Category Archives: Inter Milan

Italy soccer dispute becomes national case

“Italy is the land of divisions: North vs. South; left vs. right; religious vs. secular. In soccer, perhaps no division is as bitter as the one between fans of the two Rome teams, AS Roma and Lazio. Now, a dispute between the two teams over a crucial match Sunday has spilled into politics and become a national case. On Sunday night, Lazio lost 2-0 at home to Inter Milan, the club that is locked in a fight with Roma for the Serie A title.” (Google)

Totti Cuts Loose
“Yesterday afternoon I watched the final of the Coppa Italia, a match between Inter Milan and Roma, Serie A’s two top teams, at an Italian soccer café on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Despite being ’emblazoned in the gold and burgundy hues of Rome’s soccer team’ and offering ‘a restroom emblazoned with oversized trading card pictures of the team players,’ the café attracted only three native Italian speakers for the match, all Inter supporters. The game was shown on some sort of jerry-rigged glorified computer monitor. The sound system blared volume from an English Premier League match being shown on the proper high-definition, flat-screen TV above the Italian game. It seemed only fitting that the Coppa Italia final turned out to be the ugliest match of the 2009-2010 European soccer season.” (Vanity Fair)

Totti Vs. Balotelli: Italy’s Double Standard
“We’ve written a bit about the issues facing Mario Balotelli in Italy. While many have been quick to direct blame squarely on the youngster, Francesco Totti’s actions yesterday went a long way towards showing the double standard that exists in Italian football when it comes to the treatment of its petulant football stars. For those who didn’t see the horrific incident near the end of the Copa Italia final, below is a clip of Totti’s attack on Balotelli.” (Nutmeg Radio)

Inter Milan vs. AS Roma (footytube)

How the 2000s changed tactics #1: The fall and rise of the passing midfielder

“In 2004, Gabriele Marcotti wrote an article for The Times about Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola. It wasn’t a celebratory piece looking back at Guardiola’s fine career, nor remarking on his ability to defy the critics and keep playing at a high standard, like Paolo Maldini. It was about how, in 2004-spec football, Guardiola was useless. That is not to say that he had declined as a player. A physically unremarkable player, his domain was sitting front of his own defence and spraying passes across the pitch for his more illustrious teammates – Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario being amongst the biggest names to have benefited from his presence. When Marcotti wrote the article, at 33, Guardiola should have been at his peak.” (Zonal Marking)

Unlike Europe, Brazilian league preserves its competitive balance

“In England, Chelsea and Manchester United are fighting for the domestic title. In Spain, it’s Real Madrid and Barcelona. Inter Milan is out front in Italy, as are Bayern Munich in Germany. It’s the same old same old.” (SI – Tim Vickery)

Barcelona 1-0 Inter: Mourinho’s side progress – deservedly

Jan Brueghel the Elder. Orpheus in the Underworld
“There are times when the hype about Jose Mourinho is frustrating and cliched, there are times when it is fully deserved. Tonight was the latter in one of the great defensive performances in recent footballing history. Barcelona reverted to their ‘traditional’ 4-3-3 they had persisted with until recently, with a midfield trio of Busquets-Keita-Xavi, Yaya Toure in defence, and Gabriel Milito surprisingly pushed out to left-back. Pedro Rodriguez stayed wide-left, Lionel Messi cut in from the right, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the striker.” (Zonal Marking)

Barcelona 1 Inter Milan 0; agg 2-3: match report
“Even the Nou Camp sprinklers set at geyser strength couldn’t douse Jose Mourinho’s fire. Even the combined technical might of Lionel Messi and Xavi couldn’t overcome opponents organised so brilliantly by the Special One. Even the loss of Thiago Motta to a red card and loss of a goal to Gerard Piqué couldn’t perturb composed, calculating Inter. Homage to Catalonia? No chance. Mourinho scripted the reverse.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Barcelona v Inter Milan: Jose Mourinho hails ‘most beautiful defeat of my life’
“A 1-0 second-leg defeat could not prevent dogged Inter, leading 3-1 from the San Siro, heading to the May 22 final against Bayern Munich. Mourinho even received congratulatory texts from his old Chelsea friends.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

FC Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan – Unbreakable Inter far from Wile E. Coyote
“Do you remember the Looney Tunes cartoons, and the scene that always takes place in which the ‘baddie’ character overruns a cliff but grabs onto a branch and clings on for dear life, sweat dripping, slowly losing his grip as he stares ominously down at a shark tank or bear pit or similar great peril? That, to me, symbolised Inter Milan against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou tonight. And while Inter hung on desperately, we watched – nervous, tense, enthralled – waiting to see if they would hang onto that branch, somehow, and clamber back to safety, or if they would eventually tire, arms weary from the struggle, and plunge helplessly into the abyss.” (Just Football)

Barca in need of a Plan B
“It is hard to criticise a team who have scored 83 goals in La Liga this season for lacking the firepower to see them through but, against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, reigning European champions Barcelona showed that their fluid attacking style has weaknesses. After the heights of the sextuple last year, this season’s Barcelona had a lot to live up to, but the decision to sell Samuel Eto’o to their eventual conquerors in Europe could be one that comes back to haunt them.” (ESPN)

Barcelona dethroned by resilient Inter
“An immense display of intelligent defending and sheer determination took FC Internazionale Milano into the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final for the first time since 1972, ending FC Barcelona’s hopes of becoming the first team to defend the UEFA Champions League.” (UEFA)

Champions League: Inter Milan Holds On
“ITV pundit Clive Tyldesley likes to invoke ‘magical nights’ in Barcelona whenever he gets the chance (even when he’s commentating on a fourth-round FA Cup tie between Blackpool and Stoke). But his patented tagline actually fits the occasion today. It’s the second leg of Barcelona and Inter Milan’s Champion’s League semifinal from Camp Nou in Barcelona.” (WSJ)

FC Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Wednesday, April 28, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League finished its semifinal round on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 with the second leg of FC Barcelona v Inter Milan aka Internazionale. Inter Milan held a 3-1 lead after the first leg at the San Siro but would have to try and hold Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The winner would move onto the final to play Bayern Munich in the final in late May.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter v. Barcelona Preview: Buy the Hype!

“Everybody, including me, wants to paint Mourinho as the Dark Lord, the scheming scientist locked in a dungeon in a castle atop a mountain. Due to his playful and sarcastic media mind games, his personality gets depicted in a negative light. Accordingly, we transpose this ‘abrasive’ personality onto his team – if Mourinho is such a downer in press conferences, then surely his Inter play negative catenaccio. Right? Wrong.” (futfanatico)

One Team’s Dream Is Another Team’s Obsession

“With a 3-1 lead going into the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, it is fair to say that Inter Milan’s chances are better than 50/50. Perhaps Jose Mourinho was trying to be generous to his hosts. More likely, Mourinho, the Inter Milan manager, was trying to ease the pressure on his players and tweak Barcelona.” (NYT)

Battle of ideologies means Inter and Barcelona provide feast for the neutral

Mathematical Treatise
“After Internazionale had astonished the football world by pummelling Barcelona 3-1 in San Siro last week, a calm José Mourinho pronounced that his team’s chances of reaching the Champions League final had not changed. ‘They are still 50-50,’ he said. ‘We deserved this victory, but we’re a long way from the final. In the second leg in Barcelona we’ll be playing against a team who will be even stronger. Whether we get to the final or not, we’ll come home with our heads held very, very high’.” (Guardian)

No holds barred for Milito brothers in arms

“FC Barcelona’s Gabriel Milito and elder brother Diego, of FC Internazionale Milano, may come face to face in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg but the defender, whose side trail 3-1 in the tie, told UEFA.com that sibling rivalry will be secondary at the Camp Nou.” (UEFA)

Balotelli Brings More Heat Upon Himself

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“Last Tuesday, but for a small minority who had made the trip from Catalonia (by land, given the volcano ash cloud-related flight restrictions), San Siro stadium celebrated Inter Milan’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal. One man, clad in Inter’s distinctive black and blue colors, however, declined to join in the jubilation.” (WSJ)

How Barcelona spawned Mourinho as its nemesis

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Pep Guardiola
“In 1996, José Mourinho suddenly became a powerful man. Aged only 33, the unknown Portuguese had come to Barcelona chiefly to translate for the English manager Bobby Robson. However, he fast turned into more than a translator. Mourinho took a duplex in the beach town of Sitges, near Robson’s house, and often talked football with him over dinner, recounts Mourinho’s biographer Patrick Barclay. He wrote dazzling scouting reports, and had one great advantage over his boss: he spoke Spanish. When Robson talked to players or the press, Mourinho interpreted. Many felt he added thoughts of his own.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

The Game Has Evolved

“According to my friend Dennis, Argentina versus Brazil is the biggest rivalry in sports. Rangers versus Celtic? Doesn’t want to hear it. Barcelona versus Real Madrid? Doesn’t want to hear it. Yankees versus Red Sox?” (Run of Play)

Beauty and the best are not always the same beast

“We need goodies. Therefore we need baddies. Human minds work that way. We can’t help turning any situation before us into a moral tale. Take politics: we even turn the choosing of a government into a contest between good and evil, or, at least, between awful and slightly less awful.” (TimesOnline)

Defeat to Mourinho’s Inter remains a bitter pill for Barca to swallow“It’s the ultimate in gloating — the traditional song that really, really rubs it in and stings like hell. You’ve traveled miles and miles to watch your team but hope has turned to despair, all you’ve eaten is a ropey sandwich at a service station and all you’ve drunk is a bottle of warm Coke that’s long since gone flat. Which might not be a bad thing, because there’s no way you’re trusting your backside to that toilet.” (SI)

Mourinho + Guardiola

“There’s wily, and then there’s completely insane. Mourinho’s act with the media has always felt less like tactical posturing—the sort of thing Bill Parcells always used to get credit for, or that Rafa Benítez believes himself to be good at—than like the simple luxuriating of a man who likes sunning his ego in public. If there are two smart ways to deal with the media—be boring and say all the right things, or else stir up controversy for some deliberate purpose—Mourinho loves balancing on the precipice of Crazy Option #3, letting them know what you really think.” (Run of Play)

Cambiasso praises Inter’s forward thrust

Jose Mourinho
“Esteban Cambiasso praised the ‘extraordinary work of our three forwards’ after FC Internazionale Milano’s 3-1 win against FC Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final tie at the San Siro, a sixth consecutive UEFA Champions League victory for José Mourinho’s side.” (UEFA)

Inter 3-1 Barcelona: Why did Pep Guardiola play Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
“It’s not often during his two seasons as Barcelona manager that you can conclusively say that Pep Guardiola got his tactics wrong – but tonight that was the case, as Inter take an important two-goal lead to the Nou Camp. Both sides essentially played their standard formations. Inter were 4-2-3-1 with Samuel Eto’o and Goran Pandev wide, and Javier Zanetti continuing at left-back. Barcelona played a similar team to the first leg at against Arsenal – Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line, Lionel Messi behind him, Pedro in a wide-right role and Seydou Keita playing from in to out on the left.” (Zonal Marking)

James Lawton: Mourinho calls the shots to make Italy think again about his style
“Even Jose Mourinho has rarely known a night like this, one in which not only a second Champions League title but perhaps even the keys of European football may have been at least halfway into his grasp. If Mourinho had some substantial gifts from his Portuguese compatriot referee, including a third goal that was plainly offside, there was no questioning that he had produced from his Internazionale a magnificent response to the challenge of facing the reigning champions of Europe, a team with the potential, some of us may still believe, to touch new levels of excellence.” (Independent)

Italian Football Faces Tough Times
“The most important league table in Italian football right now isn’t the Serie A standings, where AS Roma and Inter Milan are locked in a titanic tussle for the title, or even the Serie B championship, where Torino—one of the country’s most historic clubs—is hoping to secure a top-flight return. It’s actually an obscure ranking of European’s football nations known as the UEFA coefficient table, a mind-boggling complex formula that has produced one very simple conclusion: Italy’s days as a football superpower could soon be at an end.” (WSJ)

Champions League: Inter Milan 3, FC Barcelona 1
“Inter Milan meets Barcelona tonight in the first leg of a mouthwatering Champions League semifinal that many fans think should have been the final itself. With Lyon and Bayern Munich meeting in the other semifinal tomorrow, the glamor — and global attention — will all be at the San Siro in Milan this evening. The visitors are Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona: Spanish league leader, defending European champion and for many, currently the best team in world soccer. The side also, of course, fields the planet’s best player, by popular acclaim, in Argentinian forward Lionel Messi.” (WSJ)

‘It Will Not Be Inter-Barcelona, It Will Be Inter or Barcelona’
“Inter Milan counter attacked with great effect Tuesday against Barcelona, coming back from a goal down to win the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal, 3-1. Barca went up early, scoring a crucial away goal by way of Pedro Rodriguez. He tucked away an angled pass from Maxwell, whose run down the left flank past Cambiasso to the goal line was unchecked by Maicon and Lucio, who both stopped dead in their tracks. But Inter responded with determined counter-attacking play, as per Manager Jose Mourinho’s instructions.” (NYT)

Inter Milan vs. Barcelona
(footytube)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 3-1 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Tuesday, April 20, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League kicked off its semifinal round with a 1st leg match between Inter Milan (Internazionale) v FC Barcelona at the San Siro. Either team would be favored to win the competition if they were to make the final. Barcelona has been in very good form in the Champions League while Inter Milan has knocked out favorites like Chelsea.” (The 90th Minute)

Milan’s No. 10 on the Champions League Semis, Messi and Kaka

“In his regular discussion with New York Times readers, Clarence Seedorf discusses the UEFA Champions League semifinals, some of the brightest stars of the international game, and whether or not he thinks doping is a major problem in international soccer. Read the AC Milan midfielder’s responses post your comments below.” (NYT)

Inter v Barcelona: tactical preview

“Many have commented that, in an ideal world, this may have been the final of the competition. Barcelona and Inter are generally considered to be the strongest two sides left in the Champions League – and of course, they are also the only two actual champions left. For the tactical enthusiast, however, a two-legged tie between the two most interesting sides in the competition is a more exciting prospect than a one-off game.” (Zonal Marking)

Inter’s date with destiny
“Outside influences have had a habit, recently, of trying to penetrate Inter’s hardened outer shell ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Most notably, there have been allegations about the Nerazzurri’s perceived role in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal which have been brought to light by the defence attorneys for disgraced former Juventus director Luciano Moggi.” (ESPN)

It Was a Weekend for Clearing the Air, Though Not in England
“In sports, the shortest journeys often turn out to be the most perilous — as derby matches affecting the leading clubs across Europe demonstrated throughout the weekend. This, however, is a uniquely challenging time for long-distance travelers across the Continent, and for once the great and the good of soccer are in the same boat, or grounded plane, as the rest of us.” (NYT)

Espanyol make their new home a fortress to derail Barcelona
“As the bus turned in, all you could see was the palms of their hands hammering against the window. Then as the light filtered through, Nico Pareja in the aisle, arms aloft and chanting. His Espanyol team-mates were bouncing and shouting and thumping on the glass. Outside, they were too. Along the narrow streets of Cornellà, balconies were draped in blue and white, music blaring. Bars were packed with Periquitos sinking minis – litres of beer in plastic glasses – and hollering war cries.” (Guardian)

Champions at Home Too?

“One of the curious aspects of this season’s UEFA Champions League is that three of the four semifinalists—who square off in their first-leg encounters on Tuesday and Wednesday—are all also embroiled in legitimate title races domestically. Inter Milan and Barcelona are neck-and-neck with Roma and Real Madrid in Serie A and La Liga, respectively, while Bayern Munich is nursing a slender two-point lead over Schalke in the German Bundesliga. The same held true for Olympique Lyonnais, the fourth semifinalist, at least on April 7—the day it actually reached European soccer’s final four—when it was two points off the top of the table. (It now sits third, nine points behind league-leading Marseille.)” (WSJ)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 2-0 Juventus – Recap and Video Highlights – Serie A – Friday, April 16, 2010

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“Inter Milan hosted Juventus in the Italian Serie A with a chance to go top of the table. Juventus are aiming to move into the top four and play in the UEFA Champions League next season. Inter needed a win as they trailed AS Roma by one point heading into the match while Juventus were in 6th place and three points behind 4th place.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter 2-0 Juventus: I Nerazzurri rely on a sending-off and a wonderstrike
“Inter emerge victorious, but it was far from easy. A surprising system from Alberto Zaccheroni flummoxed Inter, and it took a combination of Momo Sissoko’s madness and Maicon’s brilliance to give Inter the crucial three points. No surprises from Inter – they played what is now their usual 4-2-1-3 shape, with Samuel Eto’o and Goran Pandev switching wings.” (Zonal Marking)

Fabio Capello pinpoints failure to invest for English clubs’ Champions League exits

“For the first time in seven years, England has no representatives in the semi-finals of the Champions League. ‘It is obvious that the financial crisis has affected the English clubs in Europe after years when they were among the top spenders,’ said Capello. ‘Besides Manchester City, the main exceptions were Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Florentino Perez had to bring Real back into the frame. Inter Milan bought six new players.'” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Roma ready set to take advantage of Inter’s faltering form

“All of a sudden, we have a contest. For much of this season Internazionale have been the strongest side in Italy with most observers agreeing that they are on course to win a fifth consecutive league title. By the end of January, Inter were cruising along on top of the table, nine points clear of Milan and 11 ahead of Roma. The scudetto looked a mere formality, an annoying but gratifying distraction from the club’s main seasonal objective, namely Champions League glory.” (World Soccer)

A tactical guide to the Champions League semi-finalists

The Oaths of the Horatii, Jacques Louis David
“When it comes to surviving in the latter stages of the Champions League, it seems versatility is the key to vitality. One of the most notable things about the four sides that have made it to this season’s semi-finals is that all four have, to a greater or lesser extent, deployed formations and tactical systems that they do not use in domestic competition in order to reach the last four.” (Football Further)

Fiorentina 0-1 Inter – Eto’o wins the tie, then Inter go ultra-defensive

“When two teams play each other twice in quick succession, the second game is often boring and predictable – so the fact that there were eleven changes between the sides from the weekend’s line-ups was a welcome surprise. That first game was a league game, where the sides drew 2-2. The first leg of this encounter was, ludicrously, as longago as 3rd February, where a Diego Milito goal gave Inter a 1-0 win. Away goals counted after 90 minutes, so a single Inter goal would leave Fiorentina needing three.” (Zonal Marking)

Fiorentina 2-2 Inter: The same goal three times, and a good result for neither

“An exciting game that finished with a deserved point for either side, but it is a result that isn’t of much help to either at the moment – Fiorentina’s vague Champions League hopes are almost dead, whilst Inter are off the top of the table for the first time in months.” (Zonal Marking)

The Blog Files #1: Just Football interviews Barcelona Football Blog

“Well, as we celebrate the relaunch of Just-Football.com, we decided to catch up with some of the blogosphere’s leading lights writing about Europe’s top clubs to find out what makes them tick, get their perspectives on the teams they hold dear and their opinions on said team’s prospects for the rest of the season.” (The Blog Files – #1: Just Football interviews Barcelona Football Blog), (#2: Just Football interviews The Republik of Mancunia), (#3 – Just Football interviews Oh You Beauty), ( #4: Just Football interviews Real Madrid Talk), (#5: Just Football interviews AC Milan Blog)

“England” Out Of Champions League, Apparently

“So it has come to pass. For the first time in seven years, there will be no English clubs in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The manner of the defeats of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United were from three different chapters of the book, ‘How To Get Eliminated From A Two-Legged Cup Tie’. Chelsea were edged out by Internazionale over two legs during which they seldom looked a considerably inferior team. Arsenal were thrashed – fortunate to find a way back into the first leg against Barcelona, they were hopelessly outplayed by one single player in the return match. Manchester United can, at least count themselves slightly unlucky – beaten on away goals after two very tight matches.” (twohundredpercent)

CSKA Moscow 0-1 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Recap and Video Highlights

“Inter Milan took a 1-0 lead from the first leg into the second at Moscow against CSKA on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. The winner would advance to the semifinals where they would play the winner of Arsenal/FC Barcelona. Inter Milan were favored to advance but CSKA Moscow have been a surprise team in the competition.” (The 90th Minute)

European Teams Vie for Champions League Semis

“Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid will be preparing for Saturday’s Spanish “clasico” with Barcelona, but the rest of the soccer world will be fixated on the four return matches in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. ‘I don’t like to watch the Champions League matches because it leaves me a bit annoyed because I know that our team was good enough to remain in the competition and we are not because of our own fault,’ Ronaldo told a Spanish television station.” (NYT)

Louis Vuitton Takes Inspiration From Soccer

“It just seems that the collaboration between football and fashion have no bounds. We’ve written about how football impacts fashion design on and off the pitch with articles featuring the works of fashion designers Dirk Bikkembergs and Stephen Wong. In another illustration of how football serves as creative inspiration for fashion designers, we bring you the work of famed fashion house Louis Vuitton.” (Nutmeg Radio)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 3-0 Bologna – Recap and Video Highlights – Saturday, April 3, 2010

“Italian Serie A leaders needed a win on Saturday against Bologna as their lead was cut to one point. This was a result of last weekend’s loss against AS Roma which keeps the title race wide open. A win would assure they stay on top of Roma by one point and rivals AC Milan by three points.” (The 90th Minute)

Cagliari 2-3 AC Milan – Recap and Video Highlights – Italian Serie A – Saturday, April 3, 2010
“AC Milan traveled to face Cagliari in the Italian Serie A needing a win to keep pace with leaders Inter Milan. A loss for Milan would probably end their chances of winning the Scudetto. Cagliari are comfortably in the middle of the table but too far back to be in contention for a spot in the Europa League.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 1-0 CSKA Moscow – Recap and Video Highlights – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, March 31, 2010

“Inter Milan continued their UEFA Champions League run with a first leg match against CSKA Moscow. After defeating Chelsea in the round of 16, Inter will be full of confidence and face one of the surprise teams in CSKA Moscow. Both sides weren’t really expected to reach the semifinals of the competition but now one of them will. The match took place at the San Siro.” (The 90th Minute)

Roma 2-1 Inter: A narrow victory that could turn out to be crucial

“There’s a case for saying that was the first huge game of the season. Title favourites Inter against the side who look most likely to topple them, and Jose Mourinho up against Claudio Ranieri – the man he replaced at Chelsea almost six years ago. It was an incredibly tight game with few goalscoring opportunities, and the goals were hardly well-crafted – Roma went ahead from a goalkeeping error at a set-piece, Inter equalised thanks to a couple of ricochets and an offside flag that never came, whilst Roma’s winner came thanks to a Taddei shot which found its way to Toni, who coolly converted. To add to this, Inter hit the woodwork three times, suggesting that this was a game that down to small details within the box, rather than because of a grand tactical plan.” (Zonal Marking)

AS Roma vs. Inter Milan
(footytube)

The Champions League Quarter Finals – A look ahead.

“As we’re about to seamlessly pass into another Champions League week, what better time is there to look ahead to the mouth watering quarter final ties ahead? Well, slightly later in the week perhaps, or even actually in said week as opposed to just before it maybe, but sod it I’m gonna do it anyway and I’ll be damned if such a trivial thing will stop me. So without further ado…” (Football Fan Cast)

Is this the best season of football in recent years?

Inter
“A brief break from the in-depth tactical analysis here, to round-up the major European leagues, highlight this weekend’s crucial table-topping fixtures, and celebrate how wonderful European football has been this season.” (Zonal Marking)

How the 2000s changed tactics #2: Classic Number 10s struggle

“The decade started with the most attacking, open tournament in modern football, at Euro 2000. The four semi-finalists all played ‘classic’ Number 10s in the hole between the opposition defence and midfield. France, Italy, Portugal and Holland had Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti, Manuel Rui Costa and Dennis Bergkamp respectively – it almost seemed essential to have a player in this mould to be successful – helped by trequartista-less England and Germany’s early exits.” (Zonal Marking)

Inter prospect breaks new ground

“Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea on Tuesday, there was one player at Stamford Bridge who also has claims to be a ‘special one’. The moment may have gone unnoticed in London but not in Nairobi where McDonald Mariga’s mum was blowing, yes, a vuvuzela as her son became the first Kenya – and the first East African – to play in the Champions League.” (BBC)

French Contenders to Play in Champions League Quarterfinal

“Could this be the year that a French team wins the European Champions League? The last team to do so was Marseille, which won the title in 1993, the first year the current format for the European Cup was adopted. But no team from France has lifted the trophy since. Olympique Lyon and Girondins Bordeaux aimed to end that drought this season; both teams advanced to the quarterfinals in impressive fashion. But it will be one or the other as the two teams were drawn Friday to face each other in the quarterfinal round.” (NYT)

Serie A title race blown wide open as Inter take eye off the ball

“”The fox is wounded,” yelped Gazzetta dello Sport, and they weren’t talking about Goldenballs. David Beckham’s ruptured achilles represents a cruel blow for the player and perhaps also for England (then again, perhaps not) – but on a weekend like this it was never going to get top billing in Italy. As if a Ferrari one-two in the first grand prix of the season wasn’t enough to be getting on with, this was the weekend when the Serie A title race got blown wide open.” (Guardian)

Italy coach Marcello Lippi still has plenty to ponder

Marcello Lippi
“At the start of the season, looking forward to the World Cup finals in June, Italy coach Marcello Lippi said he was ready for any number of tormentoni (literally, pest or nuisance) on the run-in to South Africa. The tormentoni in question, let’s be clear, do not concern player injuries, match schedules or training facilities. No, these torments are media and fan inspired and take the form of pretty forthright “advice” as to who he should take to the finals this summer. In particular, Lippi was bombarded with suggestions for his attack.” (World Soccer)

Frugality Is European Goal

“Faced with their toughest opponent for a generation, Europe’s leading football clubs have been forced to adopt a new tactic: frugality. Creditors have caught up with the beautiful game in recent weeks, raising fears that spiraling wages and reckless spending could put the future of some of the world’s most iconic teams at risk.” (WSJ)

Mourinho Stretches a Record and Our Patience

José Mourinho
“There might never have been a coach more intent on turning his teams into a sideshow to his own performance than José Mourinho. Yet he is not the pretty sight he imagines. On Saturday night in the San Siro, his Inter Milan was reduced by foul play and gamesmanship to nine men before halftime for the second match running. No matter, Mourinho applauded them, mocked the referee, and boasted that a team of his would have to be reduced to six players to lose a home game. He is a bitter and twisted man — and a successful one.” (NYT)

AC Milan 3-2 Udinese – Recap and Video Highlights – Italian Serie A – Friday, February 12, 2010

“AC Milan hosted Udinese on Friday, February 12, 2010 in the Italian Serie A with a chance to close the gap on leaders Inter Milan (Internazionale). Inter Milan led by eight points before the match but a win from AC Milan would move that down to five. Udinese is just above the relegation zone and in need of points to ensure they stay up in the Serie A. AC Milan 3-2 Udinese – Video Highlights” (The 90th Minute)

Inter’s victory over Milan appears to have settled the title race

“If ever anyone had any doubts about the current domination of Internazionale in Serie A, they were definitively dispelled by their emphatic 2-0 win over Milan in a thrilling city derby at the end of January. For much of this season, Inter have looked as if they will soon run far and away with another scudetto and, after this latest triumph, their escape to final victory has already begun.” (World Soccer)

A Week Is A Long Time In Serie A: Feb 3rd 2010

“Another eventful week in Italian football, both on and off the pitch. Following the possibly season-defining Milan derby, both Milan teams faced midweek Coppa Italia quarterfinals at San Siro. Milan were humiliated by Udinese in a 1-0 loss, while Inter bounced back from a Francesco Toldo error to defeat Juventus 2-1, courtesy of goals by Lucio and Juve-killer Mario Balotelli. Juventus’ exit from the Coppa was the last game in charge for Ciro Ferrara, who was replaced by former Udinese, Milan, Inter and Torino manager Alberto Zaccheroni, after Juventus’ public courting of Guus Hiddink and Rafael Benitez proved fruitless.” (First Touch Online)

Big Drop in Transfer Market

“If soccer agents had powerful lobbyists working for them in the halls of government, you can be fairly confident they would be asking for a generous stimulus package right around now. Just as fears of an enduring economic slump can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in the real world, as consumers “feel poor” and hunker down to save, slowing or even negating growth, so too can the perception of imminent doom affect soccer clubs’ spending. And, when teams stop spending, the first to be affected are the agents and middlemen who grease the wheels of the transfer market.”
(WSJ)

Behind José’s madness, a method

“Here’s a little game you can play at home. Type the words “Mourinho” and “referee” in your search engine. When I do it, I get more than 3 million hits. Here are some random headlines…” (SI)

Sympathy for the devil not enough for Milan

“It was billed as a contest between strength and beauty, substance versus style and whenever that’s the case the public generally side with the latter. And that’s why you should never trust the wisdom of crowds as Inter showed absolutely no difficulty in dispatching Milan, the overwhelming people’s favourites.” (Soccer Lens)

A Good Defense Isn’t Enough

“The old adage about defenses winning championships is starting to look outdated. Across Europe’s leading football leagues right now, the major title contenders have ditched the defensive mindset traditionally associated with success in favor of a new adventurous line of attack, in which teams are far more interested in scoring goals than preventing them. The result has been a deluge of goals that has delighted supporters and sent statisticians scurrying to check the record books.” (WSJ)

Sympathy for the devil not enough for Milan

“It was billed as a contest between strength and beauty, substance versus style and whenever that’s the case the public generally side with the latter. And that’s why you should never trust the wisdom of crowds as Inter showed absolutely no difficulty in dispatching Milan, the overwhelming people’s favourites.” (Soccer Lens)

Arsenal, AC Milan come charging

“You can blame the weather, I suppose. England’s deep freeze has wreaked havoc on the Premier League calendar, which is great for U.S.-based fans — there have been midweek (and therefore, mid-day) games galore, like Wednesday’s Liverpool-Tottenham showdown of underachievers. In the meantime, both the FA and Carling Cups have been raging on, and selected other European action — mixed in with some awesome African Cup of Nations games — have made mid-January a smorgasbord of excellent soccer. Plus, with everyone finally off winter break, we can start picking apart the leftovers again. Enjoy this week’s rundown — we recommend you nuke on high for two minutes, flip, then zap for another two minutes on medium.” (SI)