Unlike yours truly, Inter boss Jose Mourinho does not seem too fazed about Inter’s sudden lack of form. Inter have drawn four in their last five outings, but the Special One is not worried:

“There are draws and draws,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. “The ones that are to blame on others and the ones that happen because of us. I prefer the last one (against Genoa), a fair game during which my team played well and would have deserved to win. Is my absence important? But I don’t play, I don’t score goals and don’t parry. If the team play well, with the right spirit, there is no need to have the coach on the bench to win.”

What about you? Are you worried about Inter’s sudden lack of form, especially with the second leg against Chelsea only a week away?

Tweet This Post

What has happened to Inter the last month?

In it’s last six Serie A games Inter has won 2 and drawn 4. Scoring 6 goals and conceding 3. A Serie A title race that was all but over in late January is very much still up for grabs.

So what happened to the attacking force that was Inter before the winter break? No tem comes close to Inter’s 52 goals in Serie A this season, but averaging one goal a game over the last month will not win Inter any silver wear this season.

Yesterday Inter director Marco Branca said that be believes that Inter players are fatigued. Branca told Rai after the Genoa match.

“But it is normal that after a long and difficult season, the players are a little tired. We have also had to play many midweek matches, and don’t get a lot of time to rest.”

Seven games in a month should not be a tough schedule. With the size of Inter’s squad and Mourinho’s rotation policy I am not buying this excuse.

Teams go through different cycles of form in a season and Inter are definitely in a down cycle at the moment. But with Chelsea and Roma on a schedule for this month, Mourinho needs to pull his team out of the slump before the league and champions league get away from Inter.

Tweet This Post

Inter Milan’s barren draw at the San Siro last night against Genoa only ensured  that the title race remained open at least for another week. After watching their 2 nearest challengers Milan and Roma play out for a draw on Saturday night, the stage was set for Jose Mourinho and his boys to extend their lead over city rivals Milan to 6 points. However, the Nerazzurri seemed to have left their scoring boots in the locker.

I have to admit Balotelli was in superb form for Inter. Its only a shame his efforts never paid off. It was one of those nights that the ball could not get into the back of the net. This was an entertaining fixture and the visitors were the first to make a real threat at scoring when Domenico Criscito’s goal bound shot forced Ceaser into a save.

Genoa threatened again in the 16th minute when their forward Mesto shot from the edge of the area but it went wide. Inter almost responded immediately when Stankovic’s low angled shot from 20 yards was saved by Genoa Keeper Marco Amelia.

Mourinho opted to start Pandev and Milito in attack with Samuel Eto’o benched for the second time in as many starts. In fact the Cameroonian International seems to have lost his starting position to Mario Balotelli. The once feared striker has struggled to make an impact in Italy ever since he moved from European champions Barcelona in the summer in a swap deal that saw Ibrahimovic go the opposite direction.

The second half was all about Inter as Argentine striker Diego Milito had the chance to open the scoring in the 51st minute when he collected a Dejan Stankovic pass but totaly misqueued his shot. As the game progressed, Milito, Sneidjer and Eto’o had a host of chances to score but they were not lucky.

Genoa survived a flurry of attacks from Inter in the dying minutes to earn a treasured point. Coming off a 4-3 defeat to Bologna in their last league outing, this draw kept them in the hunt for a spot in the Europa league. Inter’s draw restores their 4 point lead over city rivals Milan and with 11 games left to play, the race is firmly on.

Tweet This Post

With the season drawing to an end, it is not strange to hear of looming transfers, however, the Sampdoria’s goalie’s claim that he will be joining Inter in the summer does not make sense. Unless he is comfortable warming the bench, a move to Inter will be a mistake he will live to regret.

Julio ceaser Inter’s number 1 goalkeeper is the best there is in Serie A. Inter is the only team in the entire league to conceed the least number of goals so far. Luca Castellazzi will have to settle for position 3 in the pecking order as Francesco Toldo won’t sit and watch as his spot is taken over without fighting for it .

Castellazzi is 34 years old right now and his career will be ending in the next couple of years. I can understand that may be he wants to sign for one of the world’s best teams  and at least have a story to tell but he has a better chance of winning the hearts of the many Sampdoria fans and gaining more admirer’s if he stays with Sampdoria .

Photo credit: photoreti

Tweet This Post

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has once again come out to assure Inter fans that their charismatic coach Jose Mourinho will not be leaving the Nerazzurri this summer.

Mourinho has attracted interest from the world’s richest club Real Madrid and reports making the rounds in the internet suggest that Florentino Perez’s vision of creating a “spectacular sporting project” would not be complete without acquiring the services of the “special one.”

Mourinho’s current contract expires at the end of June 2011 and although this is still quite a long way off Moratti is keen on retaining one of the club’s most successful coaches. Inter and Italy legend Sandro Mazzola likened Mourinho to Inter’s most successful coach Helenio Herrara. Herrara is most famous for creating “La Grande Inter” the dominant Italian club of the 60s.

“The newspapers talk about Mourinho as a character and they fail to forget that he is also a great professional.” I totally agree with Moratti’s  statement. Sure Mourinho’s actions may sometimes be a little bit extreme but its this nature that shows the amount of passion he has for his job. A coach can only be judged by the number of trophies he has won. Mourinho therefore can be satisfied that his Legacy in the European game will be remembered long after he has retired.

photo credit: webnavigator

Tweet This Post

The latest Deloitte Football Money League list is out and Inter are in 9th place with £167.4m in revenues.

The Deloitte Football Money League list is based on clubs’ revenue excluding transfer fees and Real Madrid has once again regained the top spot.

The list is dominated by English teams, who take up seven of the top twenty positions. Four Serie A teams made the list and they are Juventus, Inter, AC Milan and Roma.

There is a huge difference between the revenues of the top five clubs and the rest. Even with revenues of £167.4m, Inter’s revenues less than half those of Real Madrid. And if the pound had been stronger, Manchester United’s revenues would have been twice those of Inter also.

Even within the top clubs there are “haves” and “have nots”. For Inter to close the revenue gap on the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United, they will have to move into their own stadium so that they can increase their match day revenue.

Deloitte Football Money League – 2008-09 revenue (Last year’s position in brackets)

1 (1) Real Madrid £341.9million
2 (3) Barcelona £311.7m
3 (2) Man Utd £278.5m
4 (4) Bayern Munich £246.6m
5 (6) Arsenal £224.0m
6 (5) Chelsea £206.4m
7 (8) Liverpool £184.8m
8 (11) Juventus £173.1m
9 (10) Internazionale £167.4m
10 (7) AC Milan £167.4m
11 (15) Hamburg £124.9m
12 (9) Roma £124.7m
13 (12) Lyon £118.9m
14 (16) Marseille £113.5m
15 (14) Tottenham £113.0m
16 (13) Schalke £106.0m
17 (n/a) Werder Bremen £97.7m
18 (20) B Dortmund £88.1m
19 (n/a) Man City £87.0m
20 (17) Newcastle £86.0m

Tweet This Post

Inter Milan cruised to another important victory yesterday in the Serie A when they beat Udinese 3-2 in an enthralling match at the Stadio Friuli. Jose Mourinho mixed things up a little and decided to start his winter signing McDonald Mariga while under performing striker Samuel Eto’o had his position taken by in form Goran Pandev.

It took just 7 minutes for both teams to get onto the score sheet with Udinese’s Simone Pepe giving his side the lead with just 2 minutes on the clock. Inter reponded 3 minutes later when Mario Balotelli’s angled cross beat Samir Handanovic to even things out. I have to say i was expecting an Inter victory but this score line surprised me to say the least. Considering the number of injuries and suspensions Inter had, a 1-0 win was what i envisioned.

Mourinho has once again showed just why his team are the champions. The depth of the Inter squad is a marvel to behold. Even in the abscence of key players, the Nerazzurri can never be written off.

The first half was all about Inter as the blues tormented Udinese. Wesley Sneijder should have given Inter the lead in the 10th minute but his curling free-kick evaded Handanovic’s goal by just a few inches. Partnering Milito and Pandev in attack was Mourinho’s best choice as the two linked up well to set up Maicon for Inter’s second in the 21st minute.

Udinese had a few good chances of their own but Julio Ceaser was keen enough to stop Alexis Sanchez’s low lying shot. Milito got on the score sheet in stoppage time of the first half after Balotelli’s wonderful cross landed perfectly for him to head past Handanovic.

After the break Udinese threatened to score and their persistence proved to pay off when Antonio Di Natale’s free-kick came off Balotelli’s hand before hiting the post. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Di Natale beat Ceaser to stay in pole postion for this season’s golden boot award.

Udinese continued to press and they had two clear cut chances to win the game. Juan Cuadrado missed the opportunity to set up team mate Di Natale  for their 3rd as his pass eluded the Italy striker. Gokhan Inler came close in the 5th minute of stoppage time when his powerful shot hit the cross bar.

That was to be the last real chance for Udinese as Inter held on for the vital victory. Inter still remain 4 points ahead of  city rivals AC Milan who beat Atalanta 3-1 at the San Siro.

Photo credit: SVT

Tweet This Post

Coming off an important mid week victory over Chelsea in the Champions League, Mourinho and his team will be looking to carry the momentum of their win into the Serie A today when they face Udinese in an away match. Now things are really starting to heat up. Inter’s 4 point lead over city rivals Milan hangs on the balance of this tricky fixture.

It is a paradox of sorts when you compare these 2 teams. Inter top the table while their hosts lie in 16th position.  Udinese’s record in their past 5 league games is fairly good with 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw. The Nerazzurri on the other hand have a more convincing record with 3 draws and 2 victories.

However, Inter should be wary of Udinese danger man Antonio Di Natale. Di Natale is top scorer with an impressive 18 goals to his name. Inter’s Diego Milito is not far off. The Argentine striker  is a close second with 14 goals.

Inter will be without Walter Samuel, Ivan Cordoba, Cambiasso and Sulley Muntari. Not to mention Cristian Chivu and Davide Snatone who are out with long term injuries. Mourinho will definitely be keeping his hear ear to the ground for news about  Milan’s game against Atalanta. Mourinho can keeep faith in the fact that Udinese has never beaten Inter for nearly six years.

Considering all the injuries and suspensions Inter have, i believe Mourinho will give his team clear instructions to score and then defend. My prediction for this game is a 1-0 win for Inter.

Tweet This Post

Inter Milan gained a vital victory last night in the Champions League after they beat Chelsea 2-1 at the San Siro. Inter’s win took Jose Mourinho’s impressive record of not losing a home match to 131 games, a feat no other coach has been able to do and i have no qualms with him declaring himself as “special”.

However, as Inter were celebrating a deserved win, their cross town rivals Milan were also having a celebration of their own down in Florence. The Rossoneri were celebrating a win that not only took them up to 2nd in the league but which also cut Inter’s lead over them to just 4 points.

Now Inter have been having a rough time in the Serie A the last couple of weeks drawing matches that they should have won without even lifting a finger. This might just come back and haunt them if  they fail to win the scudetto. I can hear the sighs already. Inter are in a good position to grab a 4th succesive scudetto but they can’t ignore the fact that Milan and Roma will fight for it down to the wire.

Milan last won the Serie A in 2004 while Roma last won it back in 2001. Both these teams want to bag at least 1 major title this season. The decent chance of them achieving this lies in the scudetto race. So Mourinho should know that Roma and Milan will play these last few games like finals.

I can only come up with 1 problem that this  Inter squad face, striker Samuel Eto’o has been a pale shadow of himself ever since returning from the African Cup of Nations earlier this month. The Cameroon international has failed to click with partner Diego Milito in Inter’s last couple of games and Mourinho is faced with a dilemma of etheir benching him or playing Pandev in his position.

Pandev has been enjoying good form since leaving Roman club Lazio after his fall out with the the club’s former coach Davide Ballardini. The Macedonian international has formed a good partnership with Diego Milito and many wait to see what Mourinho’s next step will be.

Photo credit: Pupipanu

Tweet This Post

In what was one of Inter’s better performances in Europe in recent years, they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

It took Inter only three minutes to score as Thiago Motta served Eto’o and an instinctive dummy from Sneijder let the ball roll through to Milito, who turned Terry before firing past a hapless Petr Cech.

Inter mostly limited Chelsea to long range shots, but the vistors did come close to scoring when Didier Drogba hit the underside of the crossbar with a fantastic 30-yard free kick.

Inter did a good job soaking up Chelsea’s pressure and hitting them on the counter-attack. With one of those attacks, Eto’o missed a great chance to score from six yards out when he totally miss hit a  low cross from Sneijder.

Within six minutes of the second half starting Chelsea were level when Julio Cesar let a shot from Kalou bounce in front of him and into the net. A really bad goal to concede.

But instead of getting down after conceding such a poor goal, Inter went off in search of a second and got it four minutes later when Cambiasso beat Cech with a stunning low strike after his first shot was blocked by Carvalho to put the Nerazzurri deservedly back in front.

Chelsea played the last thirty minutes with Hilario between the posts after Cech was forced off injured, but the Portuguese custodian had hardly a save to make as the Nerazzurri couldn’t capitalise on their counter-attacking initiative.

Instead, Julio Cesar had more work to do and he made a crucial save from Lampard’s close-range effort from Drogba’s cross to protect Inter’s lead ahead of next month’s return leg at Stamford Bridge.

Overall a really good Inter performance. Mourinho got the tactics right, the midfield ran and ran and ran, and the Inter back four looked very solid. It will be a difficult game at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea look vulnerable to the counter-attack and I can see Inter scoring in the second leg. The question is whether Chelsea can score two against Inter and I am not so sure about that.

Tweet This Post