Cha Cha Cha Changes
By: Johonna | July 6th, 2009
But probably not the ones you might be thinking of. Sure, Mourinho has spoken of shaking up the squad a bit: dropping a few of the aged and promoting the youth, but these changes are of a more concrete nature. Mourinho is having Inter’s training facility in Appiano Gentile completely overhauled. The Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti, or, more colloquially, La Pinetina, is getting a 1 million euro face lift and the club is trying to purchase the 130,000-square-meter (that is about 32 acres for you non-metric types) sports facility next door.
While the squad is in Los Angeles getting ready for the pre-season, the construction equipment is hard at work back at La Pinetina.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Moratti is taking out the track (which you can see in the air photo below, just east of the “A”) and turning it into another pitch so that two squads can train at the same time. The new pitch will be super high tech with heating pipes under the grass to melt the frost and snow in winter and it will be planted with the same grass as the San Siro. In addition, the pitch in front of the grandstand (where the Primavera team plays) has been made over with the soil and grass from the dismantled track area. It is all ready to go while the other pitch will be ready by September.
Inter is also trying to buy the Sports Center of Pinetina next door. The center includes six soccer/tennis courts (can they be both?), two Olympic-sized swimming pools and two restaurants.
So far, the make over has not included any new buildings but the existing structures have all been remodeled. Office space has been added while new equipment has been purchased for the fitness center. Yep, La Pinatina has gone state of the art.
IN OTHER NEWS
Our new Primavera coach, Pea, is going to LA with the rest of the squad. Four lucky youngsters will also be joining the first team for training in California: Belec (keeper), Obi and Krhin (midfielders), and Destro (forward). While Pea will only stay a week with Mourinho, the youngsters will stay with the first team for the whole pre-season (and maybe even beyond).
And just when you thought the contests were over…
Inter has partnered with Sky1 to bring you Football’s Next Star.
Basically, it is just like American Idol but for football. Sky1 is having trials across the UK and Ireland, and, after a grueling trial period, 10 finalists will fly to Milan and train at Inter Milan’s youth academy for 5 weeks. At the end, “under the scrutiny of Mourinho and his top coaches, the best will be offered a contract with Inter Milan” – or, more accurately, our youth academy. Trials are going on right now, so, if you think you have got what it takes, get to London (July 12-15) or Glasgow (July 17-20). Oh, and you have to be between the ages of 16 and 18 with a valid UK or Eire passport and a boy (of course – shaking fist).
As for Inter’s transfer market, there is still no news. We still need a midfielder and a central defender, plus to trim the squad down so fingers crossed everyone. And, light a candle to the Calcio Gods so that Vieira will find the will to leave.
Basta.
FORZA INTER
Oh, and I almost forgot, Mourinho is on a short trip to Nigeria. Scoping out the talent, I guess.
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Category: Team News
Tags: Appiano Gentile, Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti, FC Internazionale Milano, Inter Milan, Jose Mourniho, La Pinatina, Team NewsSubscribe
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Comments | Add your comment
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Where the hell are Juventus going to play all of the midfielders they got now?
They had a whole compliment of midfielders on the team at the beginning of last summer, they brought in 5 last summer, now they are bringing in 2 more? I think they have only sold one so far, right?
We have 5 that can play regularly. I think we need one more. I think we can use Ledesma from Lazio. 15 million is a lot for him, but not extravagantly so. I also don’t see why we haven’t gone after D’Agostino. Udinese’s negotiations with Juve have fixed his price, and he’s now a bargain compared to Melo.
Tottenham wants Muntari. I am always amused how these piddly little English clubs think that they can get players from us. Who the hell is going to leave Inter, a top of the table team, Champions League, nice pay and living in Italy for anywhere in England.
They must be delusional…
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“Mou asked for four players (striker, 2 midfielders, and a full back) and we cant even pull that out.”
Johonna, I think it’s time to switch to decaf. The transfer window is 8 days old. There is no rush to pay inflated prices for some of these guys.
And by the way, this was waaayyy too funny:
“It is a crazy thing to bring up and all it does is depress Kirby when we bomb out.”
Poor Kirbs, this can’t have been a very restful summer…
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Well, although I’m not happy that Juve got Melo, I would have preferred him staying at Fiorentina, I think that our midfield’s pretty good the way it is – at least, the defensive midfield. Three out of Cambiasso, Zanetti, Motta, Muntari and Stankovic are a potent combination. But yes, I mentioned earlier that Juve with Diego were real contenders, now I’d say that Juve with Diego and Melo are joint favorites along with us.
And alessio, not sure if you’re referring to Melo’s trash-talking of Juventus, but if that’s what you don’t like about his signing, I’d say get over it. Everyone trash-talks, that doesn’t take away their talent. And unlike the Stankovic case, Melo’s only been in Italy for one season, so he couldn’t have possibly done as much bashing as Stankovic did. Melo was the best midfielder in Serie A last season, and now you have him. End of the day, that’s all that really matters.
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@MAD, I think the reason for the panic is that Mourinho more or less made it clear that he wants very little to do with mercato after July 12. But yeah, that’s not as significant as paying an over-inflated fee. Give Chelski a month to cool off, and we’ll see Carvalho’s and Deco’s price-tags drop like flash drives…
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Theres no way all business will be done by the 12th. That would be nice though
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MAD, this Muntari to Tottenham thing has legs.
Apparently they are ready to offer 17 million for him and Harry Redknapp and Muntari already have a good relationship from their time at Portsmouth together.
I would prefer to keep Muntari, but the club may see otherwise.
http://www.fcinternews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=6253Posted from
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I rarely say this kind of thing, but if Muntari leaves, he’s dumb as a stump. Tottenham is a nothing club and never will be.
He’ll waste there.
He stays here, he goes to Europe and wins championships. Oh yeah, and have a good time while doing it.
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hahaha thats funny guys. i wouldnt lie to you, this year as the most depressing year for me in the UCL ever. it actually turned me off of football for a few months. w/e, with a new season comes new hope (even though that hope may be misplaced in a slighty above average team).
i agree with Joey! we should spend the money on talent if we really want to make a good run at it. only time will tell…
@ MAD: lol, it really hasn’t. i wake up every day anxious hoping to god that we’ve signed Anra. why? because he’s the only real player with talent that i believe we’ve been linked too.
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If only this were reported somewhere else besides BS.com because if it is true, it would lighten my mood considerably.
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Johonna it’s from l’equipe:
http://www.fcinternews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=6247
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MAD: I think Muntari may think of moving because he is unsure of playing time next season since we got Motta. Since he’s only been here a year, I think he’s unlikely to agree to a bench role and I can definitely understand that. I thought he was fantastic last year and would hate to see him leave.
I still want a good defender and a creative mid, but after the Quaresma fiasco last year I doubt we will see any last minute deals. There’s still time, but not too much.
Vinod: We are definitely going to start as favourites. Diego has to prove himself in a tough league first. And Juve’s defense still sucks. Either way though, can’t wait for the season to start!
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I really hope vieira leaves…
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I dont know why players get so skittish when there is a little depth in a team. There are plenty of games for both Motta and Muntari. Plus, there is Motta’s injury record.
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A couple of things happened during this summer that I don’t remember happening to Inter for many years, when our mercato was just haphazard. I wanna credit Mou for this mainly, although I think Moratti has become a better football businessman over the years.
1. Firstly, Ibra trying to leave, and the Club sticking to their guns of some 80 million euros transfer fee. If C. Ronaldo’s worth it, so is Ibra – that was our conclusion, and all the poachers backed off. Even Ibra seems to have found “family reasons” to stay in Milan.
2. Maicon and his agent touting our RB to every club with any money, but again Moratti put up a huge transfer fee to detract the suitors. Then, Maicon says he’s not appreciated and wants more money, again the Club did not re-negotiate. We’re growing balls!
3. FC Twente said either we take injured and future-yet-unclear Arna for cash or lose him, we said No, we’ll see how he heals before we give him a contract, and then offer something if there’s real promise.
4. Chelsea trying to boss us with Deco and Carvalho thinking of course we’ll buy them at any cost since Mou loves them so much. But we didn’t fall for it, and as some of you already wrote, I think we will eventually land 1 or both before the transfer window closes, but at a price that WE want to pay.
5. FC Inter has delved into reality show (”Football’s Next Star” on Sky) increasing our prestige and popularity all over the world. I couldn’t think of this even last year before Mou signed! (I can’t imagine any English kid saying I wanna be trained by Roberto Mancini!)
6. Now the Club officials are meeting with Vieira to tell him he has no future here – he should just leave. Dude, this is great!
7. Youth players coming up the ranks. I think we’re still several years away when we can have 6-7 youth team players making up the starting line up (as someone already mentioned, a la Barca), but we’re heading in the right direction. The training facilities are an indication to this progress.
8. Before the end of last season we tied up 2 best players of the league whose names were not Ibrahimovic and Cambiasso. Can you imagine our anxiety level if Milito and Motta were not on the roster already??
So, overall, it’s an exciting time to be an Inter fan. I know Jo you’re worried but I see lots of positive things in this Inter, and even Kirby could put his guard down for a little while!
Can’t wait for the 7/26 “derby” at Foxboro!
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The only problem with that list is that we’re not linked with any CL worthy trequartistas.
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Hmmm, skyder did put things in perspective really well, and I get the gist of it – we’re turning into a much more than the big club, we’re becoming a shrewd football business that knows how to protect itself and not get taken for a ride by anyone. That’s especially necessary in this climate, because on one hand, you have most of the world down with a serious economic crisis, and on the other hand, you have Real Madrid that’re unnecessarily bloating up player prices. And we’ve been smart enough to not fall into that trap.
But Alessandro’s point is very valid, we’re still missing a classy player in that vital position, and that’s probably the only thing standing in our way to winning the CL. The rest of our squad, IMO, is easily on par with any other European club, and better than most. Personally, I still feel that Deco will solve our problem better than anyone we can currently afford, even Cassano. But I’m pretty sure everyone else thinks of it the other way around…
I don’t think Cassano’s likely to leave Samp this year, mainly because he won’t be assured of a starting spot anywhere else, even if Mourinho has this major bromance going on with him. Plus, he can afford to get away with tantrums at Samp, and they’ll still play him every week. We know that’s not gonna happen with Mourinho.
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Cassano wants the World Cup, he wouldn’t leave Samp where he starts every game and risk going to another club where he might not. Next year though.
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Liverpool have been linked with Cambiasso a couple of times now. Apparently, some sections of the press seem to think we’ll actually consider selling him… It was possible to envision an Inter without Ibra, and Inter without Maicon. But its ruddy impossible to think of Inter without Cambiasso. What next? United bid for Zanetti?
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Agreed.
We aren’t going to sell our future captain.
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Mickey: you may wake up angry for a whole lot longer cause Ancelotti says: “Deco and Carvalho to Inter? Absolutely not, the discussion is closed, they are two Chelsea players and they will stay here…”
So, if they actually are right out and this is not just more bargaining tactics, who should Branca turn his attentions towards?
Do we go for Aly Bad Teeth in defense? Is he really CL material? And what about the midfield?
Yikes.
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Kyle:
Kerlon is a 21-year-old attacking midfielder from Brazil. He may have been free, but he has done a whole lot of nothing recently. Four years ago he was considered the next big thing, but that has not materialized. He was at Chievo last season, but, due to injury, only made 4 appearances. I am underwhelmed. He will most likely go right back out on loan.
Picking him up was pure speculation.
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DAMN YOU ANCELOTTI!!!!!!! HES only doing this cuz hes trying to sabotage our transfer plans that asshole. He doesnt need carvalho and deco and he knows it. But my brothers and sisters do not lose heart for there is a far more realistic option and he happens to be a favorite of mourinho. Marek Hamsik he is exactly the kind of player mourinho wants young and inventive. He is CL material considering how well he has played for napoli in the big matches against juve, milan, us, fiorentina, roma, etc. The best part is even though napoli wouldnt give him up easily we could offer them cash along with a player like kerlon, or even obinna who donadoni likes apparently. Even Suazo could be exchanged as well. And dont worry about defense if carvalho doesnt arrive then i say we go for otamendi of velez sarsfield. Apparently were also trying to get salvio from lanus. Bad news is the Rubentini also want him, why dont they just FUCK OFF they already have melo, diego, and cannavaro they really dont need another attacker. We sure as hell could use one after the arnautovic thing. What a bunch of dicks those twente guys are so he gets to train with us but he cant play with us???? And of course we probably wont even get to use him in the CL if we sign him in January cuz he will have played for twente who are also in the CL.
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Hmmm, more for Mickey to scream about now, but apparently Hamsik doesn’t want to move. Apparently, he believes strongly in Napoli’s project, and wants to stay and be a part of it.
I can’t say I blame him entirely, at his age, his priority is to play as many games as possible. He knows Napoli won’t stop playing him, but if he makes a few mistakes at Inter, Jose won’t forgive him too easily. Also, anyone know if Slovakia are in with a shout of qualifying for the World Cup? That could be another reason.
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my followers listen and listen good winning seria A will not be a problem because the cheats have been caught (ac milan/juve) so they cant bribe players and officials. The problem is europe we need to rule again. this can only be done by bringing and keeping the worlds best ie revitlaised ronaldinio, calvalio Elano melo and a young left back and a 6ft 4 center half. All of you email morratti and tell him to make it happen
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Hey guys, this is my first post here. Nice blog, good useful news. Thanks. Happy for the changes (pitch & training facilities) but that Melo to juBentus thing is making me really angry… I had him in mind, but I would be more happy with Ederson [Lyon] / Elano [Man City] or Hamsik [Napoli] ! We really need some creativity, hopefully we will sign one of these, not only grand-Deco-pa.
Cheers from Arad, Romania [Europe lol]
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