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

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:

I dont think it is any secret that I have a serious crush on Julio Cesar – especially now that I need someone to shower all my extra Zlatan love onto. And even better, now I get to love him potentially for 5 more years! After signing his contract extension, JC said:

“And now I want to celebrate with many more victories. I am very happy and I thank president Moratti and the whole club. I have already won a lot with Inter, but our strength is the work we are doing to win a lot more.”

Not much, but so long as he stays, I dont care because besides being a phenomenal goal keeper (thanks Kirby):

he is also super hunky:

Julio is a dirty boy!

Plus, he clearly waxes… everything.

with a beautiful wife and family.

Super cute family in the Bahamas.

And his hot wife Susana Werner (although I think this is from her Ronaldo days)

And one more of Susana. After all, I must entertain and inform.

Plus, he always seems to have a smile on his face.

Julio Cesar or Kaka – I’d take JC any day

He even gets his teammates smiling – even if they dont really want to.

And he seems like a great person:

No matter what, he has always been there for Adriano.

He even made sure that Adriano was at our Scudetto celebrations, if only in our hearts.

Not that he isn’t competitive. He loves to win as much as the next guy.

Whether it is against Milan or Juve (at the top of the page).

He is all-around an amazing keeper, person, and teammate. I cant think of a single person I would rather have in goal (not even San Gigi) and we are very very very fortunate to have him. Lets hope he stays for ever!

On behalf of all of us, here is a great big hug for Julio Cesar from the Inter Offside Board.

FORZA INTER

Did I mention he has cute toes? Well he does!

We didn’t play particularly well, as in at all, but I think that we put together 3 very credible goal scoring chances. We made one, we pushed one way wide and a goalkeeper save stopped the other.

We had other chances, but for various reasons they didn’t go in… like Eto’o hitting a volley off the outside of his foot or Milito getting an elbow to the back of his head when he tried to head in a shot or Milito getting a shove on his head when he took the shot that was saved, or Milito getting shoved to the ground when a cross came in…

We played about even in the first half when we played our worst and with the incredibly defensive minded midfield of Muntari, Motta and Vieira – who I was so very happy to see, of course. Which was a bit sad for both teams. We didn’t really do anything other than try to get out of the first half with a draw. Roma – who jeered at us for years about style over substance – defended 9 men to within an inch of its life and counter attacked only for a miracle of a goal. A little hypocritical, wouldn’t you say… oh, and welcome to the dark side of results oriented football. Good luck on the transition.

In the second half we put in the cavalry but the attitude was the same, “Its vaca time”. We got a goal, mostly because losing to Roma shouldn’t be an option and pride wouldn’t let it happen.

So we screwed the pooch on this one. We had help doing it – I am sure the League/pundits/neutrals are happy that we dropped points – but the pooch continues well screwed. Inter player of the match, is there any doubt? Not many decided to show up today, even though it should have been enough to finish off Roma…

Highlights after the break

Stats Home Team First

Shots (on Goal): 12(4) 12(4)
Fouls: 26 13
Corner Kicks: 4 5
Offsides: 5 0
Time of Possession: 62% 38%
Yellow Cards: 3 2

So, we led the game in possession, fouls against and yellow cards received. Apparently we have been fouling people while we have possession. If you happened to watch the “pundits” after the match, there was a lot of heat on the ref for blowing the whistle so much for little things, especially as there was a movement by Collina to let play go and not disturb the flow of the game as much as possible, and for not getting the bigger fouls at all. Flow was allowed for one team, as the statistics show, so Collina can’t get too upset. The statistical findings that on average two teams will commit about the same – not exact, but similar – number of fouls a game was apparently lost on this sap. As was the plot.

Pagelle

Cesar: I can’t blame him for the goal, it was a once in a lifetime shot by a guy not even looking at the net. He made a mistake in distribution, though. 6.5

Maicon: Anonymous and on vacation a too early. Roma played with one forward/player out of their own half of the field and Maicon had little in front of him defensively, he could have pushed up more. 6.5

Lucio: He recovered well to save a good chance from happening for Roma after he fell asleep on Vucinic. He should have been in better position – although that’s not really his game – on the goal. He was targeted by Roma. 6.5

Samuel: Didn’t have much to do but when he did it, he did it well. Considering all the relationships between the players of both teams, Samuel didn’t seem too happy to see his old club… 7.0

Zanetti: Was the best defender on the field and schooled Menez about 5 times on the left – oddly Menez/Nedved stayed on his feet when going up against Zanetti. More on that later. It also looked like he took an injury. It’s always obvious when the team plays without the same spirit that he has. 7.5

Muntari: Delicious on the tackle, bitter on everything else. He was called for a foul when he jumped around a Roma player and got the ball and nothing else. Typical. 6.5

Vieira: He gets half a point for knocking that idiot De Rossi – whose elbows were up as well – out of the game. Nice to see Irony get served here – out of the game. Other than that, feh. 6.5

Motta: The good Motta on the pitch made the pass that got a goal. He got a yellow for impersonating John Arne Riise without ginger. 7.0

Deki: He gets half a point for not killing Menez/Nedved when Menez/Nedved threw an elbow at his face. He gets another point for not having to leave the game… like someone else… 7.0

Eto’o: He scored and that deserves praise. He shanked a volley that most strikers dream of getting and that does not. He disappointed me today. 6.5

Milito: Milito suffered the same problem that others of his stature suffer. He’s a little undersized and that makes him a target. Unfortunately he blew his chance to rub their faces in it. 7.0

Balotelli: Like Eto’o he disappointed. He had a shot at a striker’s goal at the top of the area, with tons of space and at a slight angle… and he really blew it. I agree with Mourinho here… he should have been in better form considering. But this is the danger of playing young players. They are ALL less reliable. 5.5

Cambiasso: Took over the middle of the pitch but the results don’t show much had changed. If he were on earlier, it wouldn’t have mattered. Roma were playing longball to bypass their own midfield which they had sucked back for defense anyway. He might have made a better contribution on our offensive end… but we didn’t really have one. 6.5

Sneijder: Made an instant difference in the team when he came on, unfortunately it wasn’t that much of a difference. We went from bad to average-ish bad. Still, average-ish bad was enough to score and keep from being scored on by Roma. 7.0

Analysis

I am not too concerned with this score and result. We didn’t play well, we looked tired from playing a tough schedule, we looked tired from travelling, we weren’t in good form, the ref sucked as usual and we still managed a point.

- Menez/Neved didn’t go down so easily when he went up against Zanetti. Either he didn’t think that he would get the call or he thought that he could take Zanetti and wanted to make sure he stayed on his feet to score. It appears that he thought wrong.

- De Rossi had it coming to him. There are those who will say that’s not nice, not classy, but he did. There is only so much abuse that a guy 100s of miles away can hurl at you before it becomes too satisfying to see him in pain 100s of inches from you. He spent so much time flapping his lips in his street clothes; it was pretty gratifying watching them get flapped for him when he finally got on the field within arms reach.

- Why was there no call when Mexes put his hands on Balotelli’s neck? Balotelli was walking away from the situation – you know the kind of behavior we want to see from him. Why isn’t there more outcry that Mexes thought that he had the right to touch another human on the scruff of his neck like that. Why was there no yellow card? Why is there nothing in the newspaper today? Why isn’t Mexes banned for 3 games?

FORZA INTER

What: Inter v Roma, Matchday 12
Where: San Siro, Milan
When: Sunday, November 8th, 8:45 local time (11:45 pacific, 2:45 eastern)
How to Watch: Live on FSC (hooray) or find a stream (MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).

For the last couple of years, this tie has ended in draws. Last year’s 3-all was epic. Twice, Inter went down 2 goals, and, in the end, we managed to claw our way back. I tell you, a draw never felt so much like a win. Well, that is except the for the same tie two years ago. That game saw our fearless captain snatch a point with a rare but wonderful goal that helped seal our scudetto.

Last year’s game:

And the year before:

As you can see, it is always a heart-stopping nail-biter. In fact, we haven’t really put one over on Roma at the San Siro in the Serie A since a 2-0 win in 2005 (both goals were from Mihajlovic). Overall, though, Inter have a pretty decent home record against Roma: of the 78 Serie A games, Inter have won 42, drawn 24, and only lost 12. Not bad.

Another bit of interest is all the business the two clubs have done over the years. Moratti and Sensi were friends, and players have moved between Inter and Roma without much fuss. Right now, our good friend Nico Burdisso is on loan to the Giallorossi (and they seem to like him just fine), while Pizarro also was a Nerrazzuri not all that long ago. Andreolli is an Inter youth product, and until last year, was co-owned by the clubs*. In our ranks, Chivu and Mancini came directly from i Lupi, while Samuel took a brief detour to Real Madrid before finding his way from Rome to Milan. In other words, we are almost family. Almost.

*Rumor is that Andreolli will come back to Inter this winter in exchange for Burdisso. Go figure.

THEM

Our four-legged friends have not gotten off to the best of starts this season – between money woes and the never ending injuries, they haven’t had a whole lot to work with. Still, they have won their last two games and may just be starting to figure out what Ranieri wants from them. Unfortunately, they have dug themselves into a bit of a hole and have a lot of work to do if they want to see the sun again.

Roma sit at 14 points (exactly half Inter’s points), and have lost more games than they have won. They dont seem to have any trouble scoring goals – Roma’s 18 goals puts them in the top four offensively – but have real difficulty stopping the other team from scoring. With 19 goals conceded, they have the second worst defensive record in the league (Genoa is the worst with 20). Clearly, they have strengths to respect and weaknesses to exploit.

Right now, probably their greatest weakness is their medical staff. For some reason, Roma always seem to have half their starters out with some injury of another. Today is no different: Totti, Doni, Juan, and Burdisso are all out. Taddei will also be sitting one this out due to suspension. It could be (and has been) worse, though. At least today when I look at their projected line-up I know who everyone is. They have not had to dip into their youth team for this match.

Happy is good, focused is better.

US

We are finally starting to clear out our injury ward – and none too soon, either. Everyone is fit (although Eto’o is not quite 100%) and we have no suspensions. There has been some talk of a bit of a rotation squad, and for the first time in a couple years that doesn’t immediately make my stomach start to churn. It sure is nice to have options! Cambiasso may start from the bench as he is still nursing his knee. He has finally won his first call-up to the Argentine National team and everyone wants him to do well and earn a returning role. Every player worth his boots is dreaming of the World Cup – I am sure Cuchu is no different.

Mourinho has called-up 19 players:
Portieri: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni;
Difensori: Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Maicon, Samuel, Chivu;
Centrocampisti: Stankovic, Thiago Motta, Sneijder, Muntari, Vieira, Cambiasso, Mancini;
Attaccanti: Eto’o, Milito, Balotelli.

Mourinho was all humble and wary during his press conference today. He didn’t drop any hints about line-ups or formations or anything.

I repeat what I said before the last two games: if I have no idea how to play my opponent, it doesn’t make life easy. It is not easy to prepare a game where no one knows how to play the adversary: Claudio Ranieri is a coach who usually uses a 4-4-2, but in these days has spoken of the possibility to deploy the diamond in midfield and I also thought that he uses the 4-4-1-1. I’m thinking and working hard in this sense, then I will not say which team I will play with now. There are no injured players at this time, I believe that it is not news to those who are part of our environment, Rui Faria is a phenomenon, however, we are all working well to build the best team possible to meet Roma, a team that right now does not find the justice of its quality in its current position in the standings.

The 14-point difference between Inter and Roma are not a true testament of the situation of these two teams: we have done very well since the beginning of the season, they have had some problems and lost some points unnecessarily, but what counts in a team is the quality and level of quality, I always said that I like Roma and there are some Roma players I like very much. For these reasons, I see the game tomorrow night as a big game, a game between two teams fighting for the Scudetto. They are quite far behind, it’s true, but the reality of the situation is that they too are a team that can fight for the Scudetto.

Mourinho is also worried about the team’s mentality after the euphoria of the win in Kiev.

Character is very important and this team has already shown theirs many times, but it is also character to win and stay calm after an important win. History is full of bad games after a great battle and that of Inter against Dynamo was truly a great match on every level: psychologically, physically, tactically and the level of risk. … Right now, for for me it is … important that players understand that we have not done anything, or at least, that we have done something that has an ephemeral significance. We need to stay calm, the race tomorrow will be served to the team who understands that there is a need to begin every future match with the same mentality and the same concentration. This is the mentality of the big teams, teams that never tire of doing good to win, who do not need to recover psychologically and physically after a great game. A great team is always prepared to play a great match after great match, this is the mentality that I want.

Tomorrow I dont want to have a disappointment and a team that takes the field playing with the victory of Kiev in its pocket. I do not want to have in our pocket the victory won in the Champions League, that is the past. The only difference is that we are in a better position and, now, instead of the press writing that Inter has not won in 7 games they will write that inter has not lost in 4, but there is nothing more.

Then, when asked if Mourinho was confident of winning tomorrow, he said no and that “it depends on us.”

And really, what more can be said? More than anything, tomorrow “Dipende da noi“.

We have a great squad who are determined and used to playing under this sort of pressure. We have the tranquility of knowing that no matter how terribly Juventus beats Atalanta, we will still be top of the table. Couple that with the drive for success and I think we have a pretty good shot of coming out of this with three points. That is, if we can concentrate on the task at hand. In many ways, a win is far more important for Roma than it is for Inter and that is a dangerous situation. I dont think that Roma has it in them to beat us, but I think we can most certainly beat ourselves. Inter must be focused and hungry – anything less just will not do.

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)