Internazionale Main Thread III

[Messinterista]

Muntari calf strain confirmed
Sulley Ali Muntari has added to Inter’s midfield injury crisis after tests confirmed a calf strain.

The Ghanaian was already struggling with a muscular twinge before last night’s Champions League trip to White Hart Lane.

He limped off during the second half of that 3-1 defeat to Tottenham and tests this afternoon confirmed a strain.

Muntari “has been diagnosed with a right calf strain (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles),” read a statement on the club website.

It is a further dent for the Nerazzurri midfield, who are currently missing Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic and Thiago Motta.

Source: http://www.football-italia.net/nov03o.html
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Blessing in disguise. What's happened to Mariga?

[Totally FRANK]

Mariga suffered a long term injury during the international break. We are left with no midfielders except Zanetti for Saturday's game.

[RomaShield27]

Club Focus – Inter – A lesson unlearnt as injury concerns mount
www.footballitaliano.co.uk – By Varun Mathure – Friday 05 November 2010

Inter Milan wasted the chance to seal qualification to the next phase of the Champions League after succumbing timidly to Tottenham in London. Gareth Bale was once more the hero for the Lily Whites as the Welshman set up the second and third goals for his team in a performance that left Maicon chasing little more than shadows all night long.

While the English press went into overdrive praising the 21 year-old, the Nerazzurri and coach Rafa Benitez in particular were left with some introspection to do. A string of injuries to the team saw Inter start with Sulley Muntari and Javier Zanetti in midfield with Goran Pandev and Jonathan Biabiany supporting the prolific Samuel Eto’o. Within the first ten minutes it was clear that this was destined to be a long night for the Inter faithful as Bale got behind Maicon with relative ease on a couple of occasions and threatened to do so every time the Londoners broke forward.

The same Inter which had managed to keep Lionel Messi quiet only six months ago were left scratching their heads against a pacy youngster. It was surprising to see the Nerazzurri and Benitez making the same mistakes which allowed Bale to net his hat-trick at the San Siro a fortnight ago. Maicon was always going to be second best against the Welshman and yet he was provided with no cover by his coach. Inter sorely missed Esteban Cambiasso who has always been so pivotal in breaking down oppositions’ attacks. One can safely say that had the Argentine been there, Tottenham wouldn’t have found Inter’s defence as easy as to breach as they did on Tuesday night.

The midfield duo of Muntari and Zanetti showed their lack of playing time together and were disconnected during much of the game. The Ghanaian was especially wasteful in possession as he gave away the ball on numerous occasions and seemed to shoot every time he had the ball in the opposition half. Benitez for all his tactical nous failed to pick up on these rather obvious drawbacks and allowed things to continue as they were with regrettable consequences. Biabiany who should have been ideally helping out Maicon on that right flank particularly as he was Inter’s fastest player was camped in the Tottenham half. The same could also be said of Pandev who was preferred over Countinho by the Spanish coach.

However it was only Sneijder and Eto’o trying to drag Inter forward and the lack of options around them invariably saw them lose the ball in the final third. A couple of hopeful shots were all the Nerazzurri managed before falling behind to Rafael Van Der Vaart’s goal. Sneijder was denied by ex-Milan keeper Carlo Cudicini on the stroke of half time and one expected the ‘real Inter’ to show up on the other side of the break. However, the team continued in the same vein and Bale setup Peter Crouch for the second goal and Roman Pavulychenko for the third in identical fashion either side of a Samuel Eto’o strike that gave Inter brief hope. Diego Milito made his return to the field as Rafa’s final throw of the dice and looked lively in the fifteen minutes he was given.

As the final whistle sounded at White Hart Lane, Benitez looked more like Liverfekkin'wankscum’s manager last season than that of the reigning European champions. There are some serious issues that he needs to address in the next few weeks, the first of which is the midfield crisis enveloping the club. Inter are without three of their first choice midfielders and their absence is hurting the team. Muntari suffered a calf strain during the game and that leaves the Nerazzurri with only Obiorah Nwankwo as a traditional central midfielder. This is a surely a sign that the team need to invest in the January transfer window if they are not to pay the price of a long tiring World Cup year. Inter cannot do without Cambiasso, Stankovic, Thiago Motta and Mariga and hence need a backup plan in case of an emergency.

The game also displayed once more that motivation may be a problem for some of the players this year especially those who travelled to South Africa. Maicon and Lucio were superb in the last part of the previous season and it was the solidarity at the back that the Brazilians provided that helped Inter build a platform to their success. On Tuesday night both players looked disenchanted and rugged, the winter break could probably help Benitez rejuvenate them. Sneijder is also looking tired after a year that has already seen him play close to 50 games and the Dutchman admitted that Inter need to ‘rediscover their winning mentality’.

Inter are the reigning European champions and a performance like that on Tuesday night does the team no credit. The Nerazzurri must look to kick start their campaign once again when they welcome Bresica at the weekend and hope that their troubles are firmly behind them.

[Totally FRANK]

During the winter break we will be at Abu Dhabi playing the Club World Cup. There is going to be no rest for the lads.

[Totally FRANK]

I would go with the 4-3-1-2 formation in the future when we have recovered all our midfielders. Now it would be really dangerous with Maicon in poor form and Chivu doing a bad job at LB as well. What I fail to understand is why Chivu continues to play when Santon is fit, just because he is left footed doesn't necessarily make him a better left full-back.
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Blog: The Milito-Eto’o conundrum
Diego Milito’s potential inclusion in the Brescia match-day squad represents a new challenge for Rafa Benitez, one that could make or break the Coach’s Inter career. Rob Paton writes
Diego Milito’s brief cameo at Tottenham on Tuesday evening announced two things very publicly to the Nerazzurri fans and critics. The first is that the No 22 is looking sharp and, secondly, Samuel Eto’o looks set to retain a central striker position.

Milito came on for Goran Pandev with 20 minutes remaining and took a position along the final line of attack next to Eto’o and Philippe Coutinho. Crucially, though, Benitez left Eto’o in a central striking role.

Whether or not putting Eto’o above Milito remains the case should Milito start on Saturday remains to be seen, but the quandary facing the Coach could be the difference between a successful season for the blue half of San Siro and Benitez heading out the door before we reach May.

With Milito misfiring in the opening rounds of the season, Eto’o demanded the lone striker role, and however detrimental his outburst may have been to the team’s collective spirit and any relationship with Milito, the No 9 has followed it up with a run of form that sees him just one goal short of matching last season’s goal tally already.

Milito’s injury came at an ideal time for Benitez, coinciding with Eto’o’s surge in form and allowing for the Argentine to fully recuperate. The neat exchange of passes with Eto’o within seconds of coming on at White Hart Lane, followed later by a well-struck effort that clipped the goalframe, indicates the former Genoa man looks ready to challenge – if not partner – Eto’o and attempt to recapture the form that saw him net 30 goals last term.

The scenario is a dream for any Serie A Coach – two proven, world-class strikers vying for a starting berth, but for Benitez, it also represents a potential storm of criticism should he get it wrong.

The options are to leave Milito and Eto’o competing for the single role in attack and be accused of an over-cautious approach, to upset Eto’o and shift him back to a wide position – going against a promise the Cameroonian says Benitez made him and risk media finger pointing of weakening the side should Milito fail to find his scoring touch – or to alter the formation mid-season.

There is the possibility of changing to a 4-3-1-2, to maintain Wesley Sneijder’s creative presence in the centre and encourage a partnership to develop between Eto’o and Milito. However, it will leave the side, particularly in Europe, vulnerable to wing-play, something highlighted by the lack of tracking back from Inter’s widemen in recent games that has seen the full-backs struggle to prevent crosses into the box.

Benitez has also shown reluctance to switching to a diamond midfield, with a 4-4-2 option of Pandev and Philippe Coutinho on the wings and a Sneijder-Javier Zanetti central partnership looking a possibility against Brescia.

Whichever way Benitez chooses to get the best out of both Milito and Eto’o, he looks set to start having his say on Inter 2010-11, and if he gets this right, La Beneamata will have the most lethal strikeforce in Serie A again. Perhaps most significantly it will also represent something even Jose Mourinho wasn’t able to do at the club.

[zafferano]

how sad to see some of our players croll at MOU ass .
was ok until was our coach but now is gone and fuck him
we should look farward .no one see how much play with our players brain
phoning them and play with theyr heads. i think he
contribute a lot with moicon militoand others poor form .
Mou is good if is on our side but now is gone and fuck him.
only have to reid how he was talking to Sneijder to know what is capable of .


Daily Network
©2010 SERIE A Versione inglese

Sneijder: "Quanto eravamo forti..."
05.11.2010 18.18 di Pietro Mazzara articolo letto 9131 volte


© foto di ALBERTO LINGRIA/PHOTOVIEWS Intervista all'insegna della nostalgia quella concessa da Wesley Sneijder al quotidiano sportivo francese L'Equipe, che titola, appunto, "Quanto eravamo forti!" citando il forte rimpianto dell'olandese per l'anno scorso e i tre titoli vinti dall'Inter con José Mourinho in panchina. Ricorda, Sneijder, di essere arrivato a Milano da Madrid giovedì e di essere sceso in campo il sabato successivo nel derby contro il Milan: "al di là del risultato (4-0) - dice - giocammo benissimo. Sentii subito che organizzazione aveva l'Inter in tutti i reparti. Ognuno giocava per gli altri. Quanto eravamo forti! Dopo una settimana, ho detto a mia moglie: 'questa e' una squadrà. E alla fine, abbiamo vinto tutto". Al primo posto, l'olandese mette Mourinho: "non lo conoscevo per niente - dice - credo che avesse avuto il mio numero di cellulare da Chivu. A Madrid cominciò a mandarmi dei messaggi, dicendo che conosceva perfettamente la difficoltà della mia situazione lì. Poi cominciammo a parlare. Mi assicurò che per me voleva il meglio, che dovevo lasciare Madrid per diventare uno dei suoi giocatori più importanti. Mi disse anche: 'voglio vincere la Champions. Se vieni, ci possiamo riuscire".

[Totally FRANK]

Could our injury situation get any worse? Maicon, Sneijder and Samuel added to the list with Samuel possibly out for the rest of the season. Is this the aftermath of a treble winning season coupled along with the World Cup.

I really feel sorry for Benitez. There is nothing much he can do right now, he hasn't been able to put out the same starting 11 for two matches together and how can we expect him to build a team that plays in cohesion. Eto'o is the only one keeping us alive, Milito and Pandev look totally out of sorts. The only good thing that came out of today's game was that Coutinho is continuing his progression well and Obi had a really game after coming on for Sneijder.

[Messinterista]

[Messinterista]

Season over for Samuel?

The season could be over for Walter Samuel, as the initial diagnosis for the Inter defender suggests torn cruciate ligaments.

The 32-year-old Argentine was stretchered off in agony during the 1-1 draw with Brescia on Saturday evening.

He will require further tests to ascertain the extent of the damage, but the initial word coming out from the club’s medical staff is not reassuring.

There are fears he has torn the posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee.

The incident was an accidental clash of knees with Andrea Caracciolo, but the impact made his knee move backwards when the leg was standing straight.

If the ligament damage is confirmed, then Samuel could well be out for the rest of the season.

To make matters worse, he had already suffered a similar injury in his left knee during the Milan derby in December 2007 and took nine months to fully recover from that.

Source: http://www.football-italia.net/nov06w.html

[Totally FRANK]

Inter's semi-crisis continues as Rafa fields a team of two halves

Monday 08 November 2010 13:23

The Italian media usually answer such questions with scientific precision. In Gazzetta Dello Sport, Valerio Clari was clear: the Nerazzurri’s point at Brescia had “prevented the half-crisis from becoming a huge crisis”.

There were only two things wrong with Inter against Brescia. Their defence and their midfield. Brescia’s goal was almost comically simple: a long ball to Andrea Caracciolo who outfoxed three Inter defenders and the keeper with mysterious ease.

Watching the replay – and marvelling at the way one long lofted pass undid Inter – it was hard not to recall Rafael van der Vaart’s rumoured taunting tweet to Wesley Sneijder: “I met your defence in Milan. It didn’t look good, it was like cheese with holes in.”

Redesigning a football team is never easy. And the way Inter played in their treble-winning season gave the team its identity. Rafa Benitez is now trying to change that, as he urges Inter to play more attractive football, but his players could be forgiven if they started losing faith. Against Spurs, Lucio and Maicon looked especially disenchanted.

The major beneficiary of Benitez’s approach is Samuel Eto’o, who has already scored more goals this season than in the whole of 2009/10. But that gain is offset by the damage done to Inter’s rearguard.

They conceded six goals in two games against Spurs, five were created on the flanks. As long ago as the Super Cup, the chasms of space left out wide by Inter’s more attacking formation were as obvious as, well, a priest on a mountain of sugar.

Maicon should, as Benitez said, take his share of the blame but so should a coach who has proved himself one of the best tacticians in the UEFA Champions League and ought, after the first leg, have devised a cunning plan to deal with the force of nature known to the Italian press as “Incredi-Bale”.

Benitez probably felt he had to abandon the disciplined 4-2-3-1 with which Inter won everything. The margins of victory – against Barcelona in the semi-final – were too slender for comfort and rivals have had the summer to plot how to undo that system. But he has yet to find a formation that suits his players better. Sneijder says Inter need to rediscover their winning mentality. He’s half-right. What they also need to discover is a new way to win.

Against Brescia, Benitez plumped for a 4-4-2 which failed, as Gazzetta noted, “because the midfield line was formed by a former full-back like Zanetti, Sneijder, who hadn’t played in that position for a long time and two lads who are forwards, not outer midfielders”.

This wasn’t a game of two halves; it was a team of two halves. Five at the front and five further back and, after Maicon’s injury, only Christian Chivu striving to ensure the twain should meet.

For Moratti, Brescia probably wasn’t as wearying as the debacle at White Hart Lane. Yet the Inter owner has been reasonably restrained, saying: “It’s not that you have to react violently every time something like this happens but we have to appreciate that this is not the way to reach our goals”.

In his defence, Benitez points out that his side are only a few points shy of the summit of Serie A and just a win away from a place in the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League. He has been spectacularly unlucky with injuries, especially in the middle of the park with Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, Thiago Motta and McDonald Mariga sidelined. That misfortune, especially Cambiasso’s absence, did contribute to Inter’s discomfort against Spurs and probably explains the rumours of Rafa’s interest in Lucas.

This is still a half-crisis. Moratti is a seasoned owner who is not easy to panic. Benitez’s evolution of Inter may become clearer and more successful when half the squad returns from the treatment table. Till then, the coach must do his best to limit the damage. But the Milan derby, the fixture that defines the Interisti’s mood for much of the season, is only a week away.

When Europe’s national team coaches met in Madrid in September, there was much discussion about how reactive a coach should be and the importance of a team retaining its identity as it tries to outfox the opposition. One coach admitted that in the World Cup: “During the first half, I looked at my team and I thought ‘this is not us’. At half-time my priority was to persuade the team to be themselves.”

The question that hasn’t yet been answered, in Benitez’s reign at Inter, is: “What is ’us’?” At the moment, the Nerazzurri don’t play like Jose Mourinho’s Inter. But nor do they play like a team designed by Rafa Benitez.

[Messinterista]

Benitez loses Sneijder as well
Wesley Sneijder is out of the trip to Lecce after his fainting spell, as Inter Coach Rafa Benitez confesses: “I didn’t expect so many difficulties.”

The Nerazzurri are in the middle of an injury crisis and, with the Milan derby looming on Sunday, have opted not to risk Sneijder.

The Dutchman fainted during the half-time break in Saturday’s 1-1 with Brescia and has been allowed rest as a precautionary measure.

“After he fainted on Saturday, we have to wait for the results of the examination, so that we can understand how long his recovery will take,” explained Benitez in a Press conference.

Dejan Stankovic returns to the midfield, but the absentee list includes Douglas Maicon, Julio Cesar, Walter Samuel, Esteban Cambiasso, Sulley Muntari, MacDonald Mariga, Thiago Motta and David Suazo.

“I didn’t expect all these difficulties at the start of my Inter career, as this is a side that had won a great deal last season and I thought we could do better.

“Now we are in this situation and all we can do is to stay united until January, as I told President Massimo Moratti and director Marco Branca. Then we’ll see if we can do something.”

Benitez insisted he has no intention of playing a second-string side against Lecce in preparation for the derby.

“The most important match is always the next one. We’ll think about the derby after the final whistle. Lecce will play on the attack and I don’t expect them to sit back. We need to keep possession and force them to play on the counter-attack.”

Inter squad: Castellazzi, Orlandoni, Gallinetta; Cordoba, Zanetti, Lucio, Materazzi, Chivu, Santon, Natalino; Stankovic, Obi, Coutinho, Mancini, Nwankwo; Eto'o, Milito, Pandev, Biabiany

Source: http://www.football-italia.net/nov09p.html
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Can't say that a comment like that wasn't expected. Sneijder is obviously being rested before the Milan match.

[Lombardiamia]

The central midfield positions are what we are missing the most currently. Zanetti has never been a real midfielder, though with a tactical leader like Cambiasso alongside him he's done pretty good, and Stankovic will most probably be risked as certainly he is not 100% fit. Coutinho will play in his natural position with the absence of Sneijder and we'll see what he can offer in there. Sneijder wasnt playing well anyways so I'm not gonna complain about his absence. I just hope Benitez uses Santon in his natural position too, not Cordoba. Benitez seems to not like much Santon..

[Messinterista]

I don't think Rafa doesn't like Santon, I just think he is a bit scared of his inexperience. There is a bit of pressure on Rafa as we all know for him to succeed. The Serie A is his minimum achievement obviously, and he may feel that Santon isn't experienced or strong enough to be a part of his starting 11, be it a Serie A match or Champions League match. If he is thinking like this, then his crazy. We all know Santon is good enough to start.

[RomaShield27]

Who's likely to fill in as partner to Lucio in Samuel's absence? Will Chivu be moved to the centre and Santon play at left-back? Also, is it likely that we'll see Samuel play again this season, perhaps toward the end?

[Totally FRANK]

With Maicon absent, its more likely that Santon will start at RB, Chivu at LB and Lucio being partnered by Cordoba. Samuel had suffered a similar injury two years ago and then we saw him in the final couple of games so there is a possibility the same might happen.

If Benitez sticks with the 4-2-2 like against Brescia then we might see Coutinho playing out wide again. I don't think the 4-4-2 suits us, it either has to be 4-3-1-2 or 4-2-3-1. Obi had a good game the other night and I think we should give him a run out today, see how things go and bring on Stankovic from the bench. The derby is just around the corner and it would suck if Stankovic relapses his injury.

[Totally FRANK]

If you add a central defender and a left back, one could form a really good team with this group
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Nine players at work in Appiano Gentile
Wednesday, 10 November 2010 11:35:40

APPIANO GENTILE - Esteban Cambiasso, Julio Cesar, Maicon, MacDonald Mariga, Thiago Motta, Sulley Muntari, Nelson Rivas, Wesley Sneijder and David Suazo were put through individual sessions at the training ground this morning.

They were supervised by rehabilitation coaches Eduardo Parra and Stefano Rapetti, and physiotherapists Marco Dellacasa and Alberto Galbiati.

[Lombardiamia]

[maro]

A 4-2-2 was what you ended up playing against Samp last season, no?

[Lombardiamia]

[Totally FRANK]

Another crappy performance in the first half. We started the game well but after sometime both Zanetti and Obi were just too deep to connect with the front 4. We spent too much time passing the ball around at the back with no urgency and there was no one in midfield to receive a pass from the defenders and start an attack.

Stankovic made so much difference after he came on and underlined why we desperately need our other midfielders to get fit especially Cambiasso. Finally, we managed to score a goal because of the brilliance of Eto'o but conceded because of our stupid defence. Right now, the team is not in a situation where we can score one and rely on our defence to close the game out.

Considering that the derby becomes a scary proposition. We need Cambiasso and Sneijder back otherwise we are in big big trouble.