Right now I am the least plugged in individual regarding the game yesterday. I haven’t gone through the comments here and I haven’t read any of the post game stuff as this Thanksgiving stuff is really knocking me out. Frankly, I think that I am better off as most of THOSE PEOPLE really don’t have too much to say anyhow. I am willing to bet we lost this game because we don’t have too many Italians or something… sigh. But I wanted to make sure that there was something here for those who aren’t in the States for this crazy time known as “Black Friday Week”.

So here are my thoughts on this delightful little sojourn. Feel free to disagree, although I probably won’t be around much to dispute anything with you. I admit that my next few statements won’t be anything that anyone wants to read. But I have to say, I think that they definitely fit the facts better than “It was an off day”… yikes.

If I was a fly on the wall in both dressing rooms, I probably would have heard two very different coaches’ speeches. In one, I would have heard something to the effect that a loss would have ended their Champion League season and let’s do this for the city. In the other I probably heard something to the effect that everybody already knew that the two Soviet teams drew – Sneijder, you sit – the rest of you, don’t get hurt, this game is meaningless.

More after the break

And the resulting game is exactly what we got. One team played their little hearts out and the other didn’t run too hard.

Yeah, yeah, I know, Champions League, blah blah, European stage, blah blah.

The draw in the former Soviet Union meant that a win in Milan and Inter are in regardless of the result yesterday. Everyone knew it before the game started. With Fiorentina and Juventus coming up in key matches and the final Champions League Matchday more vital, Barcelona became a chore. We had to show up. We had to play it. But we aren’t going to risk anything or anyone. Sneijder was a no-go. Yeah, yeah, he was injured, but if it was important enough he would have gone. If he’s on the filed against Fiorentina then we know that Mourinho could’ve played Sneijder.

Does this mean that we played to lose? That losing was the plan?

Noooooo. It means that we didn’t risk anything or anyone. That, from what I can tell, we went into the game saying, “A draw is nice – if not, then no biggie.”

Cambiasso only played a half. This is an indicator that this game was snuffed at the start. Cambiasso is the ideal type of midfielder to have on the field when playing Barcelona. As is Muntari, by the by. Playing these guys a half each in this game means that we were saving them for someone else.

Stankovic started. If this game were crucial I don’t think he starts, and we waited an age to bring on Balotelli. In a more crucial situation if we go down by 2 in the first half – he gets in much sooner.

The biggest indicator that this game was a training session was the appearance of Ricardo Quaresma, The Ghost as I have heard him called. 2 goals down and we take out Milito is not the way to fight back into a point.

How about Mouorinho’s body language? There was a distinct lack of energy there especially regarding bad calls or the length of time Barca players were allowed to roll on the floor. He looked pretty disinterested to me.

Am I suggesting a Biscuit between the two teams? It’s not unheard of and I wouldn’t put it past either side, as it’s a deal in which both sides would benefit, but I don’t know that I, personally, buy it. Barcelona keeps the score down, gets a boost going into their derby and gets it’s much needed win; we rest and don’t run to hard and take on a Fiorentina that worked hard for its win – and more importantly have a better chance to keep the status quo in the run up to Juventus, who have a tough game this weekend.

Watch how many people will fail to read that last paragraph correctly.

But speculation aside, the result didn’t surprise me. I know others were looking forward to a back and forth game where both sides would attack and drama would ensue. But this is the Champions League, folks. “Safety” is the name of the game, not “football”. Safety tip number one, in MAD’s book: Make sure that you are in a position to win the Cup that you have a good shot at winning. That Cup isn’t given in the Champions League, that’s for sure. That Cup is a crap shoot after the group stages – and really, most teams are only in it make 10 or 20 or 30 million Euro anyway. The Big Ears Cup is pretty incidental.

The Serie A Championship is a better bet. And like I said, I haven’t read anything or listened to anything regarding interviews that confirm or deny what I have said. I am just speculating reasons that confirm what I have seen yesterday. I know that there are a lot of people upset about not getting a good game. The British commentators made sure that was clear (By the way, I love listening to British commentators talking about a game in which neither team was English or Scottish. It’s like watching a dog turning his head to figure out what you said). But if you thought that Inter were gong to come out with guns blazing, Serie A be damned… then you haven’t been paying attention.

Of course, this is good scheming only if we manage to beat Fiorentina and only if we manage to beat the Russian Champions. Otherwise we have just thrown an opportunity down the drain for nothing…

What: Barcelona v Internazionale, Champions League Group F Matchday 5
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia (otherwise known as the belly of the beast!)
When: Tuesday, November 24, 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)
How to Watch: Live on Fox Sports Channel (in my area that means HD!) or ppv online at UEFA’s website ($9.99). To watch on line for free, find a stream (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).

Shamelessly cribbed from Chris over on the main board:

Just to warn you all, my work schedule is brutal this week. I dont have a whole lot of time right now so this will be a bit short. Sorry. For everything you could ever want to know about this match, be sure to check out the press packet that UEFA puts out (pdf is here). It is exhaustive.

He doesn’t look particularly broken to me.

THEM:

I am not even going to bother with much here. Ramzi has done a bang-up job over at the Barcelona board and I suggest everyone go read it.

As far as I am concerned, the only news that concerns us is who will be fit to play tomorrow. According to UEFA and Guardiola, the only player who is definitely out is Yaya Touré. That leaves five players to be evaluated before the game: Lionel Messi (groin), Gabriel Milito* (knee), Eric Abidal (left thigh, illness), Rafael Márquez (illness), and Zlatan Ibrahimović (hamstring).

*Brother to our very own Diego Milito. Small world, isn’t it?

Frankly, I think that if Messi and Ibra can walk, they will play (both trained today). Everyone wants in on this match, even if it means exacerbating an injury. I will be interested to see who will finally makes it to the pitch, though, especially given that Barca plays Real Madrid (who are one point above them in the standing) this weekend. As I said before, a part of me wants them all to play so that when we beat them (lighting candles, throwing salt, doing ritual dance) we will know we took them all on. The other half of me is thrilled at the possibility of no Ibra and/or Messi just because it may make everything just a little easier (I am not proud of this half, but what can I do – there it is).

All the interviews with players that I have read recently (Ibra, Iniesta, Maxwell) show them to be very confident and 100% convinced they will win. Given that the sun shines out of each and every one of their behinds, who am I to argue with them? I will say, though, that if Kazan can do it, so can we!

Ok, that stadium is a little intimidating after all.

US

Mourinho has brought just about everyone to Barcelona for the big game:

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

The only ones not in Spain are Davide Santon, who is still recovering from his knee surjury, and Obi, who is likewise still injured. If you recall, Arna was not on the Champions League list (although he could be added if we make it out of groups).

See, Wesely is training with the squad – that’s a good sign, right?

At the time Mourinho had his press conference, there was still some doubt over Sneijder’s fitness. It looks like he trained with the squad, though, which I will take as a good sign. Everyone else on the list is A-OK (knocking more wood and looking desperately about for some sort of offering to burn). Mourinho seemed calm and collected today at the presser, saying:

“Even if we didn’t need points, for me a Champions League game is always a Champions League game, Barça are always Barça and I’m approaching this difficult game with happiness and serenity… My preparations for the match won’t depend on the presence of Messi. Chivu will play on the right, so it’s Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Chivu, then the others… I have forgotten them. Zanetti? He’s important, he’s the history of Inter. This match will be difficult from every point of view because Barça are strong as a team and individually, because this isn’t a normal stadium – it’s a voice of one hundred thousand people who want to play and win, who put real pressure on everyone, even the referee, for whom it’s not easy to make decisions. It will be a difficult pressure, but a pressure that we have to face with decision and serenity. We spoke about it today with the players, I’m expecting the right reaction from them.

I faced Barcelona six times with Chelsea and now I’m here with Inter. It’s a pleasure to play in such a tough game. I enjoy tough games more than easy ones when you win by four or five goals. All my players want to play in this game – it’s a game that appeals to everyone. I don’t know if we will play to win or to draw: there are risks with both and we will see how the match develops. The world of football hopes Barcelona will get through, but Barcelona are aware of the difficulty of the match – they know Inter are a major rival. If Rubin win then Barcelona will be in trouble, but they’re not scared and neither are we. I think we have grown as a team [since Matchday 1] but the only thing we want to know is whether Sneijder will be fit to play or not.”

For all you line-up junkies, now we at least know the back line (not much of a surprise). Unfortunately both Chivu and Maicon are a booking away from a suspension. If both get carded, we are in real and desperate trouble against Kazan. But lets not worry about that now.

Despite what he said about serenity, Mourinho was worried (or curious) enough to engage in a little voyeurism of his own against Barcelona. Apparently he hung out, unseen, on the steps of Camp Nou and watched Pep’s training session. Hey! We need every little ounce of help we can get! This is Barca-freakin-lona we are talking about, after all.

Even so, I am also expecting the right reaction from the squad. Everyone seems up for it and we must shake off this European funk once and for all. I can see how it happens, though. I, too, sometimes still think of our little team as the perennial also-ran from the wrong side of Milan. Maybe we respect our opponents too much – maybe the squad should indulge in some of that over-confident winning certainty that teams like Barca, Chelsea, and ManU seem to exude. I mean, if the only reality that exists is victory, how can you lose?

Everyone think the happiest most supportive winningest thoughts you can.

FORZA INTER

Let us all take comfort in Javier Zanetti’s massive thighs:

The bottom line is that we won a game we should have won and that we had to win. As of this game, we have completed 1/3 of the season and I think it’s now time to start looking at the table.

More after the break


The Good

We kept possession, we transitioned from offence to defence and vice-versa well and we kept the ball in their half of the field as much as possible.

We were able to rotate a little bit as needed: namely Eto’o and Sneijder got more rest than would have been possible had Deki and Mario not been as reliable as they have been this season as a whole.

The attack was able to create chances to score and with a little more luck/skill it could have been 4-1 at the half. But Mario doesn’t work as well with Eto’o and Milito as they work with each other. They have a very good understanding with each other. He also blew a hell of a chance one on one with Viviano. As did Milito.

The midfield was able to shut down most of the penetration that Bologna tried to make in a counter as they ran the famed 8-1-1 formation at us. This led to Bologna just booting the ball up to the lone attacker and hoping that Lucio and Samuel fall asleep and lose the guy who is consistently scoring on us every single season… sigh. They also contributed to the attack, as was evidenced by Deki’s mind blowing miss and Cambiasso’s further mind blowing inability to finish that miss.

The defence, usually a strength in our game, was disappointing. Maicon’s crosses were, to quote a phrase, “poopy”. His runs forward weren’t really inspiring, nor were other actions of his. Lucio and Samuel’s collective brain fart notwithstanding, they at least made up for their actions later.

All in all, this looked like a typical return to League action for us; slow start and gradual warming up of the engines.

The Bad

Mario needs to play well with others on the team. I don’t really care if he makes stupid fouls against players on other teams, because I can’t name a player who hasn’t – including previous players for Inter. But, last season he couldn’t play with Ibra without a shouting match breaking out. This season he just doesn’t seem to want to fit in with the other forwards either. He’s not the only one to have a poor game. Milito had his chances as well. That’s right. I said “chances” plural. He’s going to have to put those away.

The midfield was not creative enough. Without Sneijder we need someone to take over the engine of the attack. We have enough engines in the defence. Motta helps a little – he’s a better passer than Deki – but he gets sucked back or he gets sucked forward and is slow on the return. We need someone to distribute up top and they have to stay up there.

The defence needs to stay awake. Samuel has to realize someday that Lucio’s not marking anyone. Ever. His job isn’t to mark people. Lucio, if he was born 30 years earlier, would have been a natural sweeper. This is why he’s very good at sniffing out through passes into the danger area. This is also why he’s not a natural cover guy. Samuel, who is a classic Central Defender, needs to figure this out and cover for him.

All in all, the job was done. We kept possession. We threatened their goal several times. We scored, that’s pretty important. This was a bad team at the bottom of the table and we did what we should have to maintain a place in the top three.

The Ugly

Can you tell I’ve been on a Clint Eastwood western kick?

This is the ugly. We have 3 very tough games in less than 2 weeks. We take on Barcelona tomorrow, we take on Fiorentina just after Thanksgiving (for those in the States), and we take on Juventus the week after that. Depending on how this week goes, the importance of the game right after Juventus will determine how tough a game it will be since we take on the current and most recent Champions of Russia a few days after Juve.

It’s going to be a grueling schedule. If we draw everything – that’s right, the next 4 games – we will most likely be alright in all competitions. We will definitely be alright in Serie A. Chances are we would go through in the Champions League, as well.

Okay, enough of this silliness. I suggest that you take a look at the Barcelona Offsides and discover how we are a counter attacking team – despite owning possession in the vast majority of our games and how we are suddenly NOT going to use Javier Zanetti (you know, our captian?) in the game tomorrow. We might play counter attack against Barca, but then: 1. It’s the best way to play them since they bring everyone forward and 2. I don’t think that we figure to get enough time left to us during the game to attack much if we try to build normally.

Anyway…

FORZA INTER

This isn’t true, of course. There are several Italians contributing to Inter’s success. There’s over 100 years of history that is filled with Italians who were the building blocks of what the team has currently achieved, the thousands of Italians who owe their livelihood to the club, the owner and his family, the front office, the Board, the bureaucracy of the organization, the coaches and several players. What they really mean, of course, is that there aren’t many Italians football players directly contributing to the success of the current Champions of the Italian League and that we should be ashamed of this. Some of us, through the comments section, have said that we don’t really care what the nationality of the player is, as long as they put in effort and have positive results.

After reading several books lately, two on watered down popular global economics commentary, two the “business” of football, several commentaries on Italian football (from English writers) and an infinite number of discussions with opponents of globalization of Italian football, I have come to understand a notion that I, and apparently others here, have had all along. Namely that many foreigners on a football team isn’t an evil thing. Additionally, I have come to the conclusion that if Serie A is going to survive then foreign players are going to be essential to its lively hood.

First, a small comment on the “business” of football, it isn’t really a business. If it was, then we wouldn’t have an Oil Man in charge of our team, Juventus wouldn’t have a Car Man in charge of theirs and Milan wouldn’t have the Cable Guy in charge of theirs. Keeping this in mind is pretty important. There is a notion that the Super Teams of Europe will be self-sustaining, profit making machines in a couple of years. I, personally, have a good laugh when I hear people talking about this. I would like my team to be as close as possible to the black, not because it’s a source of pride that my team can make a buck, but because that means that we can afford more. We can afford more quality facilities, more quality equipment, more quality talent and everything that comes with “more” – like titles.

It also denotes a certain cunning in the transfer market that has recently been a pleasant surprise. We are getting more for our money than we had previously, and while it isn’t my money, it lends a certain confidence to think that the caretakers of my team are getting better at their jobs. But, as I said, I don’t expect too many miracles. Moratti, last summer said something to the effect that you can either be a good team or a profitable one, not both and I think that he was very close to the truth.

The Talent Pool

One of the first things that people who support leagues from other countries ask me when they find out I support a team from Italy is, “Who is any good there?”

It’s a simple question and an understandable one. The English speaking media hasn’t really discovered several players that most of us think are good. But there is an underlying problem, namely that if I had to name a top starting 11 in Serie A based on the last 14 months alone, I don’t think that I would name many Italians to that squad. I might name Buffon in front of Cesar but it would be close, especially considering the injuries of last season. Chiellini would be one of the defenders. D’Agostino might be discussed as a midfielder. Cassano would be a forward. One of Pirlo, De Rossi or Camoranesi might be in the conversation, but honestly, none of those midfielders were really great last season.

But, that would be it, 2 players definitely and maybe 2 others. Italy has a lot of football talent in a country with the limited space and population that it has, but the big picture is that population might not be able to produce such a high level talent year in and year out. There are going to be some gaps and a country that has 4 professional leagues with about 20 teams per league needs to supplement those gaps with outside talent. However, at the highest levels, TV rights and stadium seating need to be bought, therefore, big teams need to be big enough to convince enough people to purchase these things. In Italy there are 3 big teams at the top. Is there enough domestic talent to fit into 81 (3 teams of about 27) roster spots to maintain Champions League money coming into the country and generate enough interest for people – domestically and internationally – to continue to buy cable/satellite TV football packages? Personally, and objectively, I don’t think so.

Finances

Most Italian players are over-priced. So are most Brazilians over the age of 20, the majority of English players, French players and Argentine players over the age of 20. Part of the reason they are overpriced is because those countries have had some success in the past proving themselves powerhouses.

If you want a bargain, real bang for the buck, buy the contract of a player from Scandinavia, Croatia, Slovakia, Bosnia, the Ukraine, Russia or any country in Africa. The bargain isn’t because those players aren’t talented, it’s because they aren’t on TV all the time, no one has hyped them – or their paycheck – up and there aren’t preconceived notions on how great a Croatian player is, for example. A Slovakian player would be happy to be paid a lot of money in England, Spain, Germany or Italy. It’s safe to assume that an Italian player would probably expect to be paid a lot of money to play in Italy.

If you are a football team that is leaking money, and to be honest they almost all are, those are the countries to buy from. Here’s an example, Goran Pandev’s transfer to an Italian team (assuming he was brought in from Lazio and not through the current ugliness) at 26 years old is going to be less expensive than G. Rossi’s transfer to an Italian team, even though Pandev plays the same position, will have more experience in Serie A than Rossi and has more International experience than Rossi. Is Rossi better than Pandev? To be honest, I don’t think so, not right now.

Does this matter to a team like Inter, who have the money to pay for overpriced Italian talent? Yes and no. Young players like Arnautovic, Rene Krhin, Vid Belec, Obi Mikel can be kept on the team training with the first team because they don’t cost very much to sit the bench. There is money, however to pay for Brazilians, Argentines and Materazzi to be a dressing room leader, or Toldo to be a backup even though these are expensive former Italian National teamers. But the well isn’t endless; even we need to cut costs where we can.

Of the 27 players on the official roster on Inter.it, 15 of those players come from overpriced powerhouse nations and 12 of them are regular contributors – including the backup goalkeeper. 12 players come from underpriced countries and only 6 contribute regularly. The verdict? Inter are paying premium price for most of their contributors and are paying bargain prices for the most of their backups.

So to summarize, many of the youth players on the first team and the backups are from countries that one would expect bargain pricing. Most of the contributors are from countries that one would expect to pay top prices for. There are exceptions. Quaresma is getting premium wages and not contributing at all, and Lucio and Motta were fairly inexpensive signings considering that Brazilians – especially a national teamer – are usually considered big money transfers.

That’s good for us, but actually very good for other teams who aren’t as lucky to have the deep pockets that we have. Teams like Napoli and Lazio for example, are definitely moving in the same direction. They want the talent to compete but it’s obvious that they are looking at alternatives to high priced Italian and Brazilian talent. Udinese is also joining the party. Taking a quick glance at the incoming transfers’ nationality there is a marked increase in talent arriving into the peninsula from Eastern Europe, just as at one time there was an increase in talent arriving from Brazil, or Argentina. Untapped potential and 2nd or 3rd world economy equals cheap labor – any financial advisor will tell you that cutting employee costs is step one to increasing profits.

Conclusion

Although I have never understood why it was so important to have only Italians on the team, or a majority of Italians on the team, I can understand that it’s important to some people. In my personal view, I think that view is overly nostalgic and really smacks of an ethnocentric regionalism. I really think that kind of limited scope is in the past forever. There is no way, in my opinion, that a team can be both successful competitively and financially by imposing boundaries on themselves. I think it would have been hard to do 30 years ago, let alone today.

There is a chestnut that increasing the amount of international players is somehow hurting the National Team. Someone should tell Spain, who won the 2008 Euros, who’s domestic League has more internationals than the Italian League, that all those quality internationals that all those Spanish players tested themselves against every weekend should have hurt them. By the way, most of the Brazil national team play abroad outside their own hemisphere, and have for years. How is it they enjoy so much success with none of their best players even in their own domestic league?

The cold hard truth is that the game is globalizing and teams have to follow suit to survive. It’s not going to get easier. UEFA will never be able to limit the big teams on spending. The first time it tries to penalize a team for spending, the biggest teams will break away from UEFA and form a Premier League for European Super Clubs – UEFA’s own private TV deal up in smoke nightmare. There is only the fear of bankruptcy and collapse into Lega Pro that makes anybody in Italy think about the bottom line anymore.

And if you are worried at all about the bottom line, then there isn’t a place for sentimentality about nation of origin or what color the players skin is or what kind of blood he has. Do you want to win, or do you want to be homogenous? It’s an easy question to answer, check out the season ticket sales for Inter’s home games and the bump that away teams get when Inter comes to town. People might complain on Tuesday about foreigners, but no one is protesting with their wallets on Sunday.

FORZA INTER

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)

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

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?

What: FC Rubin Kazan v FC Internazionale Milano, UEFA Champions League Matchday 2
Where: Central Stadium, Kazan, Russia (see below)
When:Tuesday, September 29, 6:30pm local time (9:30am pacific, 12:30pm eastern)
How to Watch: FSC is broadcasting this game Wednesday at 8am pacific, 11am eastern. If you want to watch it live, you can try for a stream (MyP2P, Justin.tv, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net) or watch it pay-per-view at UEFA.com. I have an annual pack (have for years) and I love it.

If, like me, you have never even heard of Kazan, let alone the Republic of Tatarstan, here is a little map to help orient yourself. Basically, it is out in the middle of nowhere, north of the Caspian Sea and east of Moscow:

View Larger Map

The city of Kazan is on the Volga River, in the far north of Tatarstan, and, if you zoom all the way in on the map above, you should be able to see the stadium Inter will be playing in tomorrow. It looks cold (scroll east). Luckily, though, the weather for the game tomorrow should be a relatively balmy 61°F.

THEM

As I said above, Rubin Kazan won the Russian Premier League last year. According to their Wiki, they won 18 of the 30 games played, scoring 44 goals and allowing 26. This year, they are near the end of their season (the Russian league plays from March to November) and are leading the league again.

Recently there have been some bumps in the road: they lost to Dynamo Kiev on Matchday 1, lost their last league game (at home against Amkar Perm), drew 0-0 the game before that (away to Tom Tomsk), and lost 0-1 in the Russian Cup Final (to CSKA Moscow). Before that, though, they were doing pretty well, having won 14 out of 21 games (drawing an additional 4) and scoring 20 goals in 8 games.

Cuchu’s old friend Alejandro Dominguez scored against Kiev on Matchday 1.

Kazan has two strikers responsible for most of those goals: Aleksandr Bukharov, a Russian who has scored 11 goals in 15 games and Alejandro Dominguez, an Argentinian who has 12 goals from 16 games. Although nearly all of Dominguez’s league goals have been scored from the penalty spot, he did manage to score against Kiev in Matchday 1 with a free kick. Kazan also has a couple of dangerous midfielders: Semak (Russia) who has 6 goals and Gökdeniz (Turkey), 4. And, for our “fun fact” file, turns out Dominques and Cambiasso are old teammates. Yep, they played together at River Plate way back in 2001/2. It truly is a small world after all.

Kurban Berdyev, Rubin Kazan’s coach is a little nervous but ready, saying:

This match is really important for us and the fans; having the Champions League in town is like a public holiday for Kazan. People here have dreamed about it. A few years ago we never thought great clubs would come to Kazan, not even for friendly games. Of course, I’m a bit nervous as it is also a new experience for me. However, I think we are ready to face Inter. I don’t think our opponents will underestimate us, especially considering what José Mourinho said about wanting to be safe before their trip to Barcelona.

There, I have just exhausted my knowledge on Rubin Kazan. So far, I have not been able to find a call-up list, but, according to Mou: “They use a 4-4-2 system and strikers Aleksandr Bukharov and Alejandro Domínguez link up very well.” Also, Macbeth Sibaya will not be there as he is suspended.

(The S.O. wants me to make some joke about tartar sauce but I am fresh out of ideas so I invite you, the reader, to give it your best shot).

I cant tell if Maicon is going to kiss Mario or crush him.

US

Historically, Inter have done pretty well against Russian opposition in the Champions League. We beat Spartek Moscow both at home and away in 2006 and did the same with CSKA Moscow in 2007 (who could forget that thrilling 4-2 win when Ibra and Cuchu both got a brace). Our only loss to a Russian team in the UCL was in 2003 when Lokomotic Moscow thumped us 3-0 (I blame Recoba). Still, Kazan is a total unknown for me (and you, I suspect).

Luckily, though, Mourinho has been doing his homework. He said:

I think it will be a very difficult match. We have studied Rubin very carefully and we won’t let ourselves be affected by their recent performances in the championship. What is important is the team’s display in Kiev, where they dominated the match for 75 minutes, losing only because football is a sport that sometimes reserves surprises through details.

Our tactical attitude won’t change and I’m expecting Rubin to play a very dynamic, fast and very well organized game. Our first objective is obviously to win. Objective number two is not to lose. The strategy of the group is in our hands. We have three matches – this one against Rubin and two against Dynamo Kiev, from which we have to get the maximum points to go to Barcelona and be in a good position to qualify without having to win the last game to go through.

If Inter play in the same way, with the same attitude and concentration shown in the games against Manchester United and Barcelona, we can certainly win this encounter with Rubin. But I repeat, we respect them a lot and we know they won’t be an easy opponent.

He has called up 20 players:

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

Boy, our midfield sure looks skimpy and the inclusion of Vieira scares the crap out of me. Plus, only three strikers… I definitely think Ricky will make an appearance. I guess that means:

Julio Cesar
Maicon Samuel Lucio Chivu
Zanetti Cambiasso Muntari
Stankovic
Eto’o Milito

Hopefully, Balotelli will play – hell, maybe he will even start – and maybe we will see Quaresma. We are desperately short on creativity (what was the point of buying all that supposed midfield creativity when they spend all their time on the treatment table – sooo frustrating) and Balotelli and Ricky may well be our best bets. Scary, I know.

That doesn’t look healthy – this isn’t rugby, boys.

I wish I had some words of wisdom, but, well, I have absolutely no clue how Inter matches up to the Russian Champions. The stereotype is that they will be a bunch of thugs, but, having watched their national team, I can also say that Russia plays some pretty good football. Both teams will be motivated, I just hope that our star power intimidates them just a smidge. I know we can win, the question is, does Inter know it too. We need everyone focused and on task, plus a little dash of “I think I can” to pull this off. One thing is for sure, I dont want to have to pull out that chicken fish again.

Das vi danya and FORZA INTER

You better cheer hard, Walter has his eye on you!

Against a team like Barcelona, I think that most of us have already expressed that the draw was both a positive result and a fair one. It’s positive because we gain points at home against the best team in the tournament. It’s positive because we showed that even as newly thrown together as we were, can hang with anyone. In fact, we might just have caught a break playing Barcelona now as we are clearly not quite 100% and it looks to me like Barcelona was still trying to figure out how to incorporate their newest signing as well.

Our defence really shone in this game as in the second half we were finding ourselves unable to stay compact and lost some shape to our formation as gaps between the midfield and the attack began to get wider as we were forced to commit more forces to the defence.

Those players who helped out the most in this effort are my Inter Players of the Match. Their pictures are all above this text. I don’t think that there can be much dispute about that…

I am not going to do a full pagelle for this game. We have discussed it enough to understand who played well and who needed to step up their game.

First Half

In the first half this game started to look a lot like Inter – Milan. We absorbed a lot of pressure but there wasn’t any real threat at goal and Cesar was able to handily deal with whatever came his way. As one might expect, Barcelona looked pretty impressive, but there wasn’t a whole lot of teeth in the attack yet.

About 15-20 minutes into the game the tide slowly started to turn as we mounted a pretty coordinated attack through the midfield that looked pretty impressive. Not only were we attacking, but we started to force a save or two. Schmujcko could have lost his nickname on 2 attempts on goal he had this half where he was essentially shooting with no one on him from good angles.

Muntari had some bad moments during this time. We kept trying to up his side of the field and he kept making some bad passes. He was still pretty effective defensively but we needed Muntari to help relieve some pressure as well, but it just wasn’t there. It seemed to me that game was a little too big for him, if you understand what I mean.

When we were able to start a counter attack, it seemed that one of Barcelona’s tactics to keep us off their somewhat overmatched defensive line was to foul the attack early in the midfield. About halfway through the first half Zanetti was brought down from behind in the first of several tactical fouls against Zanetti himself but also against Santon and others. To me, this was a huge mistake from the referee as well something of a contradiction of the “pretty football” that Barcelona FC and fans purport to believe in.

Several other referee mistakes marred this game as Muntari, Maicon and Milito were all whistled for offsides but replay showed all to be even or yards on.

Second Half

As the second half progressed 2 things became more obvious. The first was that Muntari had to leave the field as he was playing terrible. Several times up to this point he was losing the ball in our own half. The second thing that became obvious was that our formation was losing shape. Our attack had to either receive long balls in the air or they had to drop way back in order for the defense to relieve some pressure. Most of he second half degenerated to Barcelona passing around the defence and us playing The Shell Game.

Julio Cesar’s activity became more frantic and there was a genuine scoring opportunity for Barcelona as Cesar left his line to pressure a player and the ball was passed backwards but still in the area. Thankfully, the shot was ridiculously wide as that was the moment that I thought the game was lost.

It wouldn’t be right to say that we didn’t have our chances as well, though since Barcelona out shot us 11-8 according to Inter.it. In fact on the other end of the field Milito schooled 2 defenders and took a beautiful shot himself that was saved in a nice play by the Goalkeeper Valdes.

The refereeing was a little tighter this half, as Barcelona players Toure and Henry actually received cautions for professional fouls, although it might have been too little too late. Chivu was given a card for taking a piece out Messi’s foot even though the replay clearly shows that Chivu got to the ball first and that there was no attempt to harm Messi in the first place. Stankovic was correctly not cautioned for handling in the box as it was the ball that hit his arm (not the other way around) and he was obviously trying to move his arm out of the way of the ball behind his back. Although some others might say that there was poetic justice in the fact that play was allowed to go on.

All in all as I said at half time, it was a tight and nervy game that could have gone either way. Personally I am okay with the draw and the split points as long as we can at least draw our next game, which is away to Rubin Kazan.

Cagliari preview up tomorrow evening.

FORZA INTER