Inter v Lazio, Supercoppa Here We Come!
By: Johonna | August 8th, 2009
What: Inter v Lazio, Supercoppa Italiana
Where: Bird’s nest stadium, Beijing, China
When: Saturday, August 8, 5am pacific (ouch), 8am eastern
How to Watch: If you are in Britian, apparently it will be broadcast on ESPN. If you are in the US, find a stream (“MyP2P, Justin.tv, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net).
Here we are, already at our first “real” game of the season. The game has been moved to China, and, while I know Inter have been courting that market for some time, it means the squad is bound to be a bit jet lagged. Add that to all the recent personnel changes and developing tactics, and it makes what should feel like a shoe-in seem a bit more like a nail biter. Even worse, Lazio are now sporting our good friend Julio Cruz on their bench and you know he wants some payback. This game is going to be a corker – too bad they are making it so hard for us fans to watch.
Overall, Inter have a pretty good record against Lazio. Of the 151 times the teams have met (in all competitions), Inter have won 61, drawn 56, and only lost 34. Our Supercoppa record against them, on the other hand, is dismal. Inter and Lazio contested this cup in August 2000. After seven goals, including ones from Deki and Mihajlovic (for Lazio!), Lazio beat Inter 4 to 3. I am sure they would be overjoyed were this to happen again. I, on the other hand, am looking for some payback!
Last season, Inter won both ties against Lazio (2-0 at the San Siro, and 0-3 at the Olimpico):
Looking at the line-ups for that game, though, five of the Inter squad who took part are no longer with the club (Ibra, Figo, Cruz, Crespo, and Jimi). That is a whole lot of turnover. Even Mou is slightly worried about this, saying:
“Compared to last season we are a new team with new men and a new style of play. We have changed four players who are considered starters, four out of ten means 40% of the team. In this situation, the more time we have to work, the better, because the players get used to playing with each other and everything is more natural when you repeat exercises. But we do not have time so we have to take advantage of all our qualities to win this match and also the next ones. I am expecting a difficult game because Lazio have showed great qualities in recent years, and they have a new coach so we do not know how they will play. But it is no problem for us how they play or who plays for Lazio. We have two solutions with the same principles of play and we have tried them and we are ready to play.”
One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not the same…
THEM
This section will be short, I have not really been following their preseason. Lazio have only played a few friendlies against some lowly opposition, but, for the most part, they trashed them (13-0, 1-1, and 0-10). In addition, they are keen to win this cup, Matuzalem even went so far as to say:
“I consider this match to be very important, I hold it dear. It’s a final. We’re playing for a trophy. It’s surely one of the most important matches of my career.”
Of his career! That is a lot. I had no idea we were so important. They also now have Julio Cruz. This time, when he scores that winning goal in overtime, it will not be for us. Ouch, that huts a little.
As for formation, La Gazzetta thinks it may go a little something like:
Muslera (who sounds like the genus of a rodent)
Lichtsteiner Siviglia Diakite Kolarov
Eliseu Brocchi Ledesma Foggia
Cruz Zarate
Aside from preparing for the game, there has been some real madness around the club. Players are not happy plus, apparently four people just got busted for helping the Camorra in a failed take-over bid. I tell you, it is pure pandemonium. In the end, though, they have a new coach, a new-to-them Cruz, and all the motivation in the world. This one is going to be tough.
Mou at least looks confident.
US
Well, we all know already who Mou has called up:
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar, Paolo Orlandoni, Francesco Toldo.
Defenders: Nicolas Burdisso, Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, Cristian Chivu, Lucio, Maicon, Marco Materazzi, Walter Samuel, Davide Santon, Javier Zanetti.
Midfielders: Esteban Cambiasso, René Krhin, Amantino Mancini, Thiago Motta, Sulley Muntari, Ricardo Quaresma, Dejan Stankovic, Patrick Vieira.
Strikers: Mario Balotelli, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, David Suazo.
Note: No Obinna and no Belec. Apparently, Mou is a mite angry that Obinna scuppered the Napoli deal. I think he will make Obinna live to regret not leaving when he had the chance. As for the rest, it is pretty much what we all expected.
While in Beijing, Mou has been messing around with a 4-3-1-2 employing Stankovic behind Eto’o and Milito and a 4-3-3 that also includes Balotelli. What do you be that we see a little of both tomorrow? Whatever the final formation (which I will read about after the game – no 5am for me!), lets all cross our fingers that Eto’o begins his long, illustrious stay with Inter by bagging a goal (or two). Milito could use one as well.
FORZA INTER
Our keepers have formed a gang! Look at how they take on the rest of the coaching staff:
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Comments | Add your comment
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I agree that was a funny juxtaposition…
Posted from
United States
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MAD, as a matter of fact you do gain an advantage when you block the goal keeper’s view of the ball while you are in an offside position. If it wasen’t a foul wouldn’t every team do it? If the goalie can’t see anything then he’s pretty much useless.
In inter’s case today eto’s position was offside, he might of not touched the play but he clearly influenced the play, had he not been standing there the goalie could of seen the ball coming and saved it.
Posted from
United States -
he might not of touched the ball***
Posted from
United States -
MAD, like I mentioned earlier, if Eto’o had been anywhere else except that exact position, up to a couple of feet away on either side, the goal would have stood. But really, its a far cry to expect the ref to NOT call it an offside when the ball goes right thru his legs. In any ref’s view, that would have counted as ‘intent to interfere with play’. Also, if you notice really carefully, Eto’o wasn’t exactly still. He moved his legs slightly to avoid making contact with the ball.
Personally, I didn’t feel there was any controversy over any of the decisions, except Muntari being carded for Zarate’s dive. Their first goal was lucky, but not illegal.
Posted from
United States -
Finally an inter fan with sense.
Posted from
United States -
well, i think we gain nothing by trying to readjudicate settled cases. I actually think the loss serves us better because the coaching staff might have thought that things were peachy if we had gotten away with a victory. Now they’ll probably spend extra time retooling rather than thinking that the new approach was problem-free.
Posted from
United States -
Word, Vinod.
Posted from
United States -
Hey, Adam! Ouch!
Posted from
United States -
ah, offside 101 by MAD.
then what about this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3ugT_nNYEEPosted from
United States -
Vinod, I don’t see any problem with Eto’o moving or blocking the keepers vision. In fact a lot of goals get scored because the keeper see a shot late. In fact on corners a player is used as a screen to make the keeper see a shot late.
According to your example, if Eto’o were on sides, it wouldn’t matter because he was still hampering the goalkeepers vision. In effect, he’d still be interfering with the player, which would still a foul and a free kick.
The goalkeeper has no right to vision. There is no provision in the rules that say that a goalkeeper has to ahve a clear line of sight onsides or off.
In fact, if the Lazio keeper weren’t a scardy little bitch, he would have moved forward and attack the ball and own his area – whether or not Eto’o were there.
Eto’o, according to the rules, interfered with nothing and no one. As I said, I think that the real issue isn’t that Eto’o was on or offsides, it was the backlash the ref would have to face – like the Adriano handling – making the technically correct ruling but idiotic and ignorant public opinion going against him.
We saw that today as three people who apparently don’t know the handling rules useed that very example to show how there is favoritism towards Inter, while Collina himself said that the ruling on the field, which was a goal, was the correct decision.
To me, it just looked like a return to preCalciopoli anti-Inter reffing, paid for by the Stormtroopers.
Personally, I would have been happy to let the matter drop after my venting this morning. It was 8:00am and I was grumpy.
But since all the right people got all bothered because I was saying the truth, namely that Juventus is the dirtiest team in Serie A and we get hosed on calls regularly, I think I’m going to have some fun riling up the dirty idiots.
Posted from
United States -
@trond – you mean the offside goal that we got, that I said:
1. It was offside
2. We shouldn’t have gotten that point.
3. That I would be happy to give up that point if Juventus would give up the million or so offsides goals that I have seen them score in my lifetime.That’s what I said at the time, close to verbatim I think. If it wasn’t for that one, than I said those words for another offside goal we got.
****EDITED BY JOHONNA *****
I guarantee that I will never read you being so honest for whatever team you follow.
Posted from
United States -
MAD, i hope inter loses every single game that they play this season with the other team scoring the same exact offside goal that Milito scoerd with the help of Eto’o in the Super Coppa. That way inter will be relegated and according to you every goal will be legal.
Posted from
United States -
relegated? adam, that word doesnt register here.
Posted from
United States -
Johonna, I was just passing through to see what u guys thought about the game and MAD, its nothing against you but didnt you (Johonna) say that personal attacks/insults were not tolerated in your/MAD’s blog?
I kind of remember getting called out for it by you when i was discussing the lack of Italians in Inter when they signed Milito and Motta and gave up Freshwater. (i never insulted E in the first place).
Nobody is insulting the man that is calling others.
- “lazy little asshole”
- “dirty idiots”
as a matter of fact, from as much as i read up on this debate, the ladri supporters seem to be expressing themselves in a very civil manner
Hate to be a snitch but i really hate to be called out for something and see others getting a free pass even if they are bloggers.
Its all good though, don’t expect/need you to do anything about it. I don’t care much, this aint my fav teams blog anyway. I just care enough to point it out
Maybe you took the rule back, if thats the case, sorry for the mix up. I don’t pass by here often so i don’t know what goes down her on a day to day basis.
Take care, enjoy the rest of your summer.
Posted from
United States -
MAD, i am milanista. mind you.
if you would give your dirty points to us, especially the dirtiest you got by hand of adriano, then you would have not been ranting all these non-sense about offside.lazio would have played us yesterday.
Posted from
United States -
Your absolutely right Kirby, “relegate” doesn’t register with inter, just like the season (cant remember exactly which year, somewhere in the early/mid 1900’s) where inter finished dead last and the team above them got relegated.
Posted from
United States -
That comment about Lazio playing AC Milan yesterday if not for Adriano’s handball goal in last year’s derby ranks high up amongst the top-10 most inane comments ever posted on any sports blog on the Internet.
Posted from
Germany -
fransesco, re-read my comment. if MAD would give ALL the dirty points they got…
Of course as Milan fan, to me, Adriano goal is the most obvious one.this might help you:
http://italy.theoffside.com/serie-a/the-serie-a-table-without-refereeing-errors.htmlfunny to see that the writer’s name is also Francesco.
Posted from
United States -
Trond:
The info from that link is a joke. You should read the comments made about the link you have posted and you’ll see people’s argument for and against such an approach and how it’s not such a straight forward case.
How do you know a team would not just have kept attacking if a goal were disallowed ?
And who knows what the people who constructed their table in all their “infallibility” include and did not include ? Did they include Ronaldinho’s offside goal during the first derby last season ?
I agree that referee’s error had nothing to do with yesterday’s game but you are no better than those who insist otherwise when you trot out this kind of flawed information. It might make you feel that you have facts on your side, but it’s pathetically flawed. It’s like simulating a chaotic trajectory in physics. A slight change in starting conditions and you never know where it might end up.
Did they include something as innocuous as a wrongly-called goal kick which should have been a corner from which someone might have scored ? I hope you see how shifty and whimsical such an argument can become. It’ll be to your credit to drop it. Lazio won yesterday, Inter won the league last season. Finito !
Posted from
United States -
Trond, do you even know how the data for that re-written table was compiled? do you even know who re-wrote the table?
I didn’t think so.
A big problem with the world of football today is the media and its heard of sheep.
Posted from
United States -
Apuzzo, indeed, those are my rules. Unfortunately, you got here before I did (time zones and all) so caught it before I did. I am not here to police all the time – I do sleep. It has been removed, and no one gets a pass – not even me.
Ok, so, lets not degenerate into a bunch of boring name-calling and “You’re stupid – No, you’re stupid.”
And Trond, that “revised table” is a joke. Do a little research, you will see what I mean.
Posted from
United States -
MAD, my point had nothing to do with blocking the keeper’s vision being a criterion for an offside. That was Adam’s point, and I disagree with it. Vision is utterly out of the question. I guess Adam must’ve posted that when I was typing out my comment, so I didn’t see it earlier.
My point was solely that when Milito took the shot, Eto’o’s position and its consequence on the play was such that it simply had to be called. You may be right that there were some deeper motivations behind the decision, but lets leave aside the politics and just look at the technicalities. The simple fact was that the ball went through Eto’o’s legs en route to the goal. It was too close to not call, and we all know that offsides are treated as with the defenders’ benefit – ie, if its a grey-area call, the defender gets the benefit of the doubt.
Posted from
United States -
On that thing about Inter being relegated to 2nd division in 1921/22. I think it was Alessio who mentioned it.
I’ve stumbled across Juve fans making that argument before, and it’s so utterly pathetic it wouldn’t even deserve a response. However… I think it’s worth discussing simply to expose just how desperate Juve fans seem to have got lately (I assume, after their team were found guilty of a match fixing scandal the like of which the world of international football had never seen before).
Why is it pathetic?
1) 1921/22?!? I mean, that alone makes it pathetic.
2) It’s false!!
Some history facts. Inter were not relegated to the 2nd division even though they finished last in their league group, that is true. However that was not due to some obscure maneuverings of their ‘masters-of-conspiracy’ management, or whatever the ever-suspicious Juve fan might want to see in that.
In 1922 the Italian football national tournament went through a radical reform known as “Compromesso Colombo” – see here for details (http://tinyurl.com/l9ymkk). To cut a long story short, a new, unique 36-team national tournament was created out of the two different and competing football leagues that were disputed during the 1921-22 season.
In order to decide what teams were to take part in the newly established tournament called Prima Divisione some criteria had to be devised: Inter, given their dismal season the previous year, were made to play in a relegation playoff tournament and eventually earned their berth in the upcoming season’s top-flight league (on the field!!).
3) The Serie A league was only established in 1928. So clearly our “Mai stati in B” motto would still hold true even if Inter had hypothetically been relegated to 2nd division before the year 1928. Which they have not.
4) Juventus, it turns out, have their own pre Serie A skeletons-in-the-closet I’m afraid.
Not once but **twice**, at the end of the 1910-11 and 1912-13 seasons, Juventus were to be relegated to 2nd division. Both times, however, they were awarded **wild card** admissions to the following years 1st division tournament!! (More details here: http://tinyurl.com/logqqc, http://tinyurl.com/mrfyuu).Posted from
Germany -
Francesco don’t sweat it. You’ll never change their minds. They still think Calciopoli was some massive mission pulled off by Moratti to get them relegated and they think that what they did never actually happened. What they don’t realize is how stupid they make themselves sound. I, for one, find it quite amusing that they go through all the trouble. When they start to babble just point them in this direction: http://www.curvanordmilano.net/pub/curva/modules.php?set_albumName=album22&id=INTER_juve_22_11_08&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
However Appuzzo’s “Tattle Tale” post takes the cake.
Probably the saddest, most pathetic post I have ever read. Typical Roma fan crying about something. Now they are coming up with ways to cry about things that don’t even remotely concern them.
Posted from
United States -
Interesting, I didn’t know any of this. It made some good reading. Grazie, Francesco!
Posted from
United States
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