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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THEM

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

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

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

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

Only Marco would have a huge #23 hat.

US

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vai Deki Vai Deki Vai!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IN OTHER NEWS

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

Buon Compliano, Figo.

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

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

With that out of the way…

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

If nothing else, my arteries got a good workout.

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

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

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

Highlights after the break.

Stats Home team first

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

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

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

Pagelle:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

FORZA INTER

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

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

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

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

THEM

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

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

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

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

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

Sirigu
Gojan Kjaer Migliaccio
Bertolo Simplicio Bresciano Cassani
Pastore
Cavani Miccoli

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

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

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

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

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

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

US

Mourinho has called up 20 players:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FORZA INTER

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

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

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

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

Highlights after the break

Stats Home team first

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

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

Pagelle:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Analysis

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

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

FORZA INTER