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

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

With the international break still upon us I thought that I would like to look at and have some discussion on the back 4 of our team – not counting JC, of course. We already started talking about it on Monday, so I thought we could expand the discussion a little more and really go at it in depth.

Besides, what else are we going to do until the games start back up again.

The current starting back 4 look like, from right to left: Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu.

The current centerback subs are: Chivu, Cordoba and Materazzi.

The current fullback subs are: Zanetti and Santon.

We may see some changes in both of these departments next summer. Several rumors point to Inter scouting younger centerback talent. Considering the average age of the centerbacks on roster, this is a must. Persoanlly, I see Mourinho or Moratti telling Materazzi that he is no longer in the plans of the club in the same way that Cruz was gently told that other pastures may have better grazing. I don’t see Materazzi going on a transfer – although, stranger things have happened – I do see him, sad to say, retiring.

Unfortunately, the same thing might happen to Cordoba. As much an asset, and as much a servant of the club as he has been, I think that he has several things going against him.

The first is his age. He’ll be 34 at the beginning of next season, which isn’t ancient for a player at his position, but it’s pretty damn close. Inversely, this factor might also be in his favor as Moratti’s well known sentiment may stay the chop.

The second is that his playing style doesn’t suit the current strategy of the manager. Cordoba is still an excellent man-marker. But Mourinho, as I stated in the first tactics talk, likes to pressure high up in the midfield when on defence, which is one of the reasons he okayed the Lucio transfer. Lucio intercepts passes from the opposing midfield or defence up to the forwards, many times cutting out the danger before it starts. Cordoba’s strength is chasing down the forwards once that pass has been made, usually deep in our own third.

The third thing Cordoba has going against him is his build. Mourinho has a history of preferring big defenders. Cordoba is a tough little nut, but his slight build isn’t what Mourinho prefers.

With all this going against him, does Cordoba have a chance of staying on the team? Yes, in fact he does. The truth is, any newcomer that the team brings in might take time to settle in, or may never settle in. If this is the case, then having an emergency player with a proven track record like Cordoba does is a treasure. And that fact alone might save him for another year.

Okay, Materazzi leaves, Cordoba stays, and who comes in to fill the bench? I don’t know. I don’t have a name that I heard is on the scout list. We used to have a player that we sent out on loans named Fatic that there was some buzz about but we sold him to Genoa as part of the purchases we made this summer. Last season we had a primavera player named Andrea Mei on the team that we sent out on loan this season to Crotone I think. Current primavera players that I have heard – very little, as is the SOP with Primavera players for this team – about are Esposito, Giocomelli and Riggione. I couldn’t tell you if all of those players were centerbacks, just that there was some praise for them from someone at the club.

If I were in charge, who would I go after? Some names come immediately to mind:

Radu, the 22ish year old Romanian centerback who currently is on Lazio’s roster, is someone I have a good feeling about. He’s a little green and he doesn’t really play much for them, but I think that he fits into what Mourinho wants to do with the back line. The thought of Mourinho molding him into a Chivu/Lucio/Carvalho hybrid is pretty damn exciting. Unfortunately for me, I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.

I also like the way Canini plays for Cagliari. He’s 24 and he looked like he has half a brain with which Mourinho can start to change him into the kind of player he needs. Canini looked amazing 2 years ago, but he dropped off a little last season. At his position, his prime will probably be around 28 or 29 so he has some time to grow into a good player.

Ranocchia, a Genoa player on loan to Bari looks like he has some talent also. But he doesn’t have as much playing time as Canini and Radu have.

I would love to hear some names from the rest of you guys, though. I think that we all know that the usual suspects of FM wannabe’s like us are Bocchetti, Gamberini, Santacroce, Kjaer and Zapata. Are there any other players that we are more likely to get as a transfer?

Of course, as I write this there is a renewal of rumors that we are interested in Kjaer. I still don’t see it, but I wouldn’t be adverse to the situation if it happened to work out in our favor.

Our fullback situation is a little different. I have gone on record as saying that Macion is gone at the end of this season. This would leave us with Chivu, Santon and Zanetti, whose midfield days would probably be over, as our possible fullbacks. Obviously we would need reinforcements, but I would be damned if I can think of another fullback that would play regularly in this company.

The type of player that Mourinho is looking for would be very technical and like to push up the field to overlap the midfielders who would pull back, pinch in and hold 10 meters in front of the midfield line. In other words, whatever he’s looking for in a defender, take the opposite of that to look for a fullback.

Zambrotta, Grosso, Oddo, Santon, Criscito, Molinaro and Motta are really the Italian templates for this type of player, but there just isn’t enough talent to go around. But none of these guys are Maicon, either. Criscito and Santon are better defenders than the rest and are pretty decent going forward, but I wouldn’t call them attacking threats. Besides, however good they will be defending or attacking, it’ll happen years from now. Zambrotta and Oddo are fading fast as age catches up to them. Molinaro doesn’t really impress me too much either technically, attacking or defending, but he does run the whole game, I will give him that. Grosso, in my opinion, still has the magic going forward, but he’s only barely decent as a defender. I just don’t know what to think of Motta yet. Part of me wants to say that there is a lot of talent there, but the other part of me can’t find it when I watch him play.

So who’s available to buy, if anyone? Again, I would have to rely on someone giving me a few names. I can think of one or two players who have impressed me a little, but no one that I feel is ready to compete with Zanetti, Santon and Chivu. If we were to try to sign a guy like Zapata, this is where we could convince him that there is room to play – assuming he is interested in playing fullback. But truth be told, not only am I not really enamored with Udinese’s defence, he’s not really a defender to my liking.

Although, I would be lying if I said that Zuniga from Napoli doesn’t interest me a little. I don’t think that he’s playing in the right system for him in Napoli and he’s young enough to grow into the role, but at the same time, he has some experience. As I said, I think he’s a little intriguing.

I don’t know a whole lot about Philipp Lahm, who plays on Lucio’s old team Bayern Munchen except that he is very short. Ditto Marcell Jansen, who is very tall and plays for Hamburger SV. Both of these players are young and supposedly good attackers. But no one comments on how they defend – which to me is something that is important to know. As far as transfer fee goes, I think that Lahm is more expensive than Janson, although I don’t know by how much. Janson was transferred from Munchen to Hamburger for less than 10 million Euros. I would love for anyone who has seen these two play to comment about their game.

Okay, so I hope that this keeps the juices flowing while we await actual games after this international break.

FORZA INTER

Just because we are on an International break doesn’t mean that I can totally slack off. True, there is not a whole lot to talk about, but those of you who have been around here for a while know I rarely let that stop me. Oh, and the picture has nothing to do with anything, I just liked the composition.

First off: International Call-ups

Thanks to the insanity of Maradona and some untimely injuries, we only have 10 players out of town these next two weeks (all times are local):

Italy U21: Mario Balotelli
— Italy v Bosnia Herzegovina (Mantua, Tuesday 13 October at 21:00)

Italy: Davide Santon
— Ireland v Italy (Dublin, Saturday 10 October at 20:00)
— Italy v Cyprus (Parma, Wednesday 14 October at 20:50)

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Maicon
— Bolivia v Brazil (La Paz, Sunday 11 October at 16:00)
— Brazil v Venezuela (Campo Grande, Wednesday 14 October at 18:00)

Slovenia: Renè Krhin
— Slovakia v Slovenia (Bratislava, Saturday 10 October at 20:30)
— San Marino v Slovenia (Serravalle, Wednesday 14 October at 20:30)

Romania: Cristian Chivu
— Serbia v Romania (Belgrade, Saturday 10 October at 20:30)
— Romania v Far Oer (Piatra Neamt, Wednesday 14 October at 21:00)

Serbia: Dejan Stankovic
— Serbia v Romania (Belgrade, Saturday 10 October at 20:30)
— Lithuania v Serbia (Marijampole, Wednesday 14 October at 21:00)

Columbia: Ivan Ramiro Cordoba
— Colombia v Chile (Medellin, Saturday 10 October at 17:00)
— Paraguay v Colombia (Asuncion, Tuesday 13 October at 18:00)

Cameroon: Samuel Eto’o
— Cameroon v Togo (Yaonde, Saturday 10 October at 15:30)
— Cameroon v Angola, friendly (Olhao, Portugal, Wednesday 14 October at 20:30)

Honduras: David Suazo
— Honduras v USA (San Pedro Pula, Saturday 10 October at 20:00)
— El Salvador v Honduras (San Salvador, Wednesday 14 October at 18:05)

Holland: Wesley Sneijder
— Australia v Holland, friendly (Sydney, Saturday 10 October at 19:30)
(this one totally ticks me off. All the way to Australia! For a FRIENDLY! Crazy. He better not come back injured.)

Milito and Lucio were also called up but are too injured to go. Word on the Argentina blog is that Zanetti is in Buenos Aires anyway (and I think it may be true because he certainly isn’t in any training pictures) just to watch the game.

Personally, I think it is a bit of a tragedy that Pupi wasn’t even called up. The folks over that the Argentina blog have been saying that Maradona dropped him because he wasn’t “loyal enough” (whatever that means), but that seems so unlike Pupi. Even Cordoba thinks it is odd. He had a little interview with FIFA about his upcoming WQ Qualifiers where he was asked about Argentina’s struggle to qualify, Cordoba said:

..

“To be honest, I’m more surprised that Zanetti was left out of the squad than I am about Argentina’s overall situation. They can still qualify, but I’m sorry to see that such a great captain and genuine person like Javier won’t be involved. He wanted to be in the thick of it, he’s not someone who disappears when the going gets tough. He’s a friend and a role model to me.”

Man. I want Argentina to qualify because I think they are a great footballing nation, but I hope Maradona crashes and burns. No one treats my Pupi like that, no one (fist shaking).

What Next

Well, the days are getting shorter and here in Seattle I had to turn the heater on last night so it must be time for… MERCATO MADNESS

Yep, nothing screams International Break like stupid transfer rumors – especially given that the market doesn’t even open for another three months. So….

Now, I have nothing against Adriano, but if JC wants brains he may be going after the wrong person here.

Maicon’s agent is still harping on about all the huge clubs that want him. Last time it was Real Madrid, now it is Manchester United.

Susana Werner inadvertently brought down a media storm around when she made an off-hand remark in her personal blog that ManU had also been bombarding her husband, Julio Cesar, with offers. She has been quick to back peddle saying that she only brought it up because it means he is a good keeper and she is proud of him (fair enough). He has “denied everything” and Branca is working on a new contract for him. So, miniature made up crisis averted, whew.

Liverpool has apparently shown interest in Rene Krhin, but he has “no intention of leaving Inter” and will sign a new contract in the next few months. I have no problem with this – he is a promising young kid and I would like him to stick around.

Everyone that hasn’t gotten a whole lot of playing time yet is supposedly leaving in January (Vieira, Quaresma, Mancini, Suazo, Arnautovic). Ya, ’cause after ten games (counting supper cup) everyone can already see who will play the next 40 or so, right (estimating here, kids, dont rip on me for having the wrong number of total games)? Cripes. Funnily, the only actual player who has said they are thinking about leaving is the one of the bunch who is actually playing somewhat regularly (that would be Vieira).

Oh, and also now Muntari’s agent is supposedly in talks with Tottenham. I know he has had a couple not so stellar games, but I would hate to lose him after only one year. I quite like him.

And here is a little bone for MAD: according to a headline at La Gazzetta, Inter likes Gallopa:

MOVING ON

During these two “off weeks” Mourinho has a whole passel of youth players training with the first team. Everyone has been preparing for a friendly this Saturday against Piacenza (at the Stadio Leonardo Garilli in Piacenza on Saturday 10 October, 4pm local time). I have no idea if the game will be broadcast, but I will do my best to find out for you all.

Thiago Motta is working his little heart out (double sessions today), as is Milito (who wants be ready for the game against Kiev on the 20th), but despite their best intentions, probably neither will be back until November. Grrrreeeeaaaaat.

No word recently on Lucio but I dont think his injury was that serious.

Well, I guess that is enough to keep us all occupied for another couple days.

FORZA INTER

And I leave you all with the almost unbearable cuteness of Jose Mourinho at a “press conference” with children. It is in Italian, but here is a barely passable translation of some of it. Really, it is tons more lovely than they make it out to be.
Just watch:

First, a bit of a caveat: This list does not include all the youth players. Some are here but I just cant be bothered to look them all up. Sorry.

Forwards

Acquafresca: Sold to Genoa as part of the Milito/Motta deal; Genoa sold him on to Atalanta.
Adriano: Contract rescinded. Chasing his bliss in Brazil
Crespo: Contract not renewed, joined Genoa as a free agent
Cruz: Contract not renewed, joined Lazio as a free agent
Ibrahimovic: Sold to Barcelona for €49 million and Eto’o (valued at €20 million)
Kerlon: On loan to Ajax
Obinna: On loan to Spanish club Malaga

I, like Bobby, thought this would be Acquafresca’s year to finally make that move up to Inter. He had waited so long and so patiently and was playing so well for Cagliari that I really thought we would see him in black and blue this year. Well, I was half right, he is playing for a nerazzurri, just not our nerazzurri. I think he is a little bitter and I dont really blame him. I just hope he does not turn out to be the one that got away.

Crespo was not such a shock. Although I am fond of him, I am also ok with him moving on. He played some great football for us, then some mediocre games, and now it is time for him to find himself again. I cant think of a nicer club for him to do it in. Good luck Crespo.

Obinna and Kerlon had to go out on loan. Obinna needs playing time and if he can get this on loan for a year, all the better. His national team play shows he has talent, he just needs a couple thousand minutes under his belt to polish his skills. I look forward to seeing him next year. Kerlon was at Chievo last season but only made two appearance. I know very little about him but so will withhold judgment.

Now Cruz, this one was much harder. I know he did not have the best season last year, but come on, the man is an Inter legend. He has sweated blood for this team and I would have been more than happy to have renewed his contract. Still, I respect his decision to move on. At Lazio he can get a lot more playing time than he could at Inter – he just really isn’t part of Mourinho’s plans. It just looks so wrong to see him in that sky blue jersey, though.

Zlatan, on the other hand, straight up broke my heart. I know we are a more balanced team now, but I cant help it, I love him and to see him in Barca’s jersey is like a punch to the gut. He had some nice pre-derby things to say about the club, though, and while I may not be ready to cheer him on at Barca, he may no longer be dead to me. I still dont want to watch him play for them, though.

Midfielders

Bolzoni: To Genoa as part of the Milito/Motta deal
Figo: Retired
Jimenez: Loaned to West Ham with an option to buy

I put Bolzoni in the same category as Acquafresca. He seemed to show real promise and I am sorry to see him go. Jimenez, on the other hand, had to leave. I know that many of you saw some promise in him, but, at some point, when he never delivers on that promise, you have to ask yourself whether it was ever there to begin with. In my mind, he is not good enough for Inter. I wish him well in England.

Losing Figo was a blow. I know he was old and had lost his pace, but come on, this is FIGO. He just has some special magic that transcends his age. I hope that one day, he takes Moratti up on that job offer.

Defenders

Burdisso: Loan to Roma
Maxwell: Sold to Barcelona for €4.5 million
Rivas: Loan to Livorno

Well, all three had to go and we are a better team for it. Of the bunch, Maxwell was the best, but his leaving allows more room for Santon to grow. I cant help but wonder if this wasn’t really part of the Ibra deal – we all know how much Ibra likes his little buddy. I have a soft spot for Nico, but watching him play with Roma against Juve reminded me of all of his shortcomings. I am glad I wont have to watch him get caught out by Diego when we play Juve. Rivas was another disaster. Like Jimenez, there are some of you who saw a little glimmer of hope in Rivas. Well, if it is there, now is his chance to shine. I am just glad he will be honing his skills at some other club.

Eto’o: From Barcelona, valued at €35 million, 5-year contract
Lucio: From Bayern Munich, €5 million, 3-year contract
Milito: From Genoa for €20 million plus Acquafresca, 4-year contract
Thiago Motta: From Genoa for €18 million plus Bolzoni, Bonucci*, and Meggiorini*; 4-year contract
Sneijder: From Real Madrid for €16 million; 4-year contract
Arnautovic: From Twente on free loan with option to buy for €9 million. The option will be automatically exercised if he makes 10 appearances for Inter.

In addition, Quarsema and Suazo have returned from loans.

*Calcio Mercato shows co-ownership with Genoa. Also shows that Genoa have half of Fatic and paid €1 million for half of Bonucci. Very curious. If anyone knows the real deal, please post it to the comments.

Earlier in the summer I likened Motta and Milito to dead-rodent gifts from your cat: well meaning but not really something you want. I now admit it – I was wrong. Milito, while not flashy, is quietly brilliant, earnest, and a hard worker. He seems completely committed to Inter and willing to do whatever is asked of him. I like him, quite a bit. Motta, on the other hand, I was slow to warm to. Up until this last game, he seemed slow and prone to bad passes. Hopefully the Motta that came out to play Milan is the real one because I want him to stay.

Lucio is not the defender of my dreams, but he is not chopped liver either – especially for the price. I think the errors we saw in the Bari game are just him trying to settle in to a new club (at least I hope that is the case). He is, though, head and shoulders above both Burdisso and Rivas. He is not someone to grow with, though, and, at some point, will need to look at replacements for both Materazzi and Cordoba (on the day they leave, I will cry). For the next couple of years, though, I think he will work out pretty well.

I am still withholding judgment on Eto’o. I know he was brilliant for Barcelona, but this is another league with another team. His particular kind of fabulousness may just not translate into Italian. He is fast and menacing, though, I will give him that. He certainly draws defenders and if our midfield can get him the ball, that Barca glow may shine again. I just want him to score a goal from open play.

Sneijder was a big surprise. After all the drama, missed planes, and extra J’s, by the time the deal actually went through, I was ready to give this guy a hard time. Plus, his form had dipped a bit last year and he seemed a bit injury prone. Then he walked off a plane an onto the pitch and played a great 74 minutes. He distributed the ball well, got off a couple cracking shots on goal, and drove Rino Gattuso to distraction. I may not be entirely sold, but I am impressed nonetheless.

Arnautovic doesn’t have a number yet so isn’t part of the team. He will have to be revisited when and if Inter decide to keep him.

Overall, I think this is the most successful market Inter has had for a long time. The team feels balanced and has been rejuvenated without losing touch with the core players that have helped us win the last three years. The squad has been thoughtfully pruned and new growth is sure to follow. I dont know if this is because Moratti is finally listening to his coach or because Mourinho just has better plans, but whatever it is, I like it. With the exception of Sneijder, this market season seemed much calmer. We had clear targets, and, if the price was too high, Branca said no thank you and moved on to Plan B – it doesn’t feel like there were any last minute impulse buys. Sure, I will miss old friends, but I think there will be some highly entertaining football to distract me.

We have spent a total of €59 million and took in at least €53.5 million. That means only €5.5 million went out this summer. Even if we exercise our option on Arnautovic, that will only bring the total up to €14.9 million. Not bad for an overhaul. The only thing that would have made this transfer season more successful was if more clubs were able to actually pay us for the players they are getting. It would have been nice to sell Jimenez and Burdisso outright – we wouldn’t have gotten much, maybe €4 million each- but every little bit helps. Ten players were removed from the payroll while only six were added (I think we are paying Arnautovic while he recovers) – which also helps the bottom line. I think, at the end of the day, when all the receipts have totaled and the wage bills settled, Inter may have actually come out in the black. It just goes to show, being fiscally responsible does not mean the team has to suffer or become less competitive.

In the end, I think everyone is happy with the new look of Inter. We managed to strengthen the squad despite losing a star player, and do it in a way that did not break the bank. I give this mercato a 7 that will bump up to an 8 if Arnautovic works out.

FORZA INTER

Be Champions!

For those of you that have not been following this year’s transfer season soap opera, Wesley Sneijder has reportedly said “Yes” to Inter… Again. Of course, he supposedly said yes on Monday before changing his mind and missing his plane on Tuesday.

He loves us. He loves us not. He loves us?

If you are to believe the rumors, the reason Sneijder was loath to leave Real was that his new girlfriend (he is recently divorced) works for the team and could not follow him to Italy. He had a meeting with team officials yesterday and supposedly had convinced them to keep him on. Today, though, according to il Corriere dello Sport, his agent informed Sneijder that he would not be on the Champions League list.

I guess that must have been the thing that finally ripped the scales from his eyes, because now the reports are he has agreed to a move to Inter and will be on a plane to finalize the paperwork tomorrow. In his own words, he is very happy to start wearing blue and black and is even ready to play on Saturday.

The only thing that keeps me interested in this affair is that the Plan B seems to be Julio Baptista. I think Carlo Garganese at Goal.com sums up my feelings quite succinctly when he writes:

“Baptista has been one of the most over-rated and inconsistent attacking midfielders to bless the European game over the past few years. The Brazilian has been horrible ever since he left Sevilla in 2005, and has failed at each of the three big clubs he has represented – Real Madrid, Arsenal and Roma. Why should this change at Inter?”*

The thought of him at Inter is enough to make me completely change my perspective on Wesley Sneijder. Whatever he is or isn’t, he is at least a huge step up from Julio Baptista. So, if it turns out to be true this time, Welcome Sneijder! ‘Cause at least your better than Baptista!

*On a side note, Garganese didn’t think Sneijder would much cut it either. He thought Inter should have gone for Franck Ribery or David Silva. Sure we should, because we have an enormous pile of cash just lying around.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW OF DOOM

Tomorrow UEFA will make the draw for the Champions League. Basically, Inter’s inability to do well in Europe has dropped our coefficient into the toilet. This has, in turn, dropped us into Pot 2 which means we are not a top seeded team and will have to play one them to make it past groups.

(For any that are interested, you can find how this coefficient is derived here, on page 42).

This fall, Inter will have to play (and hopefully beat) one of these teams:
– FC Barcelona
– Chelsea FC
– Liverpool FC
– Manchester United FC
– Arsenal FC
– Sevilla FC
– FC Bayern Munchen

Plus one of these teams:
– Olympiacos FC
– Olympique de Marseille
– FC Dynamo Kyiv
– VfB Stuttgart
– Club Atletico de Madrid
– FC Girondins de Bordeaux
– Besiktas JK

And one of these teams:
– VfL Wolfsburg
– R. Standard de Liege
– Maccabi Haifa FC
– FC Zurich
– FC Rubin Kazan
– AFC Unirea Urziceni
– APOEL FC
– Debreceni VSC

AC Milan, on the other hand, will be seeded so will have a much easier time of things. Oh well. Fingers crossed it is Bayern Munchen. I think I will commence to quaking in my boots now.

FORZA INTER

Well, at least we still have our hunky keeper!

A little background…

Early this summer, there was some speculation that Sneijder would be offered as part of a deal for Maicon, but according to Maicon’s sleazy agent, no offers arrived. Inter, still interested in the player, asked if he was available and was quoted a price of €25 million. Inter decided to look elsewhere. Sneijder’s agent even said a move to Inter for Wesley would be impossible: “Coach Pellegrini considers him a key player for Real and he is not allowed to leave the club. He remains in Madrid.”

For his part, Sneijder has continually said that he would like to stay in Madrid and fight for his spot. He did concede at one point, though, that if he did decide to leave Madrid (which he never would), Inter would make a nice option. He said that he thought Mourinho was a good coach and was flattered that Mou considered him his first choice for a trequartista.

Well, it now looks like Sneijder doesn’t have a choice. According to sources, he is being forced out. FC Inter News has a particularly tawdry tale to tell (my translation):

Real Madrid has put Wesley Sneijder’s back to the wall: either accept the transfer to Inter or else run the risk of spending the season off the squad. The coach of “merengues” Manuel Pellegrini and the Director General of Casa Blanca Jorge Valdano met in Dortmund this morning, where Real will play this evening against Borussia, and spoke with the Dutch Fantastista. The coach has opted for the iron fist: Sneijder, like Van Der Vaart, is no longer in the plans of the ex coach of Villareal, and he has kept [Sneijder] off the list of those convened for this evening’s friendly against Borussia Dortmund. In addition, the club has already made it known to the player that upon return to Spain, he can no longer train with the team. Ouch.

The situation is truly a “separation in house” and is becoming increasingly asphyxiating for Sneijder, who does nothing to conceal his nervousness to the point that, reveals Sport Mediaset, in training today, according to some witnesses, was a couple of times close to brawling with some of his companions. The player, however, continues to show some reservations about the move to Inter because of some questions related to the recruitment. Reservations that perhaps will soon dissolve, considering also the fact that he has virtually been cut from Real it could at the end become for him decidedly counterproductive, especially in the year that brings the World Cup to South Africa. Inter, strong in agreement with Real, is waiting. In the end, it could be a matter of days, or even hours, before the desired “yes” arrives for the transfer of Sneijder to the Nerazzurri.

Ok, I admit it, I wanted him – or at least I want a talented attacking midfielder – but not like this. I dont want a mopey guy forced out of a team he loves who thinks of us as a nice idea. I want someone who actually wants to come to Inter.

For lack of a better phase, I want them to want me.

At least the price has come down, now they only want €15 million. Poor guy.

FORZA INTER

Inter 1 – 0 Bahrain

We might as well start with the good news: Inter beat the Bahrain National team 0-1 with a goal from (get this) MANCINI! Yep, after stating that he would not leave Inter this summer as he wants to show everyone what he can do, he finally did something! And with his huge forehead no less:

After the game he said: “I have worked intensely all summer to show that I can still be useful and that the real Mancini certainly isn’t the one of last season.”

As for the rest of the game, try as I might I cannot find any more highlights. If you are really interested, you can read the live commentary from the game. All I can really gather from it is that most of the attacks originated in the midfield and Quaresma saw a lot of the ball.

According to Mourinho, the game was good practice for home games, saying: “We experienced a situation that will occur frequently at the San Siro — playing against opponents who line up 11 men behind the ball.”

This was Cuchu’s last start for 4 to 6 weeks.

INJURY UPDATE

For those of you who dont know (how could you not know?!), Cambiasso was injured during our game with Juve for the Trofeo TIM. He was diagnosed with a a lesion of the external meniscus in his right knee. He has undergone arthroscopic surgery and the operation was a “complete success.”

It is thought he will be out about a month and a half, so wont return until somewhere towards the end of September. Looking at our schedule, that means he may well miss six games: Bari, Milan, Parma, Cagliari, Napoli, and Sampdoria. Milan and Napoli will be particularly tricky without Cuchu.

Cambiasso’s injury also means that Vieira will likely stay at the very least until Christmas and that Inter will have to step-up their efforts to land a new trequartista. Stankovic (who usually plays that role for us) is our best Cuchu substitute, but if he is needed farther forward, that leaves Vieira as the next option. Mou tried Patrick out in Cuchu’s spot for the Bahrain friendly and Baresi said after that match:

“Without Cambiasso in midfield we have deployed Vieira, who has done very well. Now we have one more week of work to decide who to use in that role during the first day of the championship. Also Quaresma, as an internal [midfielder], moved well.”

Speaking of options, another interesting development is that Krhin has gotten more play time. He was brought in both during Trofeo TIM and for the second half of the Bahrain game. Now, it could be that with Cuchu out, we are desperate for midfielders, or, it may be that he has managed to impress Mou. I haven’t seen the Bahrain game and only watched the Tropheo TIM on a tiny little feed while at work so I dont have much of an impression of Krhin. I suppose the real proof will be if he is allowed to play for Inter in a real game (ie Serie A or Coppa Italia).

TRANSFER ROUND-UP

Here we are, half-way through August and the only Inter player with a contract to leave the squad is Jimenez. (How soon we forget. Maxwell also left. I have flushed Ibra from the bathroom of my heart so he doesn’t count.) There were nibbles for Mancini (who turned them all down), Obinna actually had a place at Napoli before he screwed that up over image rights, Rivas will never leave, while Burdisso may end up at Roma yet. Vieira had at least one concrete offer (from Birmingham) which he turned down, and may have gotten a couple more before the month was out (Marseilles was maybe interested). As I said, he looks set to stay now. As for the others on the sell list, there is still interest in Obinna from Everton and now Genoa. Roma want Burdisso on loan but he wants a permanent move (at least if you believe Goal.com, that is).

As for our desperate attempt to fill the gaping hole in our midfield, we still have a big fat nothing. Sneijder is still supposedly our first choice (whether he likes it or not). Apparently, Inter are ready to offer Real Madrid 7 million euro now for Sneijder on loan with a 13 million buy-out at the end of the season. Real have countered with the idea of 9 million now and 9 million next season and we take him now – no loan. Inter’s idea of the no-loan option spreads the 18 million euro payout over 3 years: 9 now, 6 next year, and 3 the year after that. Now, the only problem is how to convince Sneijder to leave Madrid?

FORZA INTER

I will leave you all with this little hors d’oeuvres to whet your appetites:

——————————————–

INTERNATIONAL CALL-UPS

We are moving into an international break and Inter have twelve players going out to play for their countries:

Davide Santon to Basel for Switzerland v Italy

Mario Balotelli to St. Petersburg for Russia v Italy (U21)

Ivan Cordoba to New York for Columbia v Venezuela

Cristian Chivu to Budapest for Hungary v Romania

Sulley Muntari to London for Ghana v Zambia

Nicolas Burdisso, Diego Milito and Javier Zanetti to Moscow for Russia v Argentina (poor Samuel, he never gets calle up)

Samuel Eto’o to Klagenfurt for Austria v Cameroon;

Julio Cesar, Maicon, and Lucio to Tallinn for Estonia v Brazil.

Most of them left directly from China to join their teams. In addition, Mourinho has given a few days off to Patrick Vieira, Francesco Toldo, David Suazo, Dejan Stankovic and Rene Krhin.

YET MORE FRIENDLIES

Yep, just when you thought we were finally finished with summer friendlies, two more pop up.

First, there is the Trofeo Tim on August 14 in Pescara. For those of you who dont know, the Trofeo Tim is a wacky three-way game between Milan, Juve, and Inter comprised of three 45-minute periods that Juve have never won (this could be their year, though). Considering the grueling travel schedule most of our starters have, this could be one that gets away from us.

Then, Inter play the Bahrain National team on August 16 in Kapfenberg, Austria. After that, all we have to do is buckle down and prepare to beat Bari on opening day.

Oh, and find a &*$&%#* TREQUARTISTA! Van der Vaart seems to be the favorite now.

FORZA INTER