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:

Those two weeks were long. So long, in fact, that I have completely forgot what we were doing before it started. Something about points and kicking ass (or not, as the case may be)… It will come back to me, I’m sure. Anyway, here we are back to the championship, off to Bologna in an attempt to retain our meager lead while simultaneously avoiding the trap a lower half team before a big game poses. So far, all the press this week has been about the Champions League game next week and poor Bologna has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle. I only hope the boys aren’t similarly distracted. Bologna certainly wont be.

What: Bologna v Internazionale
Where: Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna
When: Saturday, November 21, 6pm (local time; 9am pacific, noon eastern).
How to Watch: FSC is showing this delayed at 2pm pacific, 5pm eastern. If you want to watch it live, catch a stream (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).

Strangely, last year we also played Bologna away the weekend before an important mid-week CL game (the first ManU tie). We managed to pull out the win, despite a whoopsie from Cuchu, thanks in LARGE part to the heroics of Julio Cesar. Here are the highlights (note the gleam off Cambiasso’s newly shaven head and the unbelievably adorable way JC says “big match” in the post game interview):

THEM

I really hope Ben posts something for this game. I thoroughly enjoy his Surrealist forays into calcio. Just in case he doesn’t, I will try to whip up a little something (it wont be as interesting as Ben’s though, I’m sure).

Wow. That sure is a whole lot of bald Bolognese ‘ballers!

With 11 points, Bologna are hovering just above the relegation zone. They had a not-so-nice start to the season and did not win their first game until day six. After a change of coaches (out with Papadopulo, in with Colomba), things have been looking up. It is true, they have still struggled a bit (especial against teams from Liguria), but have also managed to pull of some impressive results, including holding Juve to a 1-all draw and, most recently, beating Palermo (3-1).

Inter and Bologna share a long a storied past and back in the day, mighty Bologna used to pretty regularly thrash Ambrosiana and Internazionale at the Stadio Dall’Ara. It was only in the last couple years before they were most recently relegated (Bologna has tasted the depths on more than one occation) that Inter beat them with any regularity. Bologna has excelent record against us – especially when playing at home: out of 71 games, Bologna has won 34 and drawn 12. That’s right, Inter have only won this tie 25 times. Not so great.

Colomba has likened Inter to a tank, but pointed out that: “I have often lost to the Nerazzurri, as is normal for a Coach of provincial clubs, but don’t forget my Reggina beat them and cost Marcello Lippi his job.”

One of the goalscorers for that Reggina game was Marazzina, now reunited with his old coach at Bologna. Spooky, isn’t it?

Colomba has called up 22 players:
Portieri: Colombo, Spitoni, Viviano
Difensori: Britos, Lanna, Portanova, Raggi, Santos, Zenoni
Centrocampisti: Bombardini, Guana, Lavecchia, Mingazzini, Mudingayi, Valiani, Vigiani
Attaccanti: Adailton, Di Vaio, Gimenez, Marazzina, Osvaldo, Zalayeta

You may recognize a couple names in that list. Viviano is an Inter youth product (and is still half owned by us), while Zalayeta (recently of Napoli) has a nasty habit of scoring game-winning goals against us. Di Vaio has found himself at Bologna, and last year was in hot competition for the capocannoniere title. As for the rest… well… I have always liked to say “Bombardini” out loud. Try it, it’s fun. Bombardini. And I am pretty sure Guana is bird poop – isn’t it?

Our very own Carro Armato P 40

US

Mourinho (the world’s best Portugese coach) has given us a bit of a surprise with his call up list:

Portieri: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni;
Difensori: Cordoba, Lucio, Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel, Chivu;
Centrocampisti: Zanetti, Stankovic, Quaresma (!), Thiago Motta, Muntari, Vieira, Krhin, Cambiasso, Mancini;
Attaccanti: Eto’o, Milito, Balotelli, Arnautovic (!!).

Wow, there most certainly are some interesting names up there. Well, first, Suazo isn’t back from international duty so it only makes sense that Arna is on the list (Mou likes to come prepared). Quaresma and Mancini must be part of that turnover he spoke about in his presser today. It wont be as much as in the Livorno game, but there will be a bit of a rotation. What does that mean for our line-up tomorrow? Well, La Gazzetta thinks the only big change will be Cordoba in place of Lucio and Stankovic back to his less-than-fabulous role of play maker. Really, not so much of a turnover. We will see, though, La Gazzetta has been wrong before.

As for the rest, Santon has had his surgery and, while everything went well, he will be out of commission until next year. Sneijder is still injured, although seems to be on track for Barcelona. Aside from those two, Mou has a full squad at his disposal. Hooray.

Muntari is in a bit of hot water with his National team. Apparently Essian, Asamoah Gyan, and Muntari were meant to go last week with the Ghanan National team to Angola to play a friendly against the Palancas Negras. Instead, they left to return to their respective clubs without the permission of the Black Star’s coach. The Ghanan Football Association has launched an investigation into the matter and is looking into whether or not any punishment will be handed out. Yikes. Muntari has not said anything about it. I wonder if this means he will be going to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Mario Balotelli has put himself back into the spotlight again. He went to visit with some handicapped children and, when one of them asked which team he was a fan of, Balotelli said “Milan, of course!” Needless to say, this caused all sorts of ruckus with the children and with the press. His sister later said that it was all a joke, and besides, Mario had liked Milan when he was a child. Mourinho’s take was that it didn’t really matter which team Mario liked as a child, we should be much more concerned about the reports that Balotelli likes to drive his car 240 km per hour (that’s about 149 miles per hour for us non-European types).

On the transfer front, besides Galloppa and Ranocchia, Inter are also supposedly looking at Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan. Super double plus wonderful, we may get him in partial exchange for Vieira. Sold!

Ok. So lets focus and keep our heads, and most importantly, lets keep on track and take home the three points.

FORZA INTER

Wow! Take a look at those knee muscles! Yowza

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

I understand that being called up to a National Team is an honor. It means that among all the players from your particular country, you are one of the very best at what you do. Great. Good for them. I am proud of our Internationals. Right now, Inter has 13 squad members out being the best at what they do for their countries – AND IT BLOWS.

Look. I love football and I love my team. After a particularly stressful week, there is almost nothing better than a Sunday morning spent sitting in my bead looking at sweeping view out the full wall of windows and watching my beloved nerazzurri beat the snot out of some poor unsuspecting team on TV while my sweetie plies me with espresso. It is heavenly. But this weekend, all that has been cruelly ripped from me. Well, I still get the espresso and the sweetie and the windows, but as for the rest, the really important bit, I will have to make do with some crappy-ass international game while I feverishly pray that none of our boys pull up injured. Especially as most of them will be playing meaningless friendlies. Ok, the Brazil v England game may be worth watching, but it is hardly the same. Somehow, I just dont think I am alone in this.

So I guess my question is, where do you come down on this issue? Are you excited by the World Cup and Euros? Or is it just some handy filler for the European off-season?

I admit, I enjoy the drama of the actual World Cup and Euro tournaments – it is the qualifiers and, to a much greater extent, the friendlies that I can do without. Dont get me wrong, I watch them, but they are like methadone – adequate for maintenance but they dont really scratch the itch. Sometimes it is interesting to watch teams from countries where I dont know any of the players – but that is just for the novelty.

Maradona better not break him!

I suppose that if I were a better person, I would look at these friendlies as a way to enjoy the beautiful game without the stress of caring who wins – just to watch them for their aesthetic beauty. And I get that. Unfortunately I am so worried about the possibility of injuries and the toll travel takes on the players and what that all means to my club that my higher self, the one who appreciates beauty for beauty’s sake, is completely drowned out. Basically, I am just annoyed.

For those of you with your higher selves intact, who are able to appreciate these games, here is where you can follow Inter’s internationals:

UEFA Under-21 Championship Qualifiers

• Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon (Italy Under-21): Hungary v Italy (Gyor, Friday 13 November) and Luxembourg v Italy (Luxembourg, Tuesday 17 November)

World Cup Qualifiers

• Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon): 2010 World Cup qualifier – Morocco v Cameroon (Fez, Saturday 14 November)
• Sulley Muntari (Ghana): 2010 World Cup qualifier – Ghana v Mali (Kumasi, Sunday 15 November)
• Renè Krhin (Slovenia): 2010 World Cup qualifying playoffs – Russia v Slovenia (Moscow, Saturday 14 November) and Slovenia v Russia (Maribor, Wednesday 18 November)

International Friendlies

• Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio (Brazil): Brazil v England (Doha, Saturday 14 November) and Oman v Brazil (Muscat, Tuesday 17 November)
• Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina): Spain v Argentina (Madrid, Saturday 14 November)
• Cristian Chivu (Romania): Poland v Romania (Warsaw, Saturday 14 November) 


• Wesley Sneijder (Holland): Italy v Holland (Pescara, Saturday 14 November) and Holland v Paraguay (Heerenveen, Wednesday 18 November)
• 

Dejan Stankovic (Serbia): Northern Ireland v Serbia (Belfast, Saturday 14 November)
• David Suazo (Honduras): Honduras v Lithuania (Tegucigalpa, Saturday 14 November) and Honduras v Peru (Fort Lauderdale, Wednesday 18 November)

So strange to see the Argies still in Milan on a break. Poor Pupi.

For those of you still jonesing for that Inter fix, there is a club friendly this Saturday against Swiss second division side FC Vaduz in Liechtenstein. I think, though, that there will be very little coverage of it outside of the Inter Channel in Italy.

Call-ups:
Goalkeepers: Toldo, Orlandoni.
Defenders: Cordoba, Materazzi, Samuel, Donati*, Rigione*.
Midfielders: Quaresma, Motta, Vieira, Obi, Mancini, Fortunato*, Carlsen*, Biraghi*.
Strikers: Arnautovic, Beretta*, Alibec*
*Youth players.

The game is at 5pm local time (8am pacific, 11pm eastern) You may be able to follow it through the Inter web page. We will see.

FORZA INTER

My favorite international qualifier – and that is just because the eagle owl is so super cool:

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.

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:

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?

On Saturday, Inter take the 1½ hour train ride (on the Intercity) from Milan to Genoa. This is no easy trip as Genoa have a long history of beating the crap out of us, especially at the Stadio Ferraris. Last year, Genoa were good, this year, they may be better. Due to our player exchange over the summer, there are players on both sides raring to show their old club just how good their new team really is. Both teams have their share of injuries but neither will let that stop them. This one is going to be scrappy.

What: Genoa v Inter, Matchday 8
Where: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
When: Saturday, October 17, 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)
How to Watch: Fox Soccer Channel is showing this later Saturday night (8:30pm pacific, 11:30pm eastern). If you want to watch it live, it will be on ESPN360 or find a stream: MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net.

As I said, Genoa has a pretty good record against Inter at the Stadio Ferraris. In fact, Inter pretty regularly lose this tie: of the 57 games played, Inter has only won 13 and drawn 21. The quick among you have already done the math – Genoa have beaten Inter a staggering 23 times. Yep. 23. Plus, they have a history of really slaughtering Inter. I am talking like 6-0, 6-1 (twice), and a smattering of 5 and 4 goal wins. Of course, most of that was in Genoa’s glorious past, but even in the 90s they beat us 3-0. Formidable sums it up pretty nicely.

Last season, Inter managed to beat Genoa and even keep a clean sheet (thank you Zlatan and Mario).

THEM

Pat Cook has stepped up and taken over the Genoa blog. Hopefully he will do a preview because I dont really want to spend a lot of time here.

According to La Gazzetta, Mesto is disqualified while Jankovic, Juric, Kharja, Crishito, Biava, and Papastathopulos are all injured, although Juric may recover in time for the game. They sit at fifth, just three points behind Inter. They have shown they have the talent to take on the big four by soundly thrashing Roma and holding Juve to a 2-all draw. Away from home it is different story, but, as we are playing this game in Genoa, that hardly matters. Basically, they are a good team with an excellent coach who have built a bit of a fortress at the Ferraris – they have yet to lose at home and I dont think they plan on starting Saturday.

Oh, and no matter what he says, Crespo is totally going to want to stick it to Mourinho.

Crespo may have finally found his groove in Genoa.

Genoa have a great scoring record and are on par with both Inter and Roma with 14 goals (Genoa, Inter, and Roma are the league scoring leaders). Unfortunately for Genoa, they have also allowed 11 goals (Roma and Napoli have the most goals allowed at 13 a piece). A quick check of ESPN’s handy chart showing goals scored and conceded by time shows that Genoa have a real problem in the first and last 15 minutes of a game. That half-an-hour accounts for 8 of the goals they have conceded. As for scoring, it appears that Genoa take about half an hour to get into the game, but then they score pretty prolifically throughout the game. So there you go – if we want to beat them we need to hit hard in the first thirty minutes, hunker down for the next 45 or so, then take advantage of their flagging concentration and score to score one or two more. Yep. That’s the ticket. It may not be pretty, but it may help us retain our spot on the table.

Mourinho has called up 21 players:

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

When I see that, all I can say is YIKES. As expected, Milito, Motta, and Eto’o are all staying home with the hope that they will be ready for the Champions League game on Tuesday. It looks like it is time for Balotelli to live up to a little bit of that promise we always talk about. And Suazo, well… I am trying to remain optimistic. Both had adequate showings with their respective national teams. I mean, they didn’t shine but they weren’t horrible: Suazo got a couple of great crosses in against Trinidad & Tobago (one lead to the winning goal) while Balotelli, well he wasn’t sent off.

Mou was coy about line-ups in his press conference today, not discussing tactics at all. When asked point blank whether Balotelli and Suazo would start up front, he said:

“Both could start or neither. We played a great game against Juve in Pescara in the Trofeo Tim: we did well without attackers in that role, in the field there was Quaresma and Mancini….”

As for Arnautovic, he really must have been bad in last week’s friendly because a reporter asked Mou if Arna was actually struggling more now than he was a month ago. Mou refused to comment – which seems a little ominous to me. He may be another gamble that will just not pay off.

As for the game, Mou thought this game would not dominated by Inter, but a dialog between the two teams, saying:

I do not think that Genoa is a team that will allow his opponent to play 90 minutes in his midfield: it is too strong a team to allow their adversary to conduct the game how they want and with the pace they want. I believe it will be a question-answer and answer-question type of game, we play, you defend and vice versa: lake all the games against Genoa there will be a sort of dialogue, not a monologue. Int this sense Inter will be ale to defend ver well because Genoa is a team that, if you project in attack, can create difficulties due to thier speed and when we are ourselves and have the ball we will try to make goals. We are a team that almost always scores, throughout this season we have only failed to score against Sampdoria.

So dont look for long periods of possession from Inter. Instead, we will defend well and hope to capitalize on breaks. We will play gritty an ugly, gritty game, the pundits will complain, but that will be the only way we can win this.

Allora Raggazzi, I have to jet – we are going away for the weekend and the SO is engaging in some mental foot-tapping right about now. Everyone think positive thoughts – we are going to need all the good vibes we can get to pull this off.

FORZA INTER

I will leave you with a little Eto’o butt – that is bound to lift our spirits. Granted, it is Barcelona Eto’o butt, but I bet Inter Eto’o butt is very similar: