Internazionale Main Thread II

[Lombardiamia]

[maro]

[Lombardiamia]

[maro]

[Totally FRANK]

Blog: Rejects revenge
The media focus has been on Jose Mourinho outwitting Carlo Ancelotti, but Steve Wilson feels credit is due to many of the players who joined Inter on the rebound

Jose Mourinho got his ‘revenge’ on Chelsea, although given his dignified manner after the game revenge does not seem like the correct word. Of course the tabloids, in their inimitable manner of simplifying everything, will run with the tale of the avenging Portuguese tactician, but what about a little recognition for those who carried out the actual on-pitch work on the Special One’s behalf?

Admittedly, Chelsea had their own injury problems to contend with, but, if we are to believe the Premier League’s drum beaters, the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba & Co should have brushed aside the Nerazzurri. No? Of course anyone who has done more than half an hour’s research before the game will know that is not the case – the resilience shown against Sampdoria, Milan and Siena this term is evidence that this Inter side does not go down easily.

That fighting spirit is clearly something Mourinho has instilled but I cannot help but wonder if a little of that mentality comes from the players themselves – many of whom have been cast off or rejected elsewhere. Think about it. Who were the star performers for Inter over the two legs? Lucio, Thiago Motta, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o…all with something to prove. That burning desire to contradict those who doubted them may be the coal stoking Inter’s fire.

Lucio was immense at San Siro and, along with Walter Samuel, unshakeable again at Stamford Bridge. Allowed to leave Bayern Munich in the summer, somewhat to his surprise, you just know who he would like in the draw on Friday. Similarly, Sneijder was discarded by Real Madrid before he was ready to leave – had he stayed his Champions League dream would already be over. It’s ironic, then, that the two ‘rejects’ were the Nerazzurri’s difference makers.

Barcelona decided they could live without Eto’o and would rather have Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but did Inter ever look as potent with the Swede up front? The change in approach in the post-Ibra era has enhanced Inter’s European prospects no end. Motta is another who was let go by the Catalans and had to rebuild elsewhere. He got under Chelsea’s skin while also compromising to nobody in the centre – he will be missed when he serves his suspension in the quarter-finals.

Add to those the likes of Goran Pandev, mismanaged and sidelined for six months by Lazio, and Mario Balotelli, left to brood in Italy this week, and you have enough chips on shoulders to serve up an ample accompaniment to a battered cod. If Mourinho can channel that combination of bottled rage and desire for vindication, then Massimo Moratti may just get his European Cup. The field is certainly opening up, let’s just hope for a favourable draw on Friday.

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[Totally FRANK]

Looks like there is a bigger reason for Balotelli not getting called up.
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The two players with whom Mourinho destroyed Chelsea

Wednesday 17 March 2010 11:36
Inter’s impressive Champions League performance at Chelsea was signed, sealed and ready for delivery on Sunday morning on the club’s training pitch.
It was there that Jose Mourinho outlined his tactics to stifle and frustrate his old team – and he pulled two players out from the huddle to explain his modus operandi in the clearest manner possible.
The first player was Goran Pandev; the second, much more reluctant participant was Mario Balotelli.
Pandev had of course spent the first four months of the season kicking his heels at home as his contract dispute with Lazio stole away his career while Balotelli spent his time warming the bench doing little to further his own CV.
Mourinho informed his charges that Pandev would be in the team at Stamford Bridge while Balotelli, for his part, need not even dig out his passport.
Apparently the unruly teenager had turned up at the dressing room whistling the AC Milan club anthem, which obviously did not go down too well with his team-mates – and especially those battle-hardened warriors Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso.
Mourinho had said little on the return trip from Catania so the players knew that the final session would be pivotal to how the team would approach their most important game of the season.
Not many would have been surprised to see Inter sitting back and holding out for a draw, but once again the Portuguese was ready to confound the norm.
The knowledge that Pandev and Samuel Eto’o would become the first line of defence, thus giving those further back time to hold their ground and protect the penalty area, would have raised spirits within the party.
The fact that Mourinho then tore a strip off a chastened Balotelli was another defining moment. The squad was united behind their leader and the subsequent press furore over the youngster’s banishment would deflect coverage away from London.
Massimo Moratti wasn't even informed beforehand that the player he believes is the “future of the clubâ€

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[Carlo Romano]

[Lombardiamia]

[Messinterista]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

Marco Materazzi Urges Mario Balotelli To Embrace Inter Credo Or Leave

‘The Matrix’ has sent a strongly-worded message to the unsettled teenager after yesterday’s triumph at Stamford Bridge.

Inter centre-back Marco Materazzi has insisted striker Mario Balotelli must buckle down and prove his attachment to the Nerazzurri colours if the young prospect is to have a long-term future at the San Siro.

Facing reporters after last night’s 1-0 win over Chelsea which fired the Italian champions into the last eight of the Champions League, Materazzi was asked to send a message to ‘Super Mario’, who was left out of the squad for the trip to London for an alleged tiff with boss Jose Mourinho.

“He should send one to us and thank his team-mates who carried him into the quarter-finals,â€

[Messinterista]

[Totally FRANK]

[Totally FRANK]

[Dejan-Stankovic]

[Messinterista]

Jose reveals contract clause
Special One could quit Inter for Premiershit
Last updated: 18th March 2010

Jose Mourinho has put the football world on red alert after revealing he has a clause in his Inter Milan contract that allows him to leave whenever he wants.

Inter's impressive UEFA Champions League elimination of Mourinho's former club Chelsea in midweek reaffirmed the Portuguese's standing as one of the game's brightest tacticians.

Mourinho renewed old rivalries with Carlo Ancelotti, a former coach of Inter's neighbours AC Milan, and once again came out on top.

At the game's conclusion Mourinho spoke of his fondness for Chelsea but strongly intimated a return to English shores with another Premiershit club is a distinct possibility.

Having recorded title success in his native Portugal, England and Italy it had been thought Mourinho may fancy a stint in Spanish football but it seems his heart lies in England.

And news of his contractual situation could well see eyebrows raised in a number of top flight boardrooms.

Mourinho said in The Sun: "My future consists of doing my best until the end of the season, then we'll see.

"My contract is simple. I've got another three years, with a clause that allows me to leave whenever I want."

Source: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... 11,00.html

[Dejan-Stankovic]

I can't get the article up to see that date but if it is today:

1. Everybody knows he's got that clause in the contract since a while ago
2. "it had been thought Mourinho may fancy a stint in Spanish football"... how hard is it to understand "I'd like to win the Spanish Primera?"

But it's skysports so what do you expect...

[Messinterista]

I edited the post with date included.