A blog about the latest soccer news, best players, transfer talk and anything else about the world game, with a heavy focus on the Selecao and Inter Milan!
Four goals in 25 minutes from ten men. That’s what was required shortly after Torres sunk Inter’s chances in the 64th minute.
Although Inter played very well for most of the game, they can only blame themselves for not being clinical in front of goal. Too many chances were wasted and although Burdisso’s second yellow just before 50 minutes was soft and they will feel somewhat robbed again, it doesn’t change the fact that they didn’t put away the goals when they should have. Mancini should take some blame for a questionable starting line up. Figo should have started, he’s the only player that could have consistently opened up Liverpool’s defense and supply the attackers with the perfect ball. Although Zlatan failed to deliver yet again in a big match, the pressure perhaps too much for him. At least the defense was playing well, apart from the occasional Maicon lapse but Cambiasso and Vieira needed creativity in front of them.
We’ll have to suffer some more this season as champions league glory isn’t realised for the umpteenth time. Check out the highlights below, hopefully they’ll last without UEFA claiming them off youtube.
After initially suggesting that Inter would not be spending much in January for transfers, Moratti and Mancini have been forced to look at some options, possibly in midfield and definitely in defense. Inter confirmed that Samuel has damaged the ACL in his left knee and will probably be out for the rest of the season. It happened in the Milan derby when Kaka’s turning and twisting proved too much for him to follow. Watch the highlights at the bottom of the match wrap-up posted earlier.
Inter continues to have a lot of injuries in midfield, it hasn’t effected then much but it’s unknown when Viera and Figo will be back and both Stankovic and Dacourt could be out for a while. Inter have been linked with Jeremy Menez, Maniche, Elano and Enzo Maresca to name a few. Moratti has denied most rumours but it makes sense to keep things under wraps and reduce the pressure on transfer fees. It’s clear that whoever the player is, they must be able to play in the Champions League.
There’s been talk in England that Inter are preparing to move on Tomas Rosicky, one of Arsenal’s many young talents. It’s not surprising that such an influential player is linked to Inter as they search for Figo’s replacement when he retires at the end of this season. There may be even more haste after Nedved’s challenge on Figo, which broke his shin bone and will see him sidelined for at least a couple of months. It wasn’t a particularly nasty looking challenge but it was one of those unlucky tackles (think Larsson when he was at Celtic or Cisse either when he was at Liverpool or later when France took on China).
The “Daily Mail” claim that Inter have prepared a 15 million Euro bid to lure him away from Arsenal but that would have to be a starting price to kick negotiations off, I can’t see Arsenal selling him for that amount. They’ve already lost Henry and I doubt they’d want to unsettle a young team that’s playing spectacular football at the moment. Rosicky and Hleb aren’t getting all the praise they deserve because Fabregas is shinning brighter but they’ve been instrumental to Arsenal’s success also.
Rosicky’s agent, Pavel Paska has been quick to squash the rumours and dismiss the possibility of a January transfer move. He stated that Inter tried to sign Rosicky in 2005 and last year also before Arsenal grabbed him from Borussia Dortmund. They got him at a bargain basement price of 6.8 million pounds but this is because the club was in financial trouble. There is a good chance for Arsenal to cash in and given Rosicky has had a fair few injury woes, it might be a good idea as they’ll be moving on Dinamo Zagreb’s Luka Modric in January anyway…
Check out Rosicky in action as well as the unfortunate challenge on Figo below…
Inter had to fight back from being one goal behind to seal a win in Moscow, 2-1.
Inter had a difficult first half, struggling through injuries and suspensions, not to mention Viera breaking down again after just 17 minutes. The frailties were clearly evident and CSKA’s Jo did not hesitate to point this out be scoring the first goal. Things got a bit heated after that with Figo picking up a caution to commemorate his 100th UEFA CL appearance in the black and blue.
Crespo was able to equalise after the restart and Samuel completed the win with a somewhat lucky headed effort. From Figo’s cross he was able to put a deceptive amount of spin on the ball and as it bounced in front of the keeper, it turned a simple save into an embarrassing goal. Zanetti was happy with his fellow country men scoring although worried about Viera’s injury (It was later revealed that he could be out for another 2 months with a new calf problem). Inter are now sitting at the top of group G which makes a nice change from the usual struggle to get out of the group stages. Now they just have to continue to improve and play well to guarantee qualification into the knockout stages.
Inter now need to prepare for their Serie A match against Palermo on Sunday. A difficult game indeed! Enjoy the highlights below until then.
If you’re after extended highlights in good quality, see below.
So the hype and comments are flying as Inter and Roma prepare to do battle to decide the strongest of serie A on the weekend in an epic top of the table clash.
Roma is in blistering form and playing some of the most attractive football in all European competitions at the moment. Inter is up and down as usual but Ibrahimovic is also in blistering form and can’t seem to put a foot wrong! He is sitting at the top of the scoring charts, tied with Trezeque on 6 goals, 2 above Totti.
Inter is somewhat depleted in defense with Materazzi, Maicon and Viera out because of injuries and suspensions. It will be interesting to see what Mancini can do with the players on hand. Roma also has a few injuries to deal with so both teams will have to adjust their regular line-ups.
Roma will have the advantage of a home crowd but Inter go into the match off a 3-0 thumping of Sampadoria in the middle of the week. Hopefully it will be another classic like the 06 supercup match between the two teams…
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If you’d like to see the highlights of Inter’s 3-0 waxing of Sampadoria earlier in the week, see below. A brace for Ibrahimovic and Figo magic to wrap it up.
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Edit: Inter vs Roma = 4-1
You can read my brief review or just skip to the match highlights below.
The score doesn’t tell the full story but it was a convincing win by Inter over an ultimately 10-man Roma. Early on Roma were playing some good football but after Guily blatantly and intentionally handled the ball in the area to prevent a header, following a blocked shot, from going in, Roma were reduced to 10 men. Ibrahimovic calmly put away the penalty.
After that it looked like Roma were going to save themselves and hold out for a draw with Perrota leveling the score. But it wasn’t to last as the immense pressure that Inter laid on eventually cracked Roma open. First with Crespo putting away a deflected Cambiasso shot, then Cruz blasting in a long range effort and finally Cordoba headed home the final nail in the coffin.
