story. It was sloppy and really just a bore. It’s not a big deal. You can’t expect a team that played a tough, good team and left the field thinking that they deserved more and were eager to prove themselves to get psyched for Catania. I can’t even get myself up to write about it…

However, with Sneijder, et al. injured and a high flying, surprising Palermo coming to town, I think that we are in a boat on a certain creek without propulsion. Palermo looks, as always, unpredictable. The difference is that the highs this season are very high. I don’t know which Palermo is coming to town, but I am worried about which Inter is gong to show up. We might need to play the shell game and go for points in this one.

FORZA INTER

See, Zanetti gave him a special shirt and everything.

Last year, this tie saw the return of Inter legend Walter Zenga to the San Siro. He got a warm welcome home from the fans (always nice to see), and his Catania gave us a real run for our money. This game also saw histrionics from Tedesco (and the subsequent red for Muntari), a very rare goal from Quaresma, and a phantom Balotelli goal. Highlights:

THEM

Catania do not have a very good record at the San Siro. Granted, the sample is quite small (only 14 games in all competitions), but Catania has not won a single game in Milan, and only drawn one. In fact, according to the fun facts Inter’s web page assemble before each match, Cataina have only won one match in their last 37 away games (10 draws, 27 losses). Yikes.

With three goals, Takayuki Morimoto is Catania’s top goal scorer.

Catania has made sort of a mediocre start to the season: last week’s win over Cagliari was their first of the season. They had managed to draw the previous four, though, so maybe they were just warming up.

Anyhoo, Catania’s new coach Gianluca Atzori has brought 23 players (practically the whole team) to Milan:

Portieri: Andujar, Campagnolo.
Difensori: Alvarez, Augustyn, Bellusci, Capuano, Marchese, Potenza, Silvestre, Spolli, Terlizzi.
Centrocampisti: Biagianti, Carboni, Delvecchio, Izco, Ledesma, Llama*, Moretti, Pesce, Ricchiuti.
Attaccanti: Martinez, Mascara, Morimoto, Plasmati.

*I can’t help it, every time I see his name that is all I can think of. I know, I am a huge geek.

La Gazzetta thinks Atzori will play a 4-3-2-1:

Andujar
Potenza Spolli Silvestre Capuano
Izco Carboni Delvecchio
Mascara Martinez
Morimoto

And who would I be to disagree?

Atzori says they are not afraid of Inter (they always say that), but they know it will be a tough match. There are three points up for grabs and apparently Catania want some, if not all, of them.

Our wacky outfield Brazilians. JC will be so upset he missed the portrait.

US

Mourinho has called 18 of our guys:

Goalkeepers: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni.
Defenders: Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Maicon, Materazzi, Chivu, Santon.
Midfielders: Stankovic, Sneijder, Muntari, Vieira, Krhin, Mancini.
Strikers: Eto’o, Balotelli, Arnautovic

Although Mou told us that Milito and Motta (Motta especially) would be back for Catania, it seems it is not to be. The doctors say they are still unavailable and now we can add Cambiasso to the injury list as well. I am trying not to think about this too much or about what it means for the lineup tomorrow. Vieira gives me heartburn. Eto’o is still in some pain but, as Mou said, if he could handle the Kiev game, he can handle Catania. You will notice that Samuel has also not been called up. Not to worry, he is just being rested. Cordoba will play with Lucio this time, and, in turn, Lucio will be rested for either the Palermo or Livorno games. It is interesting to see Arnautovic on the bench – I doubt he will get any play time though. Quaresma is still on the outs, I bet he will finally leave this winter (and I so wanted him to be good).

Tomorrow’s match will be a bit of a milestone for both Maicon and Zanetti. If they play (and why wouldn’t they), Maicon will make his Serie A century while for Zanetti, it will be his 476th league appearance for Inter. That will put him in joint second place (along with Giacinto Facchetti) on the all-time list of Serie A appearances for Inter.

As for line-up, Mou is not quite sure what he will play. When asked if he will continue with his Christmas tree or move back to the diamond midfield, Mou said:

I would love to know how to play against Catania but I dont know, Catania will not know how I play. I dont know why I will not tell the press or even someone who would tell you, because this happens often. The team will know who will play an hour and a half before the game.

Oh Mario, why do you always make everything so hard for yourself?

So there you go, no help there. Mou even tried to muddy the waters a bit more when the journalist asked if, in light of his good performance against Genoa and the fact that he didn’t play midweek, Balotelli was a little closer to Milito and Eto’o in the hierarchy. As near as I can tell, it was a bit of a round about way of asking if will Mario play. Mou said:

Right now we dont have Milito, therefore it isn’t possible to do certain things because I dont have a choice: if I want to play with two players in attack, I line up Balotelli and Eto’o. If I want to play with three, I choose Balotelli, Eto’o, and Mancini. This this situation, Balotelli will always be on the field if we play with two or three forwards. This does not mean that he is already a phenomenon just because he played a fabulous game. Truth be told, he played a fabulous game and after performed a poor week of work.

I value a player for what he does on the field, but also for the work they do throughout the week, every minute that we are here to train. I always say what I think and what the player is worth I say, Mario has played an outstanding game in Genoa, absolutely exceptional, but this week he worked very poorly.

But apparently that doesn’t mean Mario wont play. Ever the pragmatist, when faced with the very question, Mou replied: “I have no other options, I will play the strongest.”

Not exactly a glowing recommendation. Right now, I have no idea who Mou will play. La Gazzetta thinks we are going back to the diamond with Eto’o and Balotelli, but given Samu’s foot problem, Mou may also decide to only play him for part of the game. I will say, Mourinho seems pretty fed up at having Milito and Motta still out. I am too. We really could have used them against Kiev… but we are letting that go… deep breaths… calm thoughts… moving on.

Back to Balotelli:

According to Mou, Mario’s problem is generational: kids today don’t want to work hard and wait their turn, they want everything now. He also hinted that Mario’s pushy brothers weren’t helping the matter much either as they think too much about money, saying:

“A boy of 19 or 20 years, who has balanced parents that dont think about money, who has siblings that follow his life without disturbing anyone, who has an agent who brings tranquility and proper care; a boy who has the desire o work and to drive a little care and does not think about a Ferrari or a Bentley or the cars that 30-year old players who earn 5 million a year drive, this is the exception and a miracle. … I realized that this is probably a generational problem and it is very difficult, at this time, to find a 19 or 20-year old player who already thinks like a man. It means finding the exception.”

So, there you go, those young whippersnappers are just too darn big for your britches. I am sure all the Liverpool rumors aren’t helping matters either.

As for the race ahead, Mourinho said much of what he usually does (”We will face a team of tough players, tactically strong and very well prepared“), pointing out that although they have had all week to train instead of playing midweek like we did: “…we are leaders and usually, in home games, we have a result that we like and it is with this objective that we will face this game.”

Lets hope he is right, because I really dont see Siena putting much of a dent in Juve (sorry Siena). Bologna’s new coach bounce may be enough to actually hold Samp, but I think any more than two dropped points is unlikely. If we want to hold our place at the top, we have to come out swinging tomorrow. We should be able to score – especially given that we have 10 players up on the board – but I am a little worried about our defense. I know we (along with Fiorentina) have the best defense in the league, but it still feels like we are conceding too many goals – especially at home (3 of the 5 goals we have conceded have been at home), and especially given the level of experience and talent at our disposal.

So, what do you all say, a comfortable win and a clean sheet?

FORZA INTER

and because I still shake my head in wonder every time I see it:

I found one other thing kinda humorous/sad on Tuesday. For those who don’t know the Offsides has a Champions League page and on game days there is a running commentary by people on the games and scores. Chris, of the Roma Offides, said that he wasn’t surprised the Lucio had the shocking game that he did, since Lucio shouldn’t be relied on. The Ironry? Check out what he’s been saying about Burdisso for the past month and his reaction to the same’s shocking game on Sunday (in short – it was the ref’s fault, not Burdisso’s). It’s really pretty funny, but the delusion is sad as well. Lucio cost us a win this day, but Burdisso used to prevent us from getting points at all.

Okay, enough hilarity and hypocrisy in the game commentary. Let’s move on to the game itself. In my mind there are only two men who deserve to be considered my Inter Men of the Match:

Too bad one of them ran out of gas at about the 60 minute mark. Hint: it wasn’t Zanetti. Highlights after the break.

Stats Home team first:

Shots (on Goal) 15(6) 11(3)
Fouls 19 15
Corner Kicks 3 7
Offsides 3 2
Time of Possession 58% 42%
Yellow Cards 4 4

After 3 games our group looks like this:

Barcelona 4
Dinamo 4
Rubin 4
Inter 3

The bad news is legion: we are in the Group of Death, we are in the only group in which all four participants are actual Champions, we are in last place in our group, 3 points is good enough for 2nd place in several other groups, we need to travel in 2 out of our remaining 3 games, we need to win to jump places and advance.

The good news? We are a point off the first place team. We are a point off the second place team. We haven’t lost a Champions League game this season. We have drawn against 2 of the other teams in our groups while fielding “backups’. For this group, the group stage essentially starts over from the beginning in 2 weeks. In a week when only 5 of the 16 home teams won their games we were able to escape with points.

Pagelle:

Cesar: I don’t think that I can blame any of the goals on him, but the people who are calling Iker better than Cesar – read: EPL fanboys – need to get a grip. 6.5

Maicon: I thought that Maicon had a very balanced game. He took a few wild shots, but that’s a good thing actually. We want him to attack if he gets an opening. 7.0

Lucio: First bad game of his season, and it was a doozy. He helped save the game twice, he nearly killed us twice and he scored on his own team once. Not good. 5.0

Samuel: As usual our best defender. Plus he was also one of our best attackers. The goal he scored was sublime, but it’ll be forgotten because it came from him. 7.0

Chivu: An average game. Was beaten for pace several times. Made a smart tactical foul when needed. Was absolutely no factor going forward. 6.0

Zanetti: It gets repetitious about how solid a player he is, but he was even better this day. He took it upon himself to mark Sheva so Maicon could stay forward. He attacked and gave Suazo the best opportunity to score in the game that wasn’t put in. A monster. 7.5

Cambiasso: It looked like he was injured the whole time he was out there. He wasn’t able to control the middle and he wasn’t able to hound people like he should. He was average. 6.5

Muntari: Another average game from Muntari. He didn’t make any glaring mistakes that I saw, and he was reasonably hard to get past on the left. He did his job. 6.5

Stankovic: Scored a goal, missed close on another. Deki attacked the goal and caused problems. Exactly what you want in an AM. It almost made up for causing the first goal. 7.5

Sneijder: Was dangerous in the attack even though he was getting nailed when he got the ball. He was marked so heavily and had to spend so much energy getting space that sometimes his passing looked a little off. I give him an “A” for effort, though. 7.0

Eto’o: Also looked out of sorts up top. I don’t think that he’s built to be a lone striker as he was pushed about once or twice. He had a marvelous chance to win the game with a half volley that unfortunately the Dinamo keeper was able to desperately deflect. He was called for an invisible offsides and hauled down in the area once each. Very frustrating, but it’s something that we who follow Inter are used to – especially after that Liverpool game 2 years ago. 6.5

Analysis

It’s another Champions League misstep, but it’s not a huge one. I told you guys on the last game review that the good press wouldn’t last long and it hasn’t. All 4 teams in the group is within a point of each other. Anything can happen. We are going to struggle to make it out of the group stages of this tournament and the media/trolls will make too much of it. Since the media and the trolls are waiting to attack anyway… it’s not like they should be particularly effective.

We will either advance or not. And if we don’t, then we will probably have to deal with the Europa League. Net result? We lose 10-15 million Euros that we had last season. It’s a good thing we cut the wage bill a bit from last season. Some might say that Mourinho’s job would be on the line. I would doubt it though. He’s probably in the most stable position of any other manager in the top 3 teams. Anyway, it’s back to Serie A on Saturday against Catania. Life goes on.

FORZA INTER

What: Inter v Dynamo Kiev (Group F – Matchday 3; Uefa Champions League)
When: Tuesday, October 20, 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific; 2:45pm eastern)
Where: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, San Siro, Milan
How to Watch: Fox is showing it live (what a shock!), you can find a stream (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net), or for $9.99 you can watch it live through UEFA (it is only $1.99 to watch it after the fact).

Bobo got the winner last time – who will it be tomorrow?

This is actually the third meeting between these two teams in Champions League. Inter met Dynamo in the group stages of the CL during the 2003/4 season. We drew the away game while a late goal from Bobo Vieri allowed us to take all three points at home. For those interested in trivia, UEFA has kindly assembled a whole list of interesting Inter v Dynamo fun facts (for instance: did you know that Dynamo’s coach Gazzaev was the coach of CSKA when Inter beat them both at home and away in the 2007/08 group stage? I didn’t!). Anyway, there are too many for me to go into here so follow the link if you are interested.

Shevchenko scored 14 times in all competitions for Milan against Inter. I hate him.

THEM

First, let me say it is really difficult to find info on the Ukrainian League. ESPN doesn’t have any coverage so I have really had to dig for what little tidbits I could find. In other words, dont expect much here.

Valeri Gazzaev has brought 19 players I have never heard of and Sheva to Milan:

Goalkeepers: Bogush, Rybka;
Defenders: Betão, Yussuf, Almeida, Khacheridi, Magrão;
Midfielders: Vukojević, Aliyev, Eremenko, Mykhalyk, Husyev, Ninković, Kravchenko, Harmash;
Forwards: Shevchenko, Milevskyy, Kravets, Yarmolenko, Zozulya;

They left two starters home with injury: goalkeeper Shovkovskiy and defender Ghioane.

FC Dynamo Kyiv are currently at the top of the Ukrainian table with 28 points after 10 games. They are unbeaten, having won all but one of their games. In fact, a quick look at the results table on their web page shows the only loss they have suffered this season in all competitions is the game they played against Barcelona. It is also the only game they failed to score in. As for goals, Dynamo have scored 28 goals and only conceded 6 (in 10 games) so they definitely know how to hit the back of the net (interestingly, the Kiev fans have predicted the game will end 1-2 in their favor).

[insert theme from Rocky here]

US

Mourinho has called up 22 players:

Portieri: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni;
Difensori: Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel, Chivu, Santon;
Centrocampisti: Stankovic, Quaresma, Sneijder, Muntari, Vieira, Krhin, Cambiasso, Mancini;
Attaccanti: Eto’o, Suazo, Milito.

Saturday Mourinho said that both Milito and Motta would be unavailable for this game. Today Mou said that there is a “small chance” that Milito will be available – Motta is still a no (although he will be back for Catania). As for Eto’o, he is on the list and he trained with the team – I think he is more likely to start over Milito. Plus, there is always Suazo.

He looks ok to me.

Both Samuel and Cambiasso came off during the Genoa game as a precaution. Both are on the list (and in the training photos) which makes me super happy. Marco is also on the list, and although I highly doubt he will see the pitch, the thought of him against Sheva makes me all kinds of nostalgic for those derbies days of old. Well not the losing, but… well, I am sure you all know what I mean.

For the record, MAD has predicted we will play the same line-up as on Saturday with Eto’o playing in place of Balotelli (it is official now!). For those of you who did not see the game, that means the lineup will be:

Julio Cesar
Maicon Lucio Samuel (Cordoba) Chivu
Zanetti Cambiasso (Vieira) Muntari
Stankovic Sneijder
Eto’o (Suazo?)

Mou gave very little away at the press conference today. When asked if Inter’s approach would change at all from the last CL game, he said no: [my translation]

“I will leave things to go naturally, the victory will come. I think it will come tomorrow, if it doesn’t come tomorrow, it will come in Kiev, if it doesn’t come with Kiev, it will come in Barcelona, if not in Barcelona, it will arrive at the house of Kazan, if it still doesn’t arrive with Kazan, we will go to the Europa League and win there, if we don’t go to the Europa League, we will all come home. [smiling] But joking aside, we will go forward with ease: the team has a great mentality, they are aware that tomorrow’s game will not be decisive, but it is important to me. With peace we can do anything, anything is possible, with the understanding that in football, it takes two minutes to go from paradise to hell and from hell to heaven. Like I tell my players, don’t read the papers too much when they write negative things about Inter, similarly, I advise them not to read the papers when they describe Inter as the best team in the world.”

As for if Inter’s 0-5 thumping of Genoa will inform on the coming game, he also said no: [my translation]

“It’s the same thing I said to the players Saturday night before going out and that is that the best way to prepare for the Champions was not resting, playing at 50 percent or to leave the important players on the bench, but to exit the stadium in Genoa with joy. The joy comes when you win and play well, obviously after that race the team was very happy and confident, every player did his job very well and I think that in these hours before the game against Dynamo the team is happy and, I repeat, in my opinion the best way to prepare for an important match is to be happy.”

Still, he thinks that Inter can give Dynamo problems and vice-versa, saying: “The match tomorrow will be difficult for us but not easy for Dynamo.”

“I came on the pitch against Udinese with a strange face? That is my face.”

Muntari (strange face and all) was much more decisive saying:

“We’re in good condition. We will play a good game and we will win,” he told journalists in the pre-match press conference. It’s true that Inter have had more difficulties in Europe than in league games, but we want to win at all costs tomorrow. These are three important points for us. We have the potential to do well. We haven’t won in Europe in seven games but we will start winning from tomorrow.”

So, where does that leave us? Well, I think in a much better position that against Kazan. We have recovered Sneijder and will be playing at home (always easier). Plus, I can’t believe the Ukrainian League is that much more difficult than the Russian one, so I suspect that Dynamo is about at the same level talent-wise as Kazan. Both are at the top of their respective leagues with a bit of a cushion. I think with Sneijder and without Balotelli sending off, we could have beaten Kazan and therefore I am cautiously optimistic about tomorrow. I know we are in a bit of a crunch up front, but I swear I read somewhere that Eto’o said he is feeling much better and will be ready to play (I just can’t remember where). Of course, that could be my subconscious planting false memories to stop me from worrying, but right about now, I will take any little hint of good news and run with it.

And since it had such a great result last time: Everyone think positive thoughts.

FORZA INTER

No nekid Samu this time, but how about fun with Matrix and Deki?