Internazionale Main Thread III

[Lombardiamia]

Indeed MI, we got lucky yesterday, since 2 of the the 3 goals scored by Stankovic came off a deflection, whereas Parma apart from 2 goals hit 2 woodworks and also created a couple of other goal scoring chances. But for anyone who's seen the match, if you simply take Materazzi out of yesterday's team and replaced him with pretty much anyone, those goal-scoring opportunities would have been at least halfed. Both Parma goals came from Materazzi blunders and I counted at least 2 other clear goal-scoring opportunities for Parma gifted by Matrix. He seemed to literally be playing for Parma instead. I hope Chivu can recover soon as Cordoba can be drifted back to the centre, even though Chivu would be my favourite candidate to partner Lucio in the middle. But I understand Chivu is needed on the left, so..
Re-our luck, well I say that is a good sign nonetheless. In recent matches, we have been very unlucky in most of our matches, hitting woodworks and missing easy chances. Having luck means having the confidence to try. Also in these past 2 matches I’ve noted that Benitez is slowly adapting himself to the players, instead of the other way round. He is slowly shifting back to what this team does best...low defence, fast transition from defence to Sneijder with the wide men and striker dropping into space. Counter, counter,counter....we love that. Leave the ball possession to others, or at least leave it stand-by until other regular players return.
P.S. How important is Thiago Motta for this team?? The game changed completely once he stepped in... then they criticize Benitez for not having excellent results...when so many players like this are missing, we practically half our strength. Lets see what Benitez can do with an almost full squad, if he ever gets the chance to have an almost full squad...

[Totally FRANK]

Inter Ready To Snap Up Sampdoria Outcast Antonio Cassano - Report

Inter are preparing to offer Sampdoria star Antonio Cassano a contract until 2013 worth €4 million per season, according to La Repubblica.

The 28-year-old is no longer wanted by the Blucerchiati after engaging in a row with the club's president Riccardo Garrone following his refusal to attend an awards ceremony. Cassano has since apologised, but Garrone's stance has remained firm since he applied to have the player's contract rescinded.

The case goes to arbitration on December 3 and only after it is resolved can negotiations begin to take place for the Bari-born talent, who recently stated he would like to stay around Genoa to be close to his wife.

Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti is poised to offer the former Real Madrid man €4 million per season and a contract that runs until 2013.

It would certainly hold appeal for Cassano, who is looking to regain his place on the Italian national team and perhaps try his luck at another big club before he is past his prime.

The likes of Goran Pandev, Diego Milito, and to an extent Wesley Sneijder have been struggling this season and Inter seem eager to bring in another striker or playmaker having failed to replace Mario Balotelli in the summer.

[Totally FRANK]

[zafferano]

CONSIDERAZIONI SUL TEMA

di SIMONE NICOLETTI

1- L'elevato numero di dichiarazioni più o meno sibilline, più o meno accusatorie sul tema dimostra come il tema degli infortuni rappresenti il vero nervo scoperto dell'Inter di Benitez. Molto più del gioco, dello schema, del mancato mercato.

2- Se è vero che non tutte le colpe debbano ricadere sullo staff di Benitez come abbiam già analizzato in passato approfonditamente, è anche vero che da quando sono state apportate alcune modifiche nella gestione del recupero dagli infortuni, nell'applicazione di tabelle individuali per ogni calciatore, nella previsione di sedute di massaggi il giorno dopo la partita, oltrechè nel lavoro settimanale e della vigilia, i problemi muscolari sono magicamente spariti

[maro]

I wonder just how much Madrid would have lost by without the Special One tonight. Admittedly he doesn't have quite the same playing resources at Madrid that he enjoyed in Italy.

[Lombardiamia]

Haven't seen the match Maro but I understand it was a one sided affair. To be fair though, Mou needs time to consolidate a united group. Barca have been playing together for years. Certainly I didnt expect such a debacle, and presumably there isnt a 5 goal difference between the 2 teams, but Mou showed he can get his team to beat Barca (last year). Unfortunately Barca remain the best team in Europe especially at home.

[Totally FRANK]

Inter also have better defensive players who are much more disciplined than Ramos and Marcelo will ever be. They both were a train wreck yesterday. Also, except Di Maria the others in attack don't come back to help out in defence.

[Messinterista]

Brazil add to Inter's Coutinho worries

He is already injured until 2011, but Inter won’t have Philippe Coutinho for even longer, as he is called up for the Brazilian Olympics team.

The teenager is sidelined until January with a thigh strain that he suffered in training.

Rafa Benitez won’t be able to count on Coutinho even after he has fully recovered, as Brazil confirmed their intention to call him for international duty.

In January 2011 there are the South American qualifying rounds for the 2012 Olympics, to be held in Peru.

Brazil have said they will call Coutinho for this international duty and he could be away from Inter for up to a month.

“Coutinho did tests and has a lesion in his muscle, but our medical staff are in contact with the Inter colleagues,” explained Olympic team Coach Ney Franco.

“I think the player will be ready and arrive for international duty.”

Source: http://www.football-italia.net/nov30x.html

[Totally FRANK]

Another injury to Stankovic, when is this going to end. Our attack looks so out of sorts. Biabiany is not Inter material but unfortunately we have got no one else to play there. I don't think we are going to score in the second half unless we get a fluke goal like Lazio did.

[zafferano]

PERDITEZ go back to Liverfekkin'wankscum

[Lombardiamia]

Agreed Briz. I mean, why the fuck did Benitez play the likes of Natalino, Biabiany, Alibec & Castellazzi when he could freely chose from a selection of other world class players available on the bench? It certainly is all up to Benitez.....motherfucker..

[Totally FRANK]

Briz, I think we are all tired of talking about Benitez and him being the root cause of all the injuries. Let's agree to disagree and not talk about it anymore.

Talking about the game, we desperately need Eto'o and Milito back. Sneijder by himself is not having a good season but there are no targets in front of him to make any passes. Pandev can't play as the target man, Alibec is much better. Against Werder, we should start with Alibec in front of Eto'o, Sneijder and Pandev and dump Biabiany on the bench. Watching him lose possession every time he gets the ball is so frustrating.

Moratti should wake up and get at least a couple of players in the January market otherwise he must be ready to say goodbye to the Champions League next year, let alone the Scudetto.

[Messinterista]

I hate to bring this up again but with Cassano's contract on the verge of being torn up at Samp, I really think we should go after him. Considering the disaster of a season we are having up front, some one like him would help immensly. Sure he is another Balotelli but when we would ever get a chance to get a player of his calibre for free, given Moratti's unlikeleness to spend now.

Also, isn't it funny these past few seasons Berlo didn't want to spend any money on Milan, and they suffered while Moratti was splashing the cash and we were flying high. Now that tables have turned look at both teams' positions respectively.

[RomaShield27]

Who is this Alibec kid? Is he a youth product (ha yah sure) or where'd you get him from? I seen bit of your last night and despite all your injury problems – which is a huge concern, no doubt – I still think Inter were very poor. What was most noticeable about them was there appeared to be a lack of belief in your players and a real lack of team spirit and team cohesion that you could of won the game. That can happen of course when a team is doing poorly but you still had plenty of experienced players out there. Snjeider, in particular, I thought, looked very frustrated and his body language – throwing his arms up in the air (mostly at Pandev, who is just useless), turning his back in disgust, generally looking like a whiney little bitch – was very bad to see.

[Totally FRANK]

Sneijder is in very poor form atm, he needs to score a goal to get some confidence back but he has had some run of bad luck hitting the post twice with free kicks. You can clearly see from his dead ball situations that he is not the man of last season. Apart from that, Sneijder is not the kind of player who beats 2-3 opponents and goes on a mazy run, he needs movement and some targets in front of him to make those intelligent passes. Pandev cannot do that as he is more of a second striker himself. He needs a Eto'o or Milito in front of him. Even the midfield of Stankovic and Cambiasso did not work well yesterday, neither of them providing any proper support except for the last 20 minutes or so in the second half. I think to see the old Sneijder not only does he need to get some confidence back but he also needs players like Motta, Milito and Eto'o to be in good form.

Yes, Alibec has been in the youth team for two years now. I think he is Romanian. If you noticed he did a much better job of leading the line than Pandev did. He made a couple of intelligent runs behind the center backs and this is what Sneijder needs IMO.

Not to forget, it is Eto'o fault as much as everybody else's fault. He got a stupid three match ban for a head butt when he knew we were struggling for goals without Milito and the others in very poor form.

[RomaShield27]

Indeed, Frank, I thought Alibec did quite well when he came on. He did a lot of work and put in a lot of effort off the ball which is of course not always recognised. It freed up more space for not only Sneijder but also Pandev, as he didn't have to lead the line alone and got in a position to score. Your spot on about Sneijder, he does need players around him to help him out and when he has players the quality of Eto ahead of him it makes him play all that much better as well. I still thought, though, that his attitude was terrible and he showed little team spirit to dig in and help his side out in a bad period of form.

I thought that young right-back, Natalino, was also decent enough. Yes, he was caught horribly out of position for the lazie goal, but he'll learn from that, but he was impressive enough aside from that. Incidentally, why wasn't Santon playing?

[Totally FRANK]

I think Sneijder has always been like that. A little hot tempered but you are right, we are seeing this side of him more often now. I am not trying to defend him but I think he has some right to be frustrated when you are left with the entire responsibility to create something and the players beside you aren't up to it. Have you seen how often Biabiany loses possession, I feel like beating him up. Apart from that the goal Sneijder is looking for is just isn't coming, he has hit the post two or three times and he has missed some good chances from open play. Its just one of those times for him and the team in general when everything seems to go against you.

From what Benitez said in the post match conference Santon had some problem during pre-match warm up and he did not want to risk him. I don't blame him after all the injuries we have had. Santon hasn't been in good form anyway, he still isn't 100% fit and he has looked out of sorts ever since he had that serious injury. I liked the way Natalino played, I am sure he can become a first team regular. He had a good first half when he stayed deep and quite easily dealt with Zarate. With a goal behind he was forced to move up the pitch and join the attack, that's when the second goal came. Biabiany should have helped him out on the right flank and this is not the first time he has neglected his defensive duties. He is just not Inter material.

[Totally FRANK]

Scandalo nell'aria: Sneijder neanche sul podio per il Pallone d'Oro?
05.12.2010 01:08 di Fabrizio Romano articolo letto 1638 volte
Fonte: Gazzetta dello Sport

Incredibile ma vero. Dopo l'esclusione di Diego Alberto Milito dalla lista per il Pallone d'Oro, stavolta lo scandalo contro l'Inter che ha vinto tutto, ammazzando i titani del Barcellona e azzannando i campioni di Russia, Inghilterra e Germania - oltre che di Spagna - sembra pronto per verificarsi. Secondo quanto fa sapere La Gazzetta dello Sport in edicola, Wesley Sneijder secondo indiscrezioni non sarà neanche sul podio per vincere il Premio assegnato da France Football. I primi tre posti - secondo la rosea - saranno tutti del Barcellona con Andrès Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez e Lionel Messi, quest'ultimo autore di una buona stagione, ma sicuramente neanche accostabile a quella del folletto di Utrecht. Per chi se lo fosse dimenticato, come i fenomeni che hanno preso questa decisione, ricordiamolo: Wesley Sneijder ha trascinato con un contributo inestimabile l'Inter alla vittoria di tre trofei, tra cui una Champions League dove ha racimolato 11 presenze e 4 gol, assolutamente non pochi e sempre pesantissimi. Le sue prestazioni sono state fuori dal normale, i numeri parlano anche per il campionato, dove con 26 presenze e 4 reti ha contribuito al tricolore nerazzurro.

Un campione stratosferico che doveva essere premiato, perché non mettere nemmeno sul podio un uomo che oltre a tutto questo ha anche portato la sua Nazionale - l'Olanda e non il Brasile - alla finale di Coppa del Mondo quasi da solo o con Robben, ha realizzato cinque reti tutte fondamentali da centrocampista in una rassegna così importante, è stato capocannoniere del torneo insieme a Forlàn, Villa e Muller (ma lui è un centrocampista!), e per giunta nella finale maledetta in Sudafrica ha anche servito il pallone a Robben davanti a Casillas che valeva una Coppa del Mondo, poi sprecato dall'asso del Bayern. Una stagione incredibile, da fenomeno vero, che viene subissata dall'ottimo Iniesta - che però, obiettivamente, senza il gol in finale difficilmente avrebbe occupato il podio -, da uno Xavi che proprio da Sneijder è stato buttato fuori in Champions (dov'era lui a far luce nel centrocampo del Barça mentre l'Inter lottava con i denti?), e da un Lionel Messi che nessuno contesta, ma che quest'anno proprio non merita quella posizione perché quasi nullo nella doppia-sfida contro l'Inter ed autore di un Mondiale ai limiti della decenza. Perché questa scelta? Speriamo che siano solo voci false, ma il terrore c'è ed è fortissimo.

Dopo Milito, derubare Sneijder di un premio che merita più di ogni altra cosa sarebbe incredibile, e anche la beffa di non essere sul podio sarebbe atroce. Il limite dell'oggettività verrebbe clamorosamente superato, un qualcosa di inammissibile. Incrociamo le dita...

[maro]

Aren't these awards, stricly, supposed to be based on performances across a calendar year (rather than across a single European season)? In which case it's presumably not all that scandalous if Sneijder's struggles this season count against him? Iniesta would be a curious winner given his injury troubles last season - Xavi would be the most coherent choice. Unless, I suppose, you maintain that the reason that Inter knocked Barca out was because Iniesta was missing. I'm not sure that Sneijder's finishing behind any of those three would be quite scandalous, though - in the same way that his finishing above any or all of them would, equally, hardly be a scandal. Perhaps I'm biased since I think Sneijder contributed less than the bare stats suggest to both Spincher and the Dutch; regardless, surely it's a fairly close call rather than a really clear-cut and, therefore, seriously controversial one. Sneijder didn't knock Messi and Xavi out of the CL - a wonderful team performance across 180 minutes did. And Messi had a pretty good World Cup, personally, despite what the stats might suggest.

[Totally FRANK]

Xavi deserves to be in the final 3. I am not quite sure about Iniesta and Messi. Okay, Iniesta won the World Cup and scored a goal in the final but other than that he did not do much for the club. Even if we put him on the list of final 3, I don't think Messi deserves to be there. Messi has been in really good form around the year and he played decently in the WC. But what did he actually win with his club and country? Just a La Liga title.

Sneijder was not as good as his 5 goals showed him to be in the WC but it was these 5 goals that dragged the dutch to finals. Not to forget, he was absolutely crucial for Inter through out last year and he won a triple. He deserves to be on the list. Xavi is there because of his great form through out the year, Iniesta for his WC but Sneijder needs to be the third candidate. WHo wins it is a different matter but he at least needs to be in the top 3.