Internazionale Main Thread II

[Totally FRANK]

Inter dominate Italian football Oscars
Monday, 18 January 2010 22:57:06
[FOTO Monday, 18 January 2010 22:57:06]

MILAN - Inter won best team, with José Mourinho, Julio Cesar and Diego Milito also carrying off awards as the Nerazzurri dominated at the thirteenth edition of the Italian football Oscars, an annual event organised by the Italian Assocation of Footballers (AIC), Media Project and Sportitalia.

Mourinho was elected best coach of 2009 by Italy's professional footballers, while Julio Cesar won the award for best goalkeeper. Milito received two awards, one for top goalscorer and the other for the player most loved by the fans.

Massimo Moratti accepted the team award on behalf of Inter. He said: "I'm very pleased the team has the character it has, and that its professionalism is of such a high level, starting from the coach who is the greatest professional I have ever met, and not just in the world of football. I hope he continues to win. It's a real pleasure to work with him."

The Inter president also expressed his great satisfaction at the awards won by Diego Milito. "I'm very pleased that Milito has won, and I hope he wins again next year. We're all fond of him and we have great respect for him," said Moratti, who also thanked ex-Inter-striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his contribution over three seasons with the Nerazzurri. "Ibra was a fantastic reality for us. He will always remain in our hearts. I hope he does very well, but not against us if he faces us again. In the two previous meetings in the Champions League he did well not to play..."

Milito said: "I hope to score lots of goals in 2010 too. I have to share this prize with my team-mates, those at Genoa and now those at Inter, because you never play football alone. If I have scored a lot it's thanks to those who helped me do it."

The Argentine striker dedicated the award for the most-loved player to his family. "I thank all the fans and I would like to share this prize with my wife Sofia, my son and my daughter who will be born soon," said Milito, adding that Inter intend to bring home all three points from Sunday evening's Milan derby. "We don't fear Milan. They are on form, but Inter aren't scared of anyone."

After acknowledging the praise of Moratti, José Mourinho put forward a proposal to Lega Calcio president Maurizio Beretta. "I'll take advantage of the presence of Beretta to do the same as Galliani. President, Eto'o is playing the Africa Cup of Nations, we have four injured players, so can we not play Sunday's derby?" he joked, provoking laughter from the audience."

Thanking the AIC for the best coach of 2009 award, Mourinho said: "This recognition has a unique significance because it's the first time that I have been given an award based on the votes of the players. I thank the players of the other teams but, above all, I thank my players who ran for me last year, and all those who are running for me now." Best referee award went to Roberto Rosetti. "Congratulations to him," said Mourinho. "He might have made some mistakes against us, but he's still the best."

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Haha. You can just sense the passive aggressiveness in that remark. How much we're going to miss him when he leaves in 2012..

[Lombardiamia]

Mourinho is probably the most mediatic football person I've ever seen. He could gather an interested audience even while taking a shit.

Moratti today confirmed yesterday's rumours that Roma are not willing to lower their expectations for Baptista, hence we wont be buying him. He also muttered the usual ' we wont be buying anyone' sentence, but if we were ready to spend for Baptista, why shouldnt we spend on someone else?? Surely he aint much credible..

[RomaShield27]

God damn you all to hell for pulling out of the Baptista deal.

INTER 'OUT OF THE MARKET'
www.sportinglife.com

Inter Milan will not make any more signings in the January transfer window, president Massimo Moratti has announced. The Nerazzurri had hoped to acquire Roma forward Julio Baptista to reinforce their attacking line. However, Inter and Roma failed to reach an agreement for the transfer of the Brazil international to the San Siro.

"Roma have taken a decision and we respect it," said Moratti. "Inter's transfer market is closed. "We are not monitoring (Cristian) Ledesma or any other player who is not already at Inter."

Lazio midfielder Ledesma had been a reported target of the Serie A leaders to replace the departed Patrick Vieira. The Frenchman joined Manchester City earlier this month as one of the two players to leave the Nerazzurri - Honduran striker David Suazo joined Genoa last week. Inter have made just one signing this month with the arrival of former Lazio striker Goran Pandev as a free agent.

[Lombardiamia]

You should have been a little cheaper Shieldy. expecting us to give you Burdisso + some 4M for a half assed player would be stupid even for Moratti.

[RomaShield27]

We had hoped you hadn't watched him play in over a year and half and thought him to be a still half-decent footballer instead of a half-decent piece of turd.

[Lombardiamia]

If it was a direct swap between him & Burdisso, than we'd have nothing to say, as we'd be pairing 2 pieces of shit. But you had the audacity to want money too.... For Burdisso + 4M I'd minimum expect some De Rossi...

[maro]

Actually, I think he'd have been worth it for you guys at this stage, Lomba. I'm quite pleased the deal has fallen through from our perspective. He would have strengthened your squad a fair bit and given Mourinho a few more tactical options. Over the summer I think it would have been a rubbish move for you - when you could have paid twice as much and got a perfect fit (like Sneijder for starters). At this point of the season, I think it would have been a much shrewder pick up for you guys than most realise.

[Lombardiamia]

Yes MAro. To be honest, that has always been the issue with this transfer. Being the best currently available we could get does not cut it in the long run. Right now we are short of midfielders, therefore practically any midfielder is welcome right now. But IMO we should take a look at the big picture not just the current one. Would we need him after this emergency's passed? Will we need him after the summer? Will he occupy an important midfield spot when we evaluate what we need in summer? Then how will we rid of him? Will he be another Mancini?
IMO this would be a good signing for the immediate, but a very wrong one in the long run.

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Agree with Lomba on all counts. Sure he'd be good for 6 months as a cover for Sneijder but what then? He'd take the CAM spot that Coutinho will most likely be a back up for next season and increase the problem we've already got - too many middle class midfielders who only contribute quantity and a lack of quality. Cambiasso and Muntari are already back and Stankovic and Motta should be back this week so the crisis is almost over. While I want Ledesma in Jan, the best thing for us is to wait until the end of the season where all midfielders become available from the CL teams as well as others and we have a wide range to choose from. We've been saying this for years now; to win the CL which is the target for management, we need at least one more world class CM to go with what we already have.

[Messinterista]

[Messinterista]

Ledesma has chosen Inter, Baptista for the derby

After Pandev, another 'free' hit from Lazio.
Ledesma has chosen Inter.
Pending the possible termination of his contract, the Argentine midfielder has chosen the Nerazzurri.

The alternatives are getting further away: the pressing of Juventus is less and less convinced, Napoli has cooled down and Fiorentina took Bolatti.

At odds with the president Lotito, Ledesma has decided to take the same route as Pandev and has gone to the Arbitration Committee. The hearing is scheduled for January 26: If the player is freed he will be ready for Inter. Free.
(Corriere della Sera)

Today negotiations resumed with the Giallorossi to get to the Brazilian.
Julio Baptista to Inter, derby gift for Mourinho.
Burdisso will go to Roma plus a fee .
Branca and Prada have yet to find agreement on the figures: the decisive intervention of Moratti.
No Marseilles for Amantino Mancini.
(Tuttosport)

Source: http://www.calciomercato.com/index.php?c=46&a=162566

[zafferano]

I never believe we vould get baptista when theres a good chasnce to
get ladesma for free .the way i see it we get ladesma for free and then
MARATTI will trow the assault for KOLAROV with a mega offer .

[Lombardiamia]

I cant honestly say that I never believed in the Baptista transfer. We all know that Moratti has affairs with the Sensi family which are related to his family’s oil business, hence we have to meet with Roma every 6 months and see if we can help in some way. We’ve practically only done bad deals for us with them, and this was going to be the classic cherry on the cake for us. Knowing this, Roma tried to pull the chain as much as possible to get the most out of this situation, but thank God this time they got refused and now we can spend on someone who will probably be more suitable for us.
With regards to Ledesma & Kolarov, first of all I doubt we’d be waiting for after we get ledesma to offer a deal for Kolarov (if we really intend to get him in January), cause there could be a court sentence only by the 30 january, and that would be too late to try and deal for Kolarov. If we want him in January, we have to offer a good deal immediately. But I also believe that Inter will rather wait till summer for this deal, especially considering that there is currently a positive annual balance sheet, and I doubt they’d be ready to ruin it for Kolarov, to be honest, though I sure as hell would like to see him with us now.

[Dejan-Stankovic]

We'll be risking too much with only Maicon and Santon as real alternatives to full back, Zanetti aside. Kolarov is more of a need than Ledesma imo. Now that the Baptista deal is off, hopefully Branca and Oriali get serious for Kolarov.

Good news with Pato out of the derby for sure now. Nesta will play imo but there's some doubt. Apaarently Stankovic will be ready as well and in training, Mou was trying out Santon in midfield but I don't think that's such a good idea. But now, with Pato out and most likely Beckham or Seedorf playing at RF, there won't be as much need for a pacey LB.

MI; after Essien, we'll need Drogba, Lampard, Anelka and Terry to go down as well if we were to be any chance.

[Lombardiamia]

It will be important for us to have Zanetti play in midfield next sunday as we'll need to double mark Ronaldinho. He'd be too at ease with just Maicon in there covering our right flank.
In midfield i expect us to have practically everyone bar motta & krhin, so we should go with a diamond midfield of Cambiasso, Zanetti, Stankovic, Sneijder behind Milito & most probably Balotelli.

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Agreed that the diamond is the best option but there's no way Balotelli is going to start over Pandev imo. As long as Pandev has 60 mins in his legs, he'll get the nod to partner Milito. I'd also rather Pandev because even if it's only been two games, he and Sneijder have played great together in both and they seem to have a real connection going on. Balo will come on when Pandev is shot or we need to go more attacking cause we're down.

For me, the winner of the game will be the team that limits Sneijder/Ronaldinho better. That's why we should double team him as often as possible and don't be afraid to throw some kicks in. Actually, Muntari might be useful after all. Sneijder needs to push on Pirlo as much as possible as well to force him back and give him no time to play. A lot will depend on whether Nesta plays imo as he and Silva have been great together but Sneijder, Milito and Pandev/Balo has goals in it as long as Lucio stops fucking around and the midfield holds steady.

4-2-3-1 will be suicide in this game so I'm not going to even consider it atm.

[Totally FRANK]

Unfortunately according to latest reports Muntari won't be fit for the derby. He has got himself injured again.

We need a left sided midfielder for the diamond. Neither Stankovic nor Zanetti have been convincing when playing there. I remember them playing together in midfield for one game where Stankovic played on the left and they were pretty poor.

[Lombardiamia]

I have a feeling that balotelli might get the start over pandev because Balotelli always reacts after being publicly criticized by Mou for a poor performance, and Mou knows this very well. But this is IMO a 50/50 gamble right now.
With regards to Sneijder/Dinho, I agree with you that they are potentially the tie breakers but Ronaldinho doesn’t play on Muntari’s side, therefore he would be rather useless in those terms. If he plays, I would rather him pressing hard on Pirlo. I disagree with you about committing fouls though. These 2 teams are potentially deadly when given chances for free kicks. We have Sneijder who can curle it in from anywhere, but they have Dinho/Pirlo/beckham who can be just as deadly. Also I have noticed that Milan have improved enormously when it comes to defending & attacking on corners. Lucio needs to be 100% concentrated as we can afford to have him have the usual blunders. At least this time he will not have pato running at him, as we all know he suffers players who have a good acceleration. Had he not been injured, I would have preferred to see Materazzi in there on Saturday, cause one thing I’m sure of is that Materazzi will not lose his concentration in such a match…..

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Nah I was joking about Muntari. I just meant finally he'll be useful for something like butchering Dinho, aka Matrix butchering DP etc. Of course, it would be extremely stupid to give free kicks near the box with them having so many free kick takers but what I want to happen is if he's far out wide picking up the ball, for Maicon and Zanetti to be on him like white on rice and not let him pass even if it means conceding the free. Apart from Boriello and Thiago Silva, they're not that deadly from high balls from such a long way out. It's better than him running at Lucio and Lucio stumbling over his own feet. If Dinho is allowed to just pick up the ball in space and run at full speed at the back four, we've pretty much lost the game. Also, if you cut out Dinho, you pretty much take out Boriello as well. I'm not scared of their midfield too much tbh. You pretty muck know what you're going to get from Gattuso, Ambro and Pirlo. It was actually Pato I was most concerned with.

I'd also like Maicon and Santon to test out Antonini and Abate as well. They've been ok so far but I think we can make some real progress down their flanks.