Inter Info: 2/17/08
By: robert | February 17th, 2008What’s up my dawgs? I’m still in celebration mode after moving 11 points clear on top. However, all Inter fans are going to have to put that in the back seat, because if you forgot, we’re playing some team called Liverpool in some tournament called Champions League on Tuesday. Seriously, this is the BIGGEST game of the year. No league/derby/Roma game/Coppa Italia clash, can or will top this. Until we move on to the next round, of course. In other news, some idiot paid $14 million for a license plate. Saeed Khouri, a member of a wealthy Abu Dhabi family, bought the plate at a charity even in Abu Dhabi. I know that it was for charity, but c’mon buddy. There’s so many other things you could buy for $14 million, and still donate to charity. Like, let’s say, a day with Il Capitano. (Oh, I forgot. AJ is scared of getting made fun of because of my dumb ass nicknames. You know what, I don’t give a shit. I like that one, and it’s not going anywhere. Deal with it.) Here’s you daily fix. (Or $14 million license plate. And if you’re smart, your $14 million day with Il Capitano.)
—-> Crespo is pissed. Read here as well. He says that it’s about time Mancini started using him more. I say, I’m not sure. Crespo has basically reached legend status with the Nerazzurri faithful, so I can’t take too many shots at him. But I must say, after last games performance, I think he’ll be seeing even less action. However, let’s look at this from Crespo’s view. He’s a striker, and striker’s need confidence to succeed, by Mancini not playing him only made it worse. We know he’s a great striker. Does he have it anymore, I’m not sure. But the only way we can ever find that out is if he plays.
—-> Suazo was ready. I knew it, I have inside connections, and they told me this before the game. That’s why I was so good in predicting Suazo’s performance. Also, I really liked it when I heard this, “I always try to be ready and prepared, then it’s the coach who decides, I must learn to wait.” Wow, this guy is really turning things around. He’s been playing great, and now this. Davey continues to slowly rise on the popularity charts.
—-> Mancini is a funny guy. “What will we speak about tonight? Will the evening TV broadcasts be the same?”. That’s the same thing I was wondering. Since there were no disputable calls in the game, what’s going to be on T.V.?!?!?
—-> Figo’s happy to be back. “I’m happy because it had been a long time since I could do what I prefer – and that’s playing with my team-mates. The team is playing very well, and I have to gain match fitness. I have to wait for more chances to play and help the team reach its objectives.” Everything seems to be going well in the locker room (both Suazo and Figo giving great comments about team play), we continue to win, and we’re in the “thick of things” in basically every tournament possible. It’s great being an Inter fan right now. And all the time, for that matter.
—-> Here’s the squad for Liverpool. No Jimmy!!! Shit. I haven’t been keeping up on his injury status, (although it does say on inter.it that he has been training daily) so I’m not sure what’s up. Well that really ruins the lineup we had set up, doesn’t it kirby?
—-> Cruz’s interview with Sky Italia today. A lot of interesting things here, but this caught my eye. (The interviewer asked him what’s the greatest danger for Tuesday) “The atmosphere at the stadium will be incredible. And Liverpool have some fantastic players, but Inter start on the same level.” Nice comment, show a bit of respect to Liverpool’s players and fans, but remind them that they will be playing the Nerazzurri. So they won’t get their hopes up.
—-> What do you think the lineup will be? Kirby and I were discussing this, so I thought I would bring it to every one’s attention. Since I’m all about involvement on this page, please, voice your opinion. I’m thinking it’s going to look something like this:
(4-4-2) It’s going from left to right, by the way.
JC;
Max,Cordoba,Matrix,Maicon;
Il Capitano,Cambiasso,Chivu, Stankovic;
TSB,Zlatan
Don’t be surprised if you see Vieria in for Chivu. (I really hope we don’t see that.) Or even Maniche for Stankovic.
Oh, and I’ll have a full match preview for the Liverpool game up tomorrow. Hooray.
So till’ I see ya’, see ya’.
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Comments
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Robert, if you claim there’s no proof Inter is getting favoritism, I’d like you to pull up specific statements that Juventus cheated in calciopoli.
Quoted-”
These are excerpts from the sentences which sent Juventus to Serie B.First of all I want to explain the difference between an article 1 violation (points deduction) and an article 6 violation (relegation). Article one is unsportsmanlike conduct (badmouthing a ref) while article 6 is illicit activity (match fixing). Since no article 6 violations were found against Juve the CAF and FIGC did what has never been done before. The created (and later annulled) a structured article violation adding together various article 1 violations to compose and article 6 violation. This is like saying that 3 grand theft autos = a murder 1. This was widely criticized by other judges and lawyers.
I am quoting the sentences from the Commissione d’Appello Federale (CAF) and Corte Federale (CF). The key points are:
- Pg 74-75 CAF claims that there was no “cupola” or “Moggi System” contrary to the Gazzetta
- Pg 76 claims no article 6 violations against Juventus and therefore introduces the structured article violation (much disputed by many legal entities) The reason this is so scandalous is because it attempts to convince the reader that a team (Juventus) was capable of obtaining a favorable position in the standings without fixing the results of a single game. My question is how? The only way to acquire points in the standings is by winning or drawing matches. If Juve didn’t fix any matches then the standings were legit right?
- Pg 83 CAF states that referee selections were done in accordance with the rules of the FIGC therefore all the phone calls made by Moggi to designer Bergamo were legal and altered no referee selections.
- Pg 101 CAF I’m sure you heard of Moggi’s yellow card system to ensure key players were suspended for upcoming matches against Juve. On this page the sentence declares that the yellow cards were not organized.
- Pg 65 CF claims that Moggi and Giraudo operated independently of Juventus and its owners. In other words the team should have been off the hook regarding relegation and only the two directors should have been on trial (that’s the little loophole that kept Milan in the CL)
- Pg 61 CF states that Juventus was not responsible for the salvation of Fiorentina after the De Santis influenced game between Lecce and Parma that finished in a tie allowing the Viola to survive Serie A- Pg 66 CF states that though Moggi didn’t exercise his ability to condition games, he still possessed the ability. So since you have a car and a bottle of wine you could be tried for having the ability to drink and drive?
- Pg 74 CF admits that no proof of match fixing (article 6) exists.
- Pg 77 CF finally states the proof used against Juventus “Juventus’ advantage was evidenced by their position in the standings at the end of the season”. That’s right…they were guilty because they finished first. So you driving is proof of being a car thief too. Are you laughing yet?
CF Judge Piero Sandulli had an interview in “Il Giornale” on the 27th of July 2006 where he was asked what the reasoning was behind the sentence he approved. His response was “there was no illicit activity; the 2004-2005 season was not fixed. The only doubt we had was Lecce-Parma (didn’t concern Juventus or Moggi) which we looked at again and again (with no video…whatever). In any case the season was legitimate.” I’ll just add that Sandulli has a criminal record for fraudulent activity while at Rome’s City Hall and is a die hard Lazio fan.
CF Judge Mario Serio stated in an interview in “La Repubblica” on the 27th of July 2006 that “in spite of a lack of evidence regarding match fixing, Juventus were sentenced to Serie B and stripped of their titles after taking into consideration the collective interests of the parties involved in the investigation.” All of which happened to be Interista and not just from a fan point of view. See the facebook group to see who the key players in the investigation were and how they were tied to Inter.
Note that no wire taps were heard in court. That’s right. Only pieces of transcripts were used, transcripts that have been manipulated by those that provided them to the court (see facebook group because I don’t feel like re-writing the names and confessions).
Note that no video evidence was allowed to be used by the defense (see facebook videos)
Note no witnesses were allowed to be brought forth
Note that the defense had little more than 3 days to compile their arguments and that they were not presented with the evidence prior to the trial as opposed to what the law dictates…instead the press got a hold of the prosecution’s information first. Is it any wonder? Inter VP Carlo Buare owns la Gazzetta dello Sport and it is run by two major Inter Investors (Verdelli and Cannavo’) while il Corriere dello Sport is run by Bartolozzi (Inter Team Manager).
Posted from
United States
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That’s all factual evidence.
It bothers me extremely that Serie A is sponsored by Telecom Italia, (aka Moratti) Just like it should bother you if Serie A was sponsored by FIAT. Or if Berlusconi was both PM and President of Milan. Serious conflicts of interest, people.
Posted from
United States -
A very long, but informative post.
However, are you basically trying to get at, that Inter may be cheating because the people(s) they are affiliated with own a certain business?
Also, I never said I had evidence Juve cheated, I just said for anyone to find hard evidence that Inter are cheating.
Despite everything, a very good post. Bravo.
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United States -
Interesting read Alessio. As an Inter fan I try to keep an open mind about the court case, but all that aside I cannot ignore the matches I saw with my own eyes, as Juve players dived and got penalties and dived and were protected with nonexistent offsides and cancelled goals. We always knew something was wrong with Juve, it was like common knowledge that Juve control the refs and Milan control the media… The last ten years left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I believe the current argument is that the transcripts only show Juve “attempting” to manipulate without altering results. Well in law, “attempted murder” is still a crime even if your victim stays alive. I believe the relegation was justified for “attempted murder”, and had there been more concrete evidence, then Juventus would cease to exist.
Anyway, the hot topic nowadays is the Morattipoli. I just try to be logical about things and respond to any accusations with the same statement: Do you really think that after all the controversy of calcipoli, that ANY team would risk doing anything even remotely dodgy? Do you really believe that ANY team can get away with cheating today with the media spotlight, probes, and hawk eyes staring at Serie A? I’m sure there are Roma, Juve, and Milan fans in the media, in the government, in the police, and in the telecom companies who are doing everything they can today to prove Inter are cheating… I just don’t like the notion that the system is so corrupt that such a thing is possible! We’re not talking about isolated incidents like those in calcipoli, but the implication here is that there’s such a wide net of conspiracy that it’s impossible to prove! I find that logically impossible to believe. Italian football scandals tent to be 10 to 20 years apart, as people change and forget the last incident. No team is stupid enough to do anything shady just a few years after a huge scandal – that’s suicide.
Anyway, we can talk about this forever… I’ve found that you can’t change anyone’s opinion about calcipoli or inter or Serie A in general. People believe what they want to believe. They repeat half truth and they quote lies which have been repeated so much that nobody disputes them. In the end, I just wish we could go back to the football.
Posted from
United Arab Emirates -
Er, I am not sure how this relates to the weekend round-up or the upcoming CL game.
Ok, line-up:
Can Stankovic play a whole 90?
And what about a Ibra-suazo team up in front? Or will Suazo be a sub in case things arent going well?Oh, and Alessio, according to John Foot “…sporting justice requires far less proof than normal justice. In the world of sport, intention is enough to implicate. You only need to discover if somebody tired to influence the match, not that it was actually manipulated.” (Calcio, pg 289)
And remember, Perugia was relegated after the club president simply had lunch with a referee. And as for TIM sponsoring Serie A, aside from the late 1960s, Inter has not won anything. TIM has been sponsoring football for years – I want my stinkin’ trophies! where are our scudetti? Oh, thats right, only Milan and Juve win with regularity. But how can that be? Inter owns fooball in Italy right? You see how silly that sounds.
Oh, and the whole calciopoly thing went way beyond contact with referees (which is documented with more than just the phone transcripts). There is the whole GEA/transfer market manipulation thing and the bribing of journalists. It was huge.
So now, do you really think the institutional corruption that flowed from Moggi (at the behest of Juve management) for a decade is the same as two bad ref calls that favored Inter? Also, I think you may want to take an extra pill tonight – you are clearly all worked up.
Posted from
United States -
Exactly, Ehsan. I agree completely.
So, Suazo – Ibra for CL?
Posted from
United States -
Did you see this Suazo thing?
http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=584935
WTF!?! way to ingratiate your way into the hearts of fans! He says he should have signed with the mortal enemy of the club he plays for?
Man, and I was pulling for him to have a CL start on Tuesday. With that attitude, why bother.
Posted from
United States -
No Chance Suazo starts on Tuesday.
Saying what he said is pure hind sight. Of course he would have seen more playing time @ Milan. They have a striker crisis.
How can you play him over Ibra or Cruz in important matches when all those 2 have done was answer the call when needed…….. with goals?
Selfish statement… even it was reported on goal.com….
Posted from
United States -
Johonna- I’m not sure if Stankovic can play the whole 90, but that’s why we have subs. Like I said, we might see Maniche in for him at half, or maybe even Figo.
As for the Suazo thing, I can’t believe it. Earlier in the day he had good things to say about Inter (like I said in my post), but then he turns around and says this. I was really starting to like him, looks like he’s going to have to put in another 2 before I even acknowledge him again. Let alone begin to like him.
Oh, and as Paolo said, no way Suazo starts. TSB and Zlatan have been way too good together.
Posted from
United States -
suazo doesnt play well off of ibra at all. i know that some of you all will disagree with me but, one goal doesnt mean that they can do it. it just means that they got it right that one time. suazo to me is a lone striker. he really doesnt knwo what a partner up to is. TSB and Zlatan starts. suazo comes on later in the game to reek havoc with his pace when every one is tired (as usual).
since jimmy isnt playing i think dejan will play for sure. figo will come in for a 20 minutes towards the end for him. PP will come on to just ensure we have position and for soem dribbling ability.
tomw i will be going to a sports bar for the game deck’d out in my nerazzurri gear (flag, scarf, shirt etc). am sure i iwll be the only inter fan there. should be interesting. i’ll probably get killed. once some guy came up to my table and cussed me because ac was beating man utd. WTF!!! lol i expect an even more hostile reception come tomw. i’ll let you all know how that turns out for me.
Posted from
United States -
sorry… i’m a rugby player. so position is possesion for me.
FORZA US!!!!
Posted from
United States -
haha, kirby, love the comment. Good luck by the way, let us know how it turns out.
Posted from
United States -
Yah, we have the George and Dragon, an expat brit bar where they show games. I think I might get spit on if I wear my inter jersey and scarf. I went there for the Roma Man U game, and we had coasters thrown at us for supporting Roma. Luckily, Roma won that game.
Posted from
United States -
Yeah, Italians and Brits don’t mix. Especially when it comes to football.
Posted from
United States
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