Internazionale Main Thread II

[Totally FRANK]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Zhirkov and Deco are both definitely out which was just confirmed. Ferreira hasn't been called up as well so the choices they have at LB are Belletti, tender Alex and Bruma (youth team). That's their obvious weak spot right now so I think Sneijder, Stankovic and Maicon should make it a priority to attack through that side as much as possible. Terry hasn't been in the best of form lately so that side looks a lot more vulnerable than Ivanovic - Carvalho.

[RomaShield27]

Do they really, Fonz? Or do they get fined for a culmination of yellows and reds? Or did Eto receive the fine for simulation as it was already a highly-charged atmosphere which lead to further protests from both other players and Inter's management against the ref?

[arthurfonzarelli]

I read about Roma players getting fines for cards every once in a while so it's either for the yellow or an accumulation of cards. Or because he's black.

[Totally FRANK]

[juventino_italiano]

[Italiamia]

[Totally FRANK]

[zafferano]

[Totally FRANK]

[zafferano]

[Messinterista]

Mourinho answers Ancelotti

Jose Mourinho refused to talk about his three-match Serie A ban, but replied to Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

“You’ve got the wrong Press conference,” he told a journalist who asked about the vociferous protests during Saturday’s 0-0 with Sampdoria.

“This is the Press conference for the Champions League, for the game Inter-Chelsea. I am here for this reason and am not banned.

“I have to represent my club with a player under UEFA rules and I am willing only to talk about tomorrow’s match.

“We are facing players accustomed to playing for the win, but the same is true of my own squad. We’ll see if this makes for a spectacular game, even if that’s not guaranteed.”

Mourinho has always had a fractious rapport with Ancelotti, which wasn’t helped when the Chelsea boss suggested “all of Italy” would be cheering on the English club.

“If he says that, then it’s because he knows it. Or someone told him. Maybe he’s part of the clan,” shrugged the Special One.

“I know Chelsea very well, but that doesn’t mean it makes my job easier. Among the huge amount of information I have on Chelsea, I need to select the right ones to tell my players and that is not easy.

“For example, I played against Porto during my first year at Chelsea, but had a lot of difficulty against my former club despite knowing them perfectly.

“I saw Chelsea playing with a diamond midfield 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. They’ve been using that system since 2004, so I doubt they’ll change it for this game.”

Mourinho left many happy memories at Stamford Bridge and was pleased to face Frank Lampard, John Terry and Didier Drogba again.

“It is important for a Coach to command respect and passion from players and fans. It has always happened to me at Porto, Chelsea and now Inter.

“I am proud that Drogba speaks highly of me, but I also know tomorrow he will give his best. Lampard and Terry are improving as time goes on and never seem tired of playing.

“If asked, they will probably try to give some of the credit to me, but it is all their own doing. They age like fine wine.”

Inter have some question marks over their line-up, as Julio Cesar was in training today despite suffering facial injuries in a car accident on Monday.

“I don’t know if he will play, we’ll have to wait until a few hours before kick-off,” explained Mourinho.

“After an accident you never know how the human body can react.

“In this match the midfield will certainly be the crucial battleground. I have to choose Javier Zanetti’s role between left-back and a more advanced position.”

Source: http://www.football-italia.net/feb23v.html

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[zafferano]

[Totally FRANK]

[RomaShield27]

Wesley Sneijder has Inter fans believing this could be their year
The Dutchman has been a revelation for both Inter and Serie A, and he is determined to win the Champions League this year

www.guardian.co.uk – By Paolo Bandini – Wednesday 24 February 2010 12.00 GMT

While Carlo Ancelotti's presence makes it hard to envisage Chelsea taking tonight's opponents lightly, a manager less steeped in the Italian game might have been excused for assuming that Internazionale had taken a step backwards over the past 12 months. Four points worse off in Serie A than they were when they faced Manchester United at the same stage of last season's Champions League, Inter lost their star performer Zlatan Ibrahimovic over the summer and failed to retain the Italian Super Cup in August.

Among the staff at San Siro, however, there is no such sense of decline. José Mourinho declared earlier this month that his team are "better" without Ibrahimovic and at their best they have certainly been imperious, crushing city rivals Milan 4-0 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and swatting aside European hopefuls Genoa 5-0 on their travels. If they have gone through some rough patches, too, it is no coincidence that those have tended to arrive when one particular player is absent.

Wesley Sneijder has not so much been the revelation for Inter this season as for all of Serie A. He had been at the club barely 24 hours and was yet to take part in an Inter training session when Mourinho thrust him into the line-up against Milan, and he responded with a display of such conviction that Gazzetta dello Sport immediately described him as "the brushstroke that completes the painting".

It is hard to dispute that assessment. Small in stature and not, by today's standards, especially pacy, Sneijder more than makes up for his shortcomings with a rare vision and awareness of team-mates' movements. As a boy he recalls being constantly reminded by his father to practise playing the ball with both feet, with the result that he is now capable of unleashing a thunderous shot – and indeed taking an excellent free-kick – with either. His importance for Inter, though, is as much a question of tactics as talent.

Some of the most consistent criticisms of Inter over the last few seasons – under both Mourinho and his predecessor, Roberto Mancini – have regarded their lack of creative players capable of linking the midfield and attack. Mourinho set out to address this in his first summer in charge, bringing in the wingers Ricardo Quaresma and Amantino Mancini but neither played up to expectations and both were soon marginalised. Without them Ibrahimovic became isolated, and the team too reliant on the striker to both create and take chances all by himself.

The plan with Quaresma and Mancini had been to install a 4-3-3 along similar lines to that which Mourinho had deployed at Chelsea, but now with Sneijder the model is a narrower 4-3-1-2. Between his times at Ajax, Real Madrid and with the national side the Dutchman has been used as a left-sided midfielder, attacker and even as a deep-lying "quarterback" in the Xabi Alonso mould, but he himself has always said he prefers playing as a No10 in behind the attack and that is where Mourinho has used him.

From that position he is given licence to roam in behind two other key summer signings, Diego Milito and Samuel Eto'o, whose combined 26 goals have helped make up for Ibrahimovic's absence. Goran Pandev's performances since arriving on a free in January have been so impressive, however, that even Eto'o may not be guaranteed a starting role much longer. As if that were not enough attacking options at Mourinho's disposal, the temperamental but undeniably talented Mario Balotelli has also shown signs of progress this season.

Defensively, too, Inter are stronger than last season, with Lúcio having arrived from Bayern Munich and forming a strong central defensive partnership alongside Walter Samuel. Each has missed games this season through injury or suspension but both are available this evening.

For all that Inter are loth to place too much on one man's shoulders these days, it is the presence of Sneijder that has many fans believing that this could just be their year. "I too want to win [the Champions League] at the earliest opportunity," said Sneijder in an interview earlier this season. "This year, in fact." Given the European struggles of the last few seasons, it would be a relief just to make the final eight.

[Totally FRANK]

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