Cagliari 0-1 Internazionale

 

On Fire

 

So after a the longest two weeks we finally got to see our beloved come back and play a game. I have to admit it wasn’t the prettiest game ever. It was sluggish to say the least and it looked like they ate lunch too close to kickoff. The passing was off and movement was kinda slow, but in the end we got the three points which is all that matters. Despite the sluggishness Inter controlled the first half and created a few chances but the tempo was slow and Calgiari looked to close us down tight. Then a magical moment occurred and Eto’o gave us the win. What a spectacular goal it was! This man has been out of this world so far this season and it’s been simply amazing to watch.

The second half was Inter holding on to the lead and Calgiari growing into the game late when desperation began to sink in. Dejan missed a couple of chances, the best being a header from a corner that flew over. Eto’o had another shot from distance  that was well saved. However the highlight of the second half was the incredible double save by Julio Cesar on Nene and Matri. That truly saved our asses as that was a point of the Sardinians right there. In the end we get the win in a slightly boring game.

What is really exciting is Seria A this year. The table is so tight and there are teams playing excellent football. If I thought Eto’o’s goal was amazing there were at least four or five others this week that were just as good if not better. Palermo is playing exciting football. Juventus has scored 16 goals so far this season and are begining to look like a serious threat. Milan is starting to worry me as they are growing into a force. Lazio is playing really well and are setting the pace. Fiorentina is in trouble if they don’t do something quick and Roma is so up and down you never know what you are going to get with them.

All this and Champions League in a few days. Gotta love it!

Forza Inter

Inter’s Season So Far

It’s amazing how fickle and negative the press and a big part of the Inter-verse have become lately. People have taken the past few years successes for granted and forgot where we came from. It was only after we knocked-out Chelsea that we became a force in Europe, before that we barely made it out of our group. Pre-Calcio-poli Inter hadn’t won the league in 18 years people. Now only six games into the season people are all bringing out stats about how Inter is having its worst start in five years while completely disregarding the opening schedule. So far we’ve played Palermo, who people are calling the most exciting team in Europe, Roma and Juventus, and we are still second place and only two points behind Lazio. People have also completely ignored the long list of injured starters (Zanetti, Samuel, Motta, Milito, Biabiany, Pandev, Cordoba) and how that has effected the preparations of our coach. Lets take a look at the main issues everyone is talking about.

Rafa Benitez

 

Gimme a chance

 

For the most part it seems that people don’t want to give Rafa a chance to be successful. What I read in forums and Twitter is that people want him fired already. He has no control over the team, and is purposefully trying to split up a very harmonious group. Milito missing chance after chance is all his fault.

Rafa’s biggest problem is that he took over a team after its most successful season ever and everyone wants to compare him to last year. Now I’m not saying that he is the best coach ever or that he doesn’t have faults but he is a very good coach. Inter did not buy him any new players of note and he is still keeping us competitive. My biggest concern with his style on the pitch is that it seem there are gaps in the defensive side that were not clear when Mourinho was coach. He also doesn’t play the media game so well, but at least he doest instigate wars either.

Other than that though he has been very good. Our style of play is better than before, we hold possession and create infinite amount of chances. Had we not been creating chances then I’d worry but we are and a lot. Every problem I see in the first half of games is always corrected after the break and our second half performances have always been strong. I see this as very positive and something to build on. I will give him till the Club World Cup to base a definitive opinion on him.

Looking forward to your opinions.

Inter’s Shirt Sales

And they aren’t great. Here is another reason Italian football isn’t making the money it should be. I found the table below on Football Marketing and it shows the sad state of our merchandising department. We should be selling in the Barcelona range and aiming for the Real Madrid and Manchester United sales numbers. Can you imagine how healthy a club we could be if we got into that stratosphere.

Transfer Campaign Review

Now that the dust has settled with the closure of the transfer window, and all the moaning and groaning about Inter not flashing the cash this summer is over, I thought it would be good to analyze the comings and goings of the past weeks. A lot has been said the past few days about what Inter did, or did not do. We never replaced Balotelli, Rafa didn’t get what he wanted. Look at Milan, Juve, and Roma. Sure it would have been nice to add a sexy name to the squad but with Financial Fair Play looming, and after reading the excellent Swiss Ramble Article about Inter’s finances, I do see the logic behind being frugal. People do forget that we have a very strong squad that will still challenge for the league, and do well enough in the Champions League. Plus next summer we will be getting rid of a bit more dead weight and with the profits we made this summer reinforce the team.

Outgoing:

We can’t talk about Inter’s transfer campaign without talking about Mario Balotelli. This is my biggest regret, what he’s shown so far tells me he is going to be world-class. He has pace, power, vision, and fantasy. He scored spectacular goals and changed games when he came on. People keep mentioning how he didn’t play in the crucial moments of last season, but they seem to forget the two seasons before that in which he was vital in helping us win those leagues. I know he was a pain in the ass but what genius footballer isn’t. Plus he came from our academy and will be essential to Italian football. I would have sold Milito way before dreaming of selling Mario. But alas.

The rest of the sales weren’t significant. We got rid of the disaster that was Quaresma to Besiktas and now all of a sudden he’s scoring goals for fun and back in the national team. His failure is all down to him to tell you the truth. He never showed anyone that he could play on big teams. I would’ve liked to keep Arnautovic especially since we sold Mario, and when he played he showed flashes. Half of Krhin was sold to Bologna to gain experience and get a bigger chance to play. I’ve seen way too little of him playing and so I hope he gets a proper shot this season. Destro was loaned out to Genoa with the right to buy half his contract. I’ve just seen a few YouTube highlights of this boy. He seems like the real deal and it seems had we kept him he would’ve gotten a chance to stay since the Balotelli sale, but he’s there now so I hope we get to see plenty of him. Donati was also loaned out to Lecce.

The great Francesco Toldo decided to retire and become a team ambassador. With him we were the luckiest team in knowing we had a top 10 goalkeeper as our backup. I don’t think any team in the world had a backup that good on their squad.

Incoming:

The Inter transfer campaign shows that inter is basically just stockpiling players for the future. Our biggest signing is one that won’t join till next season, Andrea Ranocchia. He looks amazing on the field and will bring life to our ageing back line. We also added a pair of 18 year olds, Marco Faraoni on a free transfer from Lazio, and Simone Benedetti from Torino to our defensive roster. These guys come with a lot of good press and will hopefully grow into the first team just when our current defensive players begin to fade out. We also got Luca Castellazzi to replace Toldo as our backup goalkeeper.

On the offensive side of the ball we got back Ludovic Jonathan Biabiany from his stint at Parma. He’s supposed to be the fastest player in Seria A and can cause problems on the counter attack with his speed. He’s young and has potential to be a good squad player if not more. If he can get his goal scoring numbers higher he can have a serious impact. The marquee signing of the summer was a player we bought two years ago but was too young for a professional contract. Philippe Coutinho is one of the hottest prospects to come out of Brazil. He’s already called up to the senior national team, and has been with us all summer training. He seems like he’s got major potential as a playmaker or second striker. A lot of people liken his style of play to Kaka. Let’s hope they are right.

So yes not the most exciting of transfer campaigns but I still have faith in the squad. I think this is a transitional year before the re-stocking starts to happen over the next two seasons. I’ll be analyzing all the players in the team in my next post followed by the main contenders study over the next few days. Stay tuned.