Internazionale Milano [2008-2009]

per75005;2569771 said:

The thing that surprised me is the lack of real wingers to support this system all the season(Mancini, Quaresma, Figo), and the high number of stirker for only one place per match!!!

I guess that Julio cruz is more flexible, but for Adriano, Crespo???

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well, Mourinho did state that his squad needed some trimming, especially in the striking department ... he made it quite clear that the pecking order was: Zlatan tops (obviously), Adriano and Balotelli level second, Cruz third, Crespo in the excess fourth, and Suazo (needless to say) excess in fifth... and there was also the Recoba option; but, sadly, he was never going to return ...

Inter tried to sell their strikers to the highest bidders ... Suazo looked like he was going to move to Roma, but then was loaned out to Benfica ... Crespo was also linked to Roma, and then was supposed to be sold to Sampa on deadline day, but he rejected the move ...

as for the wingers, Mourinho had earmarked his two targets (Mancini and Quaresma) fairly early ... Mancini did in fact arrive quite early in the summer ... and it was clear Quaresma's negotiations were on-going since the EUROs because the player himself stated that he had "already signed for a big club" ... my mouth is watering at the prospect of the mavericks Zlatan and Quaresma combining ...

Figo's presence in the side will be very useful ... apart from providing the third winger option, Figo brings his knowledge, experience and nous to the table -- and JM will certainly hope he can pass that to the two starting wingers during training ...

Mario Balotelli can also be used in the wide role ...

and the presence of Adriano in the team means that they can switch to a 4-4-2 quite easily, or even a 4-2-3-1 (like Roma, with Mancini-Zlatan-Quaresma lining up behind Adriano) ...

I am actually very interested in seeing the Zlatan-Adriano partnership ... Zlatan became good friends with Adriano when the Brazilian was trying to get himself back in shape ... in fact, Zlatan insisted on being his gym trainer, making sure that Adriano was putting in the necessary work in the gym, while offering the support that he needed at the time ... if Adriano can get back to the scorching form of 3 years ago, then that front partnership could be just as lethal as the 4-3-3 with Quaresma ...

the only thing that could spoil Inter's season is injuries ... the dearth of defensive options in pre-season due to injuries is already well-documentd ... I'd hate to see that happen elsewhere on the pitch ... in particular, Zlatan's knee needs to stay unruptured throughout the season -- if it does, I wouldn't bet against Inter ruling Europe ...

didn't get to see the first match, but from what I've heard, we were very lacklustre. I've stated countless times on how I can't stand Jose as a coach, but I'm not gonna stupidly get on his case after just one lousy game or whatever, especially one I didnt even watch.

Since I've got an ingrained bias towards em, I'm gonna try to give 'em as long a grace period as possible before I start spouting off, man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-cjsFOY-fA


can't wait until he starts displaying his magic for us, man. I've had a hard-on for this kid ever since he made his preseason debut for Barca on their North American tour some years back.

Aïe.... Stankovic crashed yesterday by Titi....

Hope that it will not affect him for a long time....

Like Yoss, and Xifio, I can't wait to see Quaresma...

I guess that the 4-2-3-1 system described by Xifio is the only chance to see all our favorite players playing together...
Mancini, Zlatan, Quaresma, Adriano... this will be one the strongest attaking line in Europe...

Yossarian;2570319 said:

didn't get to see the first match, but from what I've heard, we were very lacklustre. I've stated countless times on how I can't stand Jose as a coach, but I'm not gonna stupidly get on his case after just one lousy game or whatever, especially one I didnt even watch.

Since I've got an ingrained bias towards em, I'm gonna try to give 'em as long a grace period as possible before I start spouting off, man

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don't know where you heard that ... yes I thought Inter lacked the final ball, but that doesn't mean the match wasn't great to watch ... it was attractive, attacking football from both sides from start to finish ...

plus, this is Sampa we are talking about; a team on the rise; a team that took the Serie A by suprise last season; a team that I expect will do Italy proud in the Europe this season ... and they have not only kept last season's team together -- signing Cassano permanently was a HUGE step forward -- but also added players like Daniele Dessena and in particular Marius Stankevičius, who was very impressive in that first match ... I don't think it was such a bad result or bad performance against a very good team ...

changing gear, I watched the videos of RiQy's first training sessions at Appiano ... he seems to have settled well ... and the fact that he's not playing in the national team (I can't understand why not, but that's a discussion for another day) means that he has had some good time to settle in and settle down ahead of his competitive debut ...

I don't think I'm alone in enthusiastically looking forward to Inter's first home game of the season this weekend ... and thankfully, for the second Matchday in a row, Fox Soccer Channel is giving me full coverage -- hot and live!

I saw a small abstract of the last match against Catane....

The speaker said that if we have a strong defense strategy, we didn't develop an attractive football, and we have to improve in attack...

Do U think that it's a question of time? (new players in attack) or that's the Mourinho's style adapt to Inter? (same critics with chelsea)....

nah, we're pretty solid considering that we don't have a firm starting 11 atm and are gelling to our new coach's system and philosophy. I loved the aggressiveness and relentlessness that we played with, man. We had complete control over the tempo that the game was played at from the start....and what was really encouraging and amazing is that we didn't let off on our pace and resolve one bit when we went a man down, actually we increased it .


some random thoughts..


-Figo has no business starting....he wasn't good enough to handle 20-30mins of action coming off the bench last season, so im confounded as to why he's starting ahead of a player like Mancini....he's gotta learn to accept his role in this squad as a somewhat decent backup now

-Viera was in fine form, but he's still turnover prone

-Quaresma had a solid first appearance...he's gonna be lethal for us, as soon as he starts becoming more in synch cerebrally with the rest of the squad

-Maicon.....man of the match by far....what a fuccking LION

-Mancini....he showed in one posssession his immense capabilities than Figo did in an entire half of play, and I don't mean to compare the two since one is at his peak and the other at the twilight of his, it's just that it makes absolutely no sense as tp why Figo should be starting when we're fully healthy at the spots that he normally plays

Adriano is back

http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=2290719

Good 2-0 win over Pana

a very good win indeed ... Zlatan is getting a lot of plaudits, and deservedly so ... he basically created the two moments of magic that won the game ... and there were a couple of stunning long-range shots from Zlatan and RiQy in the first half that were well-saved to keep the score down ... Quaresma faded in the second half, and was unsurprisingly replaced ... it didn't matter though; he'll deliver when the team needs him to ... Adriano's goal was extremely well-taken ... I said earlier that I wanted to see how he combined with Zlatan ... there's your answer, I suppose ...

as for the clean sheet, that was down mostly to Julio Cesar, especially from set-pieces ... Andi Ivanschitz -- one of my favourite players from outside the big leagues -- tried him on a few occasions, but JC was up to it ... Bryce Moon was their other bright spark, and he caused quite some trouble down the right side ... having said that, it would have been harsh Julio Cesar if his deflected effort had gone in ...

so, still some work to do before this Inter side have all guns blazing ... I, personally, am fine with that, since you would want the team to build form as the season progresses, keep alive and kicking on all fronts, and peak in May to claim the glory ...

what a heroic performance by Heroic Zlatan. Nevermind that horrendous miss, the dude seemed possessed from the get-go. He was tracking back, collecting the ball from the half-way line, taking on defenders and manhandling foolish sh!theads who dared to go shoulder-to-shoulder with 'em....the dude had my mouth drooling and my pelvic muscles twitching all game long, man!





he's a strong lad, he is........he's a strong lad, he is......he's a strong lad, he is!

somehow i missed this and did not comment on it before ...

Yossarian;2572558 said:

-Maicon.....man of the match by far....what a fuccking LION

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ye, he was a man possessed in that Catania match ... did you see all the facial expressions?! he should be nominated for some award, surely?!

haha, i think the true maicon is coming out.. he's finally 100% comfortable at the Giuseppe Meaza

he even got a yellow for it

Serie A: Torino 1-3 Inter


Inter sit on top of the table after 270 minutes of Serie A football after a 3-1 victory over Torino at the Stadio Olimpico.


Brazilians Mancini and Maicon stunned the Granata with goals in the space of two first-half minutes, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic wrapped up the points just after the restart.

Torino reduced the deficit through Elvis Abbruscato with 14 minutes remaining and kept Julio Cesar busy in the final stages.

Cristian Chivu made his return to the starting lineup as Mourinho fielded a 4-3-3 with an attacking trio of Ibrahimovic, Mancini and Adriano - back in the starting XI for the first time since last October's match against Reggina.

Toro made a bright start and all their front men had chances in the early stages, with Amoruso and Rosina firing wide before Bianchi rose to head behind.

Inter broke the deadlock on 24 minutes when Adriano played in the unmarked Mancini, whose cross-shot went in off Pisano.

Maicon doubled the lead inside two minutes, finding the top-left corner with a sweetly struck right-foot shot after collecting Vieira's pass.

Ibrahimovic made it 3-0 six minutes after the break, slotting past Sereni from ten yards after taking Mancini's pass into the area.

The Nerazzurri continued to pressurise Torino with some flowing counter-attacks but De Biasi's men were given a lifeline when Abbruscato slid home from close range after meeting Saumel's left-wing cross.

Rallied by their goal, the Granata came looking for more and Bianchi forced Julio Cesar into a reflex block with a flicked header before Abbruscato headed against the bar.


Torino 1-3 Inter (HT: 0-2)

Scorers: Mancini 24, Maicon 26, Ibrahimovic 51, Abbruscato 76.



Torino: 1 Sereni; Diana, 22 Di Loreto, 50 Pratali, 3 Pisano; 27 P.Zanetti (6 Ogbonna 66), 5 Corini (8 Barone 46), 24 Saumel; 10 Rosina (9 Abbruscato 29), 11 Amoruso; 90 Bianchi.

Subs not used: 99 Calderoni, 7 Ventola, 32 Colombo, 33 Rubin.

Coach: Gianni De Biasi.



Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 16 Burdisso, 23 Materazzi, 26 Chivu; 14 Vieira, 19 Cambiasso, 4 Zanetti; 10 Adriano (45 Balotelli 67), 8 Ibrahimovic (9 Cruz 88), 33 Mancini (77 Quaresma 64).

Subs not used: 1 Toldo, 2 Cordoba, 18 Crespo, 24 Rivas.

Coach: José Mourinho.



Referee: Stefano Farina (Novi Ligure).

Booked: P.Zanetti 18, Pisano 28, Balotelli 74, Pratali 78.

Match Pictures:

http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=29856&L=en&CAT=2

http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=29856&L=en&CAT=2

Really interesting victory.... Inter demonstrates that they can build a stronger team on the basis of last year...

The come-back of Adriano is really a great news....

per75005;2574944 said:

The come-back of Adriano is really a great news....

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Depends what team you support..

Mus;2575027 said:

Depends what team you support..

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Internazionale, of course =]

Baresi: "Lecce game the most important"


Giuseppe Baresi, vice coach of José Mourinho, briefed the press today after the morning training session at Appiano Gentile and ahead of Wednesday evening's Serie A visit of Lecce.



Baresi, will there be any player rotation in the match against Lecce?
"Tomorrow's match is very important for us. As always, we want all three points, so the team that goes on the pitch will be a team that wants to get the best result."

How much work are you doing to change this team's mentality? At what point are you?
"We have been working for two months. I think the team has assimilated a lot of what José wants. We're on the right track, the team has understood José's footballing philosophy. There's still work to do, but the squad has understood where we want to arrive."

Mourinho usually gives us some advance information about his team. Can you give us some as well?
"As he says, I'll give you five names: Figo, Jimenez, Santon, Maxwell and Samuel. These are definitely unavailable. All the others are available for the game."

Is there the risk of the team concentrating more on the Champions League than the championship, because of the pressure?
"Our expectations in the Champions League are very high. But I think that in his preparations for the matches played so far, José has shown that we want to win every match. This goes for both the league and the Champions League, and also the Tim Cup when we start playing in it. This reasoning is important, to transmit to the players our desire to win every match."

What do you think about Juventus' return to the top of the table with Inter?
"It's important to have Juventus at the top because they hadn't been there for a few years. It's good for the interest of everybody - the press, the fans and football in general. It's good for the whole industry to have them back at the top of the table. But there aren't just Inter and Juventus, we also saw a good Milan and a good Roma on Sunday. Also Fiorentina are scoring and winning, and they have refound Gilardino."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been used a lot in recent games. Is he likely to rest tomorrow?
"Ibrahimovic is one of the twenty-one players called up. He's an important player for the team and he's in form. José will talk to him between today and tomorrow, and then a decision will be made before the match."

Is the fact that you are here in the press conference proof that José Mourinho considers his staff very highly?
"As for being here in the press conference, I can tell you this: Mourinho works and talks a lot with his staff. He gives us the chance to gain experience in order to continue this relationship with him, and this is very important. Mourinho is a very competent person who knows what he wants. He has a strong personality and he's sure of what he does. These are very important gifts that help you transmit the right mentality to the team."

Except for some minor miscues on the defensive end interms of not making the proper reads or not marking the opposition's attackers tightly enough, I thought that the first half was pretty solid. We were far more dominant and the attack was varied and always threatening......I mean that counter-attack goal by Heroic Zlatan was awe-inspiringly gorgeous....from Maicon's assertive lunge into that 50/50 ball, to Mancini's Godly setup pass....picture perfect.


In the second half, around the 70th mark, we started to let off on the aggression and our tempo dropped significantly, as teams up by a quarter of a dozen goals are want to do. We were stupidly lax and terribly unfocused it seemed. The attack was more predictable and we were giving up possession far too easily, man.

Anyway. I'm really digging the confidence that Jose has placed in Adriano, his body language and overall attitude towards his players is very endearing and encouraging to watch.

player ratings

Cesar---8...the dude made two brilliant and key saves in the second half

Burdisso....as usual, he's very frustrating....one moment he's making a brilliant read that prevents a goal and in the next, he seems to be aiding the opposition in scoring on us......5

Materazzi----he seemed unfocused at the start and got beat out on a couple of aerial challenges in the box due to his poor positioning and slow reaction to the development of play...6

Chivu----he was poor, but cmon, what do you expect since it's his first game coming back from injury....no rating

Maicon....scored an immensely badass goal and he was pivotal in another...I've been saying it for the past two seasons, man....Maicon is one of the most influential defenders in the game atm....arguably the best RB in the world....another Herculean performance from 'em.....10


Zanetti....respectable outing....the captain will never cheat you on effort, that's for sure....7

Cambi----he had a quiet, but solid game....7

Viera----he was more in the thick of it than Cambi was today....he had some lapses in the middle of the second half, but overall, he was very commanding in the trenches....7.5


Adriano--- another encouraging outing from this reclamation project. He seems to be very fit atm since he was all over the pitch, even dropping back down behind the 50yrd line to help out on defence and sh!t. Unfortunately, he didn't see any decent chances (except for that one where he was flat-footed but still managed to get off a very accurate and powerful shot)...anyway, I really like the humble attitude and eagerness to impress that he's been showing...7.5

Mancini---again, another dude who's attitude so far has impressed me more than his play. That's not to say that he's been a slouch on the pitch, quite the opposite infact. It's just that when he was at Roma, he struck me as being a very selfish and stupid human being. He was undisciplined and could often be irritatingly lazy, but he's been dynamite so far, man. I would love to see him in the middle more since he's got a very creative mind and could be the answer to our long sufferings in the playmaking dept......8


Heroic Zlatan....the finish to his goal was phenomenal, but aside from that, he was pretty disappointing. He lacked the energy and creativity necessary to have an impact on the game overall....5


I cant be bothered to give evaluations on the subs, although, I've gotta say, Balotelli was a fuccking idiot out there in the time that he was alloted. It seemed as though he spent 99% of his time picking fights and just being petty instead of making good use of it....very immature, but Jose will sort 'em out soon enough.

i heard a rumour that mourinhos secret winning formula is an energy drink he gives to players before the game..
he asks all players to stand in a group ..like they r taking a group photo
then he looks at opera's pics and shags and releases his sperm and sprays it over everyoneeeee
reports say he can squirt around 3-4 litres!!!
OMG