Inter Milan v Chelsea Preview and Quotes (Pt 1)
Training at the San Siro
By dixon9
February 24 2010
Yes, two parts for this preview seeing as it is a bit of a special tie. This is the first occasion that we will meet José Mourinho´s Inter in a competitive fixture. We did of course meet in a pre-season friendly in Seattle where we won 2-0 – but tonight’s encounter in the corrupt cup is billed to provide rather more intrigue and emotion.
To hear some of Mourinho´s quotes on Chelsea, you can’t help feeling that he has a secret yearning to return to Stamford Bridge.
.
It is doubtful that this is a move that would be welcomed by Abramovich who remains on a determined quest for Chelsea not only to be successful but play an open, expansive brand of football that could be appreciated more by the neutrals and the masses in general (perhaps I’m being unfair – there are some Chelsea fans that also demand the best of both worlds. Personally, I can appreciate the style of Barcelona AND the blue, crushing, combine harvester pressure style created by Mourinho during his time at our club).
Do we miss José? Of course! But that doesn’t (or shouldn’t) mean that we all want him back whilst we still have a manager who appears to be doing such an excellent job. Ancelotti is entitled and deserves all of our support – although a token of appreciation to our most successful manager in history may well be sung by the Chelsea faithful.
Anyway…
Team news:
Lampard thankfully will feature in the line-up having recovered from a virus, whilst Alex and Belletti are also set to feature. Besides the long-term injuries of Ashley Cole, Deco and Essien, Zhirkov is annoyingly ruled out with a calf problem.
So who is going to play at left-back then? Ferreira is not registered so that leaves Belletti or even Malouda (it will almost certainly be the former) to cope with the marauding Maicon.
Coincidentally, Inter have the same problem at left-back but Chivu and Santon are both injured leaving Zanetti to fill in there.
The Inter line-up will probably include Maicon at right-back with Lucio and Samuel to cope with Drogba. Next a 3 man midfield of Cambiasso, Muntari and Stankovic and keeper Cesar is fit despite his car crash at the weekend. Sneijder will probably play behind a strike pair selected from Eto'o, Milito, Pandev, and Balotelli.
The Inter line-up appears solid but we DO have a better side.
Where I see us catching Inter out is the exploitation of space at the back that Maicon will probably leave when he gets caught forward by Malouda or Anelka.
Tonight’s match has been hyped by the media for obvious reasons and this usually results in a chess-like, dogged encounter. At the San Siro that may well be the case although I suspect the return at the Bridge could be something quite different.
Those who witnessed last weekend’s match between Inter and Sampdoria will have noticed that Inter have themselves been pretty-much “Mourinhoised” – despite being down to 9 men for a large part of the game they still held on to a draw – not just held on but almost won at the end.
It’s going to take something “special” to get past them in their own back yard that’s for sure.
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------------------------Cech
Ivanovic----Carvalho----------Terry---------Malouda (!)
-----------Balack------Mikel--------Lampard
------Kalou(!)-------------------Anelka
-----------------------The Drog
"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
This is getting so obvious it´s not true.
"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.