Previewette: Sampdoria v Inter
By: Johonna | March 3rd, 2009
What: Coppa Italia (Tim Cup) Semi Final First Leg
Where: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
When: 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)
How to Watch: GolTV is showing the game on delay at 9pm eastern (6pm pacific). ESPN360 is showing it live on line. If you (like me) dont have access to either GolTV or ESPN360, find a stream: MyP2P, Justin.tv, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net
On the way home from work this evening, I mentioned to the S.O. that I had to write this preview before our dinner plans (we carpool). His reply was “Coppa Italia, is that thing still on?” When I informed him that yes, it was, all he could say was “Hooray?” Clearly, this tournament is not important to the fan in question. To a certain degree, I share his opinion. This Coppa Italia game seems more like a chore to get through on our way to more important matches. Still, there is no sense in doing something unless you intend to do it correctly, so I expect the team to take the field tomorrow and play to win.
Mourinho has called up 19 players:
Goalkeepers: Toldo, Orlandoni, Belec.
Defenders: Cordoba, Maxwell, Maicon, Materazzi, Rivas.
Midfielders: Zanetti, Stankovic, Jimenez, Vieira, Cambiasso, Muntari, Mancini.
Strikers: Adriano, Crespo, Balotelli, Obinna.
Our schedule is finally starting to catch up to us and our injuries are beginning to accumulate. The list now stands at Burdisso, Ibrahimovic, Samuel, and Chivu. In addition, Santon has come down with the flu. Only Julio Cesar, Figo, and Cruz are out for “technical reasons.” Julio Cesar is being rested, as is Figo, I bet. Cruz is on the naughty list.
THEM
Inter has had 6 Coppa Italia meetings with Sampdoria in Genoa. The last time was in 2007 and was also a semi-final first leg. We creamed them 0-3 (two from Burdisso and one from Crespo). I think that was a fluke. Sampdoria are notoriously tenacious when playing on home ground. They looked quite confident against Milan this last weekend and, as the Coppa is their last chance for silverware this season, I suspect they will go at us tooth and nail tomorrow.
Mazzarri has called up 20 of his own:
Portieri. Castellazzi, Fiorillo.
Difensori. Accardi, Campagnaro, Da Costa, Ferri, Gastaldello, Raggi.
Centrocampisti. Dessena, Franceschini, Padalino, Palombo, Pieri, Sammarco, Stankevicius, Ziegler.
Attaccanti. Bellucci, Cassano, Marilungo, Pazzini.
As to who he will field and in what formation, try Rolf over at the Sampdoria board. I am sure he is far more qualified than I to take on that subject.
————–
Alrighty. So, I think it is fair to say that this will be a tough match for us. For some of the squad members who have been complaining about not getting enough play time (Obinna, Crespo, Jimenez, Balotelli), this will be a chance to show Mou that he has been wrong. On the other hand, this game may show the fans why Mou has been leaving them off the pitch.
Of course, I would like to win this game. I want to win every game, every time. I know that Mourinho wants to win. The question is, will the squad he has chosen be able to get the job done against a very highly motivated Samp squad? I think we just might.
FORZA INTER
For those of you who would like to watch Mou’s presser from today (in Italian, of course):
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Tags: Coppa Italia, First Leg, Inter Milan, Internazionale Milano, Jose Mourniho, Match Preview, Sampdoria, Semi final, Team News, TIM CupSubscribe
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mario was cleared to return to training according to the official website.
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Thanks to Im On Setanta Sports and now Special 1 TV, Rooney has permanently morphed into a lovable, wise-cracking puppet in my mind.
Everytime I think of him, that is all I can see.
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(I am going to come right out and apologize for the length of this post right now. I won’t be hurt if you want to skip it, but I would at least scan it if you want to have a serious laugh at a lot people around here.)
Okay, so I’m bored.
There’s a saying about idle hands but I can’t remember it too well.
Anyway, for fun and my own amusement at the people who were here “visiting” yesterday, I looked up the Observatory of Errors in Arbitration.
Doesn’t exist. In fact this is the first link from google: http://italy.theoffside.com/serie-a/the-serie-a-table-without-refereeing-errors.html
That’s right. It’s the Serie A Page. I actually haven’t read it regularly for quite a few months since I decided that the blogger was just another Chris (read: fanboy), but for another team. I actually read it today and discovered that Goal.com Italia is more reliable than Goal.com english. I thought that this was really funny since they run the same stories (like this one…). Who knew that all I had to do for Goal.com to make sense was to translate it into Italian. Wow.
Link #2 was another blog. Link #3 was an astronomy page… etc etc.
So I tried to get the actual article from Adiconsum, which is like a consumers reports.
Anyway, as it turns out 1.) The article has more to do with sports betting and distribution of winnings than morality and 2.) Adiconsum is only reporting what an independent group is showing them.That independent group? Make Tailored Advertising (supposedly a multi media sports advertising firm. I say supposedly, because I can’t find their official website. I can find their address but no actual… advertising or multi media marketing… hmm strange, huh?). You can find the exact same release from ProntoConsumatore.it. To me, it smells a lot like the Swift Boat commercials of two years ago. But whatever.
Anyhoo, with a little digging it seems that Adiconsum does have an axe to grind against Inter related stuff (who knew!?). Adiconsum’s Secretary-General, Paolo Landi has been fueding with the telephony industry.
Oh, and one more word on the actual “study” by Make Tailored Advertising (it was written in english in the Italian press release)… the errors it found had nothing to do with watching the games, knowledge of the rules and determining that there was an error. It compiled data by scanning media reports, from various outlets, of the games. So, for example, if the majority of the media outlets – despite who might own them or whatever agenda that outlet might have (think Corriere and Tuttosport) -say that there was a mistake… it was called a mistake in the study.
As a serious scientific study this is a joke. And so are those that stand by it.
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Just a footnote. Some stuff got mangled and lost in editing:
I also tried to find “dell’Osservatorio sugli Errori Arbitrali nel Calcio” in google. First link was Adiconsum. Links after that just reported most of what we have all seen. Although I have yet to see an actual table reconfigured on the consumer hotline sites. That must have been a newspaper construction.
And the swift boat schmucks thing was 4 years ago not 2, that’s what happens when you combine sentences without re-editing.
I can’t stress enough how bullshit the “procedure” of this study is. Even if the media outlet didn’t have an axe to grind and only tried to increase controversy to increase readership *once* (hello Tuttosport, the most unreliable periodical this side of Marca) this “study” is completely debunked.
As is all those who are standing by it.
Anyhoo read and enjoy. I had a good time with it. But then I usually have a good time with everything I do. Ask skyder, I always have a smile on my face.
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Compiled data by scanning media reports? lmao
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(hello Tuttosport, the most unreliable periodical this side of Marca
Lol….cause the Gazzetta is so honest.
I actually read it today and discovered that Goal.com Italia is more reliable than Goal.com english.
You should check it out. They actually post full articles, full interviews and commentary, rather than the typical 2-sentence horseshit the English version publishes.
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Goal.com often takes interviews in foreign and translates them into English so they mean the exact opposite of what they originally did. Maybe they’re all hoping to someday work for British tabloids.
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“Im either not understanding you or you have no idea what you’re talking about”
Correct on both counts Dave, no probs anyway.more useless gossip but translation help from Italian speakers please? (not the English bits obviously)
from Il Giorno
Ma gli amici di Josè dicono: non molla
The reality, however, is quite different: too many pressures, difficult environment, hostile climate. Sono queste le ragioni di un divorzio anticipato che Mou avrebbe già spiegato a Massimo Moratti all’inizio del nuovo anno. Tant’è che emerge pure un clamoroso retroscenathe hypothesis a surprise return for Mancini should not be excluded, although the strategies for the next season (summer friendly in the States, a Drogba assault and Inler on the market) had already been agreed
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MAD, I also looked up this whole Osservatorio sugli Errori Arbitrali nel Calcio and Adiconsum thing. I looks like they have been doing this for a few years with always the same result: Referees make errors.
From what I could tell, the data was compiled in a highly subjective, nonscientific way.
It is not a study at all so much as a tally of what is in the press.
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“Lol….cause the Gazzetta is so honest.”
I never said it was. Just the opposite actually. I always qualify everything I post here as rumor or to be taken with salt (read as: completely made up).
Having said that, Tuttosport is bad. Real bad. Goal.com bad.
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By the way, I am really enjoying the reaction on the Serie A blog. This is a study of what the press deems worthy to write about. People are treating this like it actually says something real.
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C4 is predicting a Genoa win against us… Just like they predicted we’d win against Samp and Roma.
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I guess they need something to cling to, MAD.
Skyer, usually C4 predicts we will draw. At least this is something different.
Marica, as near as I can tell it goes something like this:
“But Josè’s friends say: he will not give up”
english junk
“These are the reasons for an early divorce that Mou has already explained to Massimo Moratti at the start of the new year. Thus there has emerged truly a sensational behind-the-scenes.”Or something like that.
Anyone have something better? – really, I am terrible at translation
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Genoa is undefeated at home and we have Man U coming up. If Chivu, Samuel, and Ibra arent fit we’re in trouble. Hopefully Rosina will give Juve some problems
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Toro take Juve? We will be unbelievable lucky if they draw.
And MAD, they only looked at 3 papers:
> La Gazzetta dello Sport
> Il Corriere dello Sport
> TuttosportOr at least that is what it said the pdf attached to this:
http://www.adiconsum.it/index.php?categoria=10&idarticolo=339&pagina=notizia
If the moviola was in 2 of the 3, it got counted.
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Having said that, Tuttosport is bad. Real bad. Goal.com bad.
I wouldn´t say quite that bad, but yes, it´s trash. I wish I could go in to their offices and have a machine kick them in the nuts whenever any one types ¨diego¨ or ¨diego´s father says…¨
Any sports newspaper is going to be trash though, Marca, AS, Gazzetta, they are all 30% truth (they have good interviews) and the rest bullshit because let´s be honest, there is not enough Calcio to publish an entire newspaper, daily. Non-sports dailies are pretty good though, I like to read LaStampa.
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Maldini’s response to Mourinho’s claim that the newspaper should be reporting Milan’s dearth of titles this season is that he has won 5 titles in his time at Milan for every one Jose has won.
My first thought – way to miss the point schmuck-o.
Mourinho’s first point was that Milan was just as, if not more helped by referee’s this season, and no one says jack. Mourinho’s second point was that for all their money and talent it’s not being reported, like it used to be against Inter, that they will go 0-fer in titles… AGAIN this season.
Kinda like Maldini’s comprehension… must be to many HGH injections at Milanello.
Although given his “hurt pride” defensive response Maldini must be pretty upset about it.
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More interesting stuff:
The rulings from the FIGC to Mourinho for his rant and Balotelli for sticking his tongue out at Panucchi were “leaked” to the press before they were distributed to Inter (apparently nothing happened to the ruling to De Rossi and it went straight to the team, as it should) in an effort to cause problems to the team. Isn’t that nice of the supposedly neutral FIGC…
Also after directing comments against Mourinho, Galliani – as is his habit from his days high up in the FIGC before he was “forced to resign” thanks to all the favors he was passing along to his bestest pal and future boss Berlu- then tried to rewrite the recent past by saying, people like me shouldn’t respond to managers… only managers should respond to managers. Made me laugh…
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In today press conference Mou said Nico is gonna start. Could someone please explain why Nico is preferred to Marco?
Ibra, Santon, Deki, Cuchu, and JC were also named as starters. Samuel and Chivu are still injured
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It could be Nico and Marco pairing, couldn’t it?
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Are you trying to give me a panic attack?
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Samuel better be ready by next weeks game.
It’s just a calf for cryin’ out loud… he has two of them! Use the other one!
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FORZA INTER!!!
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Also Paolo Maldini, you’ve been playing 23 years to win your 25 titles, Jose’s been managing 8 to win his 13, so percentagewise, he wins!
Thanks for the translation Johanna.
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Just wanted to say thanks for the great post ! Found your blog on Google and I’m happy I did. I’ll be reading you on a regular basis ! Thanks again
Thanks,
DonnaPosted from
United States
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