At the end of the 08-09 season, Barcelona sent Samuel Eto'o to Inter Milan and to many observers (including myself), he was dismissed unfairly and unjustifiably painted in a negative light. Many idiotic Barca supporters saw the departure of Eto'o as a good thing, although they failed to realize that he was a MASSIVE part of Barca's historic Triplete.
After 45 years, and with a brilliant performance of Diego Milito, Inter Milan won the UEFA Champions League for the third time.
The teacher faced the student; earlier this week Louis Van Gaal said “I aim to play well and win. Mourinho aims just to win”.
Bayern Munich played an overall better match, but that was not enough to overcome an organized Internazionale. The side coached by Jose Mourinho was solid on defense and effective in offense, they took advantage of the few chances they generated.
The real hero this season was Diego Milito, who could be headed for Real Madrid if Jose Mourinho is confirmed as the new coach. Milito scored the decisive goals to give his team the Copa Italia against Siena and the fifth Escudetto against Roma respectively.
This team once again displayed solidness in defense, it seems like Samuel and Lucio were born to play together. Maicon once again showed why he is one of the best wide backs in the world, if not the best. And after this match some are still questioning why Diego Maradona left Zanetti and Cambiasso out of the world cup squad.
Will Moratti be able to retain Mourinho? It seems like the size of the Santiago Bernabeu was not intimidating for the Portuguese who is to succeed Pellegrini. Along with his arrival it is expected he will take Milito and Maicon.
Congratulations to Inter !!!
Inter Milan’s quest to win the treble this season got off on the right foot after defeating AS Roma 1-0 in the Coppa Italia final at the Olympic Stadium in the Eternal City. Diego Milito’s 40th minute tally was enough for the Nerazzurri to capture their sixth Coppa Italia championship.
Roma had their chances to pull level, but never found a way to break Inter’s solid back line. Substitute Francesco Totti was shown a red card for a hard foul on
Jose Mourinho’s side was able to hold on and avenge a 2-1 loss to the capital side in league play a few weeks back. Since then Inter was able to regain the lead in Serie A and will now try to shrug Roma off as they sit two points behind Inter in Il Calcio.
This was the fifth Coppa Italia final in the last six seasons that had Roma and Inter as the finalists. Roma won the previous two final meetings against Inter in 2007 and 2008.
*The Coppa Italia winner qualifies to next season’s Europa League, but Inter and Roma are assured to finish in the top two spots in the Serie A standings qualifying them directly to next season’s UEFA Champions League. Therefore, the seventh placed
Jose Mourinho seems to have the formula to win the UEFA Champions League, or at least make it to the finals. In 2004 he won the UCL with F.C. Porto, in 2003 he also won the UEFA cup (Europa League).
This year he will be part of another final, this time with Inter Milan facing Bayern Munich in the Santiago Bernabeu.
After the 3-1 defeat at San Siro (The Stadio Guiseppe Meazza), Barcelona needed a 2-0 victory at home to make it to the finals. Barca Tv aired a commercial in which players like Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Victor Valdes and Lionel Messi used the slogan “We will leave our skin behind in the field to reach the finals” to pump the crowd.
98,000 Blaugranas we present at the Nou Camp in what I called an anticipated final.
Lineups:
F.C. Barcelona: 1. Valdes; 2. Alves, 3. Pique, 18. Milito; 6. Xavi, 15. Keita, 16. Busquets, 24. Yaya Toure; 09. Ibrahimovic, 10. Messi, 17. Pedro.
Inter Milan: 12. Julio Cesar; 4. Zannetti, 6. Lucio, 25. Samuel, 13. Maicon; 26. Chivu, 8. Motta, 10. Sneijder, 19. Cambiasso; 9. Eto’o, 22. Milito
The most notable absents from this match are Carles Puyol, Pandev and Iniesta. The first one suspended, and the last two out with respective injuries.
Inter played a man short for nearly 60 minutes when midfielder Thiago Motta was red carded for an aggression against midfielder Sergio Busquets.
The side coached by Jose Mourinho sat deep and flooded the last line, a good tactical approach considering the 3-1 aggregate score. In the first half Barca did not trouble Inter; the clearest chance was a shot by Lionel Messi that Julio Cesar deflected.
Things changed in the second half; most of it was played on Inter’s defensive side. However players like Xavi, Messi and Pedro didn’t really challenge the goal defended by Julio Cesar, part of this goes to Walter Samuel, the Argentine International played a good match and showed stability in the back.
Barca missed a very clear chance when Bojan headed the ball wide uncontested. If the young forward had headed the ball straight instead of turning his head, the outcome would have been different.
When everyone’s hopes were almost vanished, Gerard Pique broke the deadlock and put Guardiola’s side 1 goal away from the finals; the goal was a true work of art. Pique received a clinical pass from Xavi, the Spain international trapped the ball and turned inside as he was being confronted by Ivan Cordoba and slipped the ball into the far post.
The 98,000 local crowd ratified their presence as the 12th man and pushed the team forward for the last 10 minutes in the match.
In the last minutes of the match Barcelona could have left with a victory. Yaya Toure trapped the ball and found Bojan on a scoring position; the canterano took this chance and put the ball in the back of the net. However, the referee denied the goal for an alleged handball, a clear mistake by the Belgian referee Frank de Bleeckere. The ball struck Toure on the belly, and even thou his hand was near there was no contact with it.
Inter reached a European final for the first time since 1972; Mourinho has a chance to win his second UCL and it could be a special final against one of his great tutors, Louis Van Gaal. Inter reached a dream final. And according to a previous statement by Jose, Barcelona’s hopes for a Bernabeu final was not a dream but an obsession.
It seems like Inter will win their fifth straight Scudetto after they defeated Atalanta and Roma fell at home to Sampdoria. Although the reality of the moment makes one see that Inter have a slightly tougher schedule than Roma, but there is one match that could be under the watchful eye of many in Italy. Inter will visit relegation- compromised Lazio. Will Lazio fight Inter tooth and nail? Will they allow Inter to beat them in order to prevent their eternal city rivals to not win the Scudetto?
Simone Tiribocch's 11th goal of the season gave hopes to the giallorossi faithful with his goal in the fifth minute. But Inter came back with a vengeance and scored three goals courtesy of Diego Milito, Cristian Chivu, and Sulley Muntari that helped propel them to the top of the standings.
Meanwhile Francesco Totti put Roma ahead the 14th minute with a venomous strike. For Totti that was his 19th goal of the season and his team was ready to make it big. But defensively the wheels came off as Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini shredded the romanista backline and came away with an impressive 2-1 result for La Samp's European dreams. Pazzini scored a brace with an incredible header and then capped it off with the game-winner which propelled them into Champions League positions.
Siena and Livorno were officially relegated today. Siena lost in convincing fashion to Udinese 4-1 and Livorno would beat Catania 3-1. All of this was for naught as Bologna would beat Parma 2-1 at the Renato Dell'Ara courtesy of a brace by Marco Di Vaio and assured the bottom two teams of having to play next season in Serie B.
Juventus handled Bari easily 3-0 while Palermo defeated AC Milan in Sicily 3-1.
The race for the Scudetto has taken a turn that all fans would appreciate. AS Roma are a point ahead of four-time defending champs Inter and one of its fans put down the gauntlet.
The Italian bombshell made a promise that further motivated Inter and its fans to win the Scudetto. Melita Toniolo said that she would promise to strip in Milan in the event that the neroazzurri win their fifth consecutive title.
This "decree" comes after Argentine singer and model Lola Ponce did the same for the romanistas.
Toniolo is one of the most popular personalities in Italian television. She has appeared in several television show ever since her big break in 2006.
Well, the 2006 Miss Maxim Italy surely peaked the interest of friend and foe alike. She is further proof that one hot chick is better to look at than 22 dudes.
In my humble opinion, we should stop listening to athletes making guarantees and start hoping that these ladies have the possibility of making theirs come true.
If one were to say to us that Barcelona would have well over two-thirds possession against and outshot Inter at the San Siro, it was safe to say that they were just a formality away from heading to Madrid. Barcelona woud then suffer the biggest defeat of the Guardiola era at the hands of Inter 3-1.
The match on Tuesday was exactly that as Barcelona appeared for the first 20 minutes and seemed lost after Pedro's goal. Jose Mourinho perfected what Mauricio Pochettino did at the weekend as he was able shut the Barcelona breakout and were effective on the attack. Their opportunities were quality and they cashed in on mistakes.
Barca lost the big matchup
The problem became the midfield that was virtually non-existent. Xavi looked limited on both ends. He was by himself on the breakouts while he had to switch over towards Sergi Busquets to help him on the mark. This allowed Wesley Sneijder to be wide open. This was how Barca were scored on in the 30th minute when Samuel Eto'o passed the ball to Diego Milito and he would find Sneijder all alone.
Sergio Busquets spent his time fighting more than playing and was one of the five blaugrana that saw yellow. Xavi was unable to distribute and Inter challenged Seydou Keita to perform that function. One thing was for sure, Andrés Iniesta was missed big time.
Sneijder, Thiago Motta, and Goran Pandev, and Dejan Stankovic were absolute workmen in the midfield. They outworked, outhustled and were outprepared Barcelona.
These players were able to layer Lionel Messi and render him ineffective during the 90 minutes.
Pandev started the breakout that led to the go-ahead goal as he found Milito and Maicon would fly in down the middle and coolly beat Victor Valdés.
Big game hunter?
Samuel Eto'o put his hunger for glory behind him in an effort to win. His role was more inclined to clean the area and give room to Milito in the middle. He did help out in the first and third goal as he was the player that put the ball in the box for Sneijder and Milito's goal.
The gamble that didn't pay off
Pep Guardiola is known for being ballsy in his changes, but he was absolutely wrong in changing Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Éric Abidal. Barca lost their presence in the box and that helped Inter close in the ranks and tighten up spaces in the middle.
Guardiola also did not use his two remaining substitutions to bring in either Thierry Henry or Bojan Krkic. Instead the biggest offensive threat in the final stages of the match was Gerard Piqué. He pushed up and was almost playing at the nine spot left vacant by Ibra.
Man of the match
It would be the right thing to give it to the entire Inter side. But the player that truly made an impact on the game was Goran Pandev. His inlcusion in the starting XI gave another dimension to Inter. Although he did not play the entire match (Dejan Stankovic came in for him) Pandev gave Inter the balance they needed. Obviously he was key in the marking of Messi and breaking out on the attack.
"Pandev was the difference maker. He brought intelligence and order to our game today."-Samuel Eto'o
Now Barca face the adversity that they have never experienced in the Guardiola era. Down two goals and heading home isn't a scenario facing them in this recent stretch of success. So now with Carles Puyol out, they will have to play one of those epic matches that have made this team what it is.
No excuses. Not the bus ride. Not the volcano. Nothing. Barca did not perform and that is it.
Roma and Inter are neck a neck in te final stages of the Serie A season.
The neroazzurri provisionally went top when they defeated Juventus 2-0. The highlight of the match was one of the most incredible goals of the season.
Inter are poised to face Barcelona on Tuesday in the Champions League semis and they will have the extra day's rest as well as the advantage of seeing their opponents making a 500-mile bus ride to the European fashion capital because of the volcanic ash wreaking havoc.
Roma would come back after falling behind 1-0. Mirko Vucinic scored a brace and the giallorossi won the Eternal City derby against Lazio.
AC Milan continue to slide after being just one point away from the Serie A lead just a couple of weeks ago. The rossoneri lost to La Samp 2-1. Marco Boriello opened the scoring for Milan but Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini would give the blucerchiati the three points in the end.
Former Inter star Christian Vieri could cause his old team lose their 2005-06 scudetto (A Bola Na Bota)
Déja vu all over again in Serie A. What's a World Cup year without a scandal in Italy? That seems to have been the case the past few years there.
Some of the old scars of Calciopoli have been scraped and we could have a third champion in the 2005-06 season.
According to various sources, Christian Vieri has gone to the the federal prosecutors at the FIGC to report that his former club, Inter, spied on him during the 2005-06 season.
According to Goal.com, Vieri accused his former employer of espionage. The accusation reopens a topic that was never really solved after the final decision was made in the match-fixing scandal that rocked Italian football back in 2006. There were suspicions that Inter boss Massimo Moratti and Italia Telecom had some involvement in the scandal but were did not serve the punishment that Juventus and AC Milan had.
Vieri alongside attorney Daniele Buongiorno are stating that the neroazzurri tapped his phone line. This is in strict violation of article 18 of the code of sporting justice of Italy. The penalty for violating this rule is the "withdrawal of champion status".
The investigation is currently underway and if this inquiry finds Vieri's accusations to be true, Inter could be stripped of the Scudetto they won virtue of Juventus being relegated and AC Milan being docked 18 points after the appeals were made. The next one in line for the title would be AS Roma as they ended that season with 69 points after all the deductions were handed out.
The UEFA Champions League draw for the Quarterfinals took place this friday, in Switzerland. And Oh boy do we have some good matches ahead.
QUARTERFINALS:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v F.C. Barcelona
Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow
SEMIFINALS
Bayern Munich v Manchester United winner vs. Lyon v Bordeaux winner
Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow winner vs. Arsenal v F.C. Barcelona winner
The home team in the finals will either be Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Lyon or Bordeaux.
The match will be played on May 22nd in the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
Chum was thrown to the sharks on Friday night when Catania gave four-time Scudetto winners Inter Milan a Sicilian Surprise when they beat them 3-1. The big issue was that most of the teams chasing the neroazzurri did not take full advantage
When Clarence Seedorf scored what was going to be the game-winner for AC Milan, that was probably the biggest news coming out of Serie A of San Siro was David Beckham's injury.
His Achilles' heel rupture was the bitter taste left in the mouths of milanistas and England fans everywhere when he hobbled to the nearest exit. His face told the entire story. His anger, despair, and obviously pain.
Players like Ignazio Abate expressed their sorrow to missing a teammate who was fundamental in the dressing room as did England national team coach Fabio Cappello.
Scores
Friday
Catania 3-1 Inter
Saturday
Napoli 1-3 Fiorentina
Sunday
Bologna 1-1 Sampdoria
Livorno 3-3 AS Roma
Genoa 5-3 Cagliari
Parma 1-0 Atalanta
Juventus 3-3 Siena
Udinese 3-2 Palermo
Lazio 0-2 Bari
AC Milan 1-0 Chievo Verona
Standings
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In this modern world in which ethnicities amalgamate, thus making individuals more diverse than ever before in human history there has been one aspect that has remained- the close-mindedness of our past.
Seeing and following Mario Balotelli, I can sympathize with him. Although I was born in New Jersey and speak with no hint of a Latin accent I am not considered "American" (whatever that means) by many people that have read or dealt with me in the past. Super Mario plays the game the way he feels. Despite tearing up defenses in Europe and in Serie A, there is a chip on his shoulder that both drives him to be the best, yet hampers him personally.
On the other hand, he has dealt with the type of rejection very few stars have. I can sympathize with Mario, albeit on a much smaller scale. Being portrayed as the one in the family that did not know about their culture because I was not "one of them". As much as I felt Colombian, knew the national anthem, and assimilated my family's culture because of language barriers and, in some cases, old-fashioned hardheadedness, it was not enough. That is why I understand him for the most part. That is what is going on with Mario.
Outside of the glitz and glamour of being the striker for Inter, Balotelli is part of that social phenomenon where he is not accepted in one culture and would probably not fit in the other. Not from here not from there. For many Italians he is not one of them
Although he is currently tearing up Serie A and one of the primary contributors to Inter's success in Europe, he is having trouble being called up to Marcello Lippi's Azzurri. While other would be accepted by the Ghanian national team with open arms, it would take a while for him to adapt to his new surroundings.
Let's face it he's Italian through and through. He speaks with an Italian accent, and a Sicilian one to boot. He feels the game like an Italian. He lives and dies for the game like an Italian does. We all know that he was brought up by a family in Palermo since he was two years old.
The Other Factor
As much as I love fellow New Jersey native Giuseppe Rossi as a player, he never endured what Balotelli had to endure in order to gain acceptance on the national team and by the fans. They were both brought up by Italian families with the same Italian customs. Don't get me wrong, Rossi deserves to be considered among
What upsets me most is the fact that the people that talk about the Balotelli situation have never gone through 1/1,000,000-th of the racism that he has gone through. My partner George Metéllus said it best when talking about most of the people that wrote about Balotelli's situation is like "a baby talking about astrophysics."
It takes a very mature person to deal with the insults hurled at him by tifosi in several stadia all over the Italian peninsula. The issue here is that he is not mature-yet. He has handled the situation well- for a 19-year-old. He has defended himself the only way he knows how- by lashing out. So far Balotelli learned how to deal this by himself, which is usually a recipe for disaster for any kid. Jose Mourinho, much like Roberto Mancini are not the bastions of guiding a young player, either. With the former, Balotelli has gone through his share of run-ins. It's difficult to tell a kid how to do things when he himself is improvising as he goes.
Now, is his attitude the right one? In the long run, no. For all he run-ins he has had with Mourinho during that past year and a half, it has not cost Inter. There will be a point where it will. He is just too talented a player to go to waste because of his fiery temper.
Samuel Eto'o, a player that is also known for similar reactions has apparently simmered down and realizes that he has grown up as a player and as a person. This is why he extended his hand to the young Italian, even though the youngster is gathering up steam in order to take the Cameroonian international's spot with the neroazzurri.
Well, George will follow up in part two.
