Inter: Where We Are & How We Got Here – Part III

The following is Part 3 of a 3 part series written by @LaPinetina (http://www.twitter.com/LaPinetina).   These thoughts, words and opinions belong to @LaPinetina and are in no way affiliated with FC Internazionale Milano.  Any thoughts that I, TB, may have will be distinguished with the [Ed. Note] interjection.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way, shape or form affiliated in any manner to Football Club Internazionale Milano (FC Inter Milan).  I do not represent in any way, shape or form the thoughts or beliefs of FC Inter.   Please note that the following thoughts belong to @LaPinetina, so don’t crucify TB.  Forward all of your angry tweets and comments to me instead.  I will respond appropriately.

PART 3

Now to refute all of the excuses that Rafa will utilize to blame others instead of being accountable as a coach.

The weather, the pitch, etc. I can’t help you with.

The referees are always against Inter (remember Calciopoli much?)

The injuries?  Yes, Inter have suffered a tremendous amount of injuries (21+ and counting?)  [Ed. Note: 22 including Amantino Mancini's MUSCULAR problem today.] Most of them muscular and most of them hamstring injuries in nature.  With so many injuries of similarity, one has to question training and fitness competency.  What are the differences in training that is causing such massive casualties?  Yes, many of our players were utilized at the World Cup but save for Sneijder (Dutch), none went deep into the competition.  Deki (Serbia) and Eto’o (Cameroon) didn’t make it past the group stages.  Ghana advanced to the knock out rounds but Muntari found himself mostly on the bench due to a public falling out with his national team coach.  Julio Cesar, Maicon, and Lucio (Brasil) unfortunately lost to Wes’s Dutch team in the quarterfinals.  Diego Milito and Walter Samuel, although called up for the WC squad, played limited minutes for Argentina.  Milito as a substitute (not on Maradona’s well-liked list) and Walter Samuel had a slight knock but also seemed to fall out of favor with Maradona in the end.  Only Wes played in the finals of the WC and delivered 3 beautiful balls to Arjen Robben (which he could not convert).

On a side note, I’ve spoken with an LFC supporter who told me that Pellegrino just recently received UEFA coaching badges.  From our conversations LFC had a long history of injuries under Benitez as well.  Frequent falling out episodes with two previous fitness coaches left Pellegrino in the role.  Does he have enough experience to adequately oversee a fitness program for a team of such magnitude such as Inter?  Who knows.

I’ve heard Rafa complain about not bringing in players during the transfer market.  Inter just won the frickin treble.  We have quality players.  I thought he said it would be easy to win with the same Mou-coached Inter side?  Where did the cocky Rafa go?  We didn’t have a lot of WC players on our squad and except for Samuel’s injury, I believe everyone thought that our squad would be sufficient.  No one would have ever predicted that between ineffective “tactics,” a new system that doesn’t work, poor fitness preparation and training that in my opinion has led to a long list of injuries, and a drop in player morale, that we would be so desperate to sign players in the upcoming transfer market.  [Ed. Note: Last Friday, players vetoed the idea of a gym training session in favor of ball work and strategy.  From what I’ve read, the training regiment has changed so drastically from “90% ball work” last season to a gym/free weight/long distance running fitness program.]

Rafael Benitez came into a system, club, team and players with a winning mentality.  Benitez’s ego has created unnecessary changes in systems, defense, player’s roles, and possibly injuries.  In 4 months, Benitez has succeeded in almost destroying Inter.  In 13 matches he has killed hope, destroyed a winning mentality and demoralized the tifosi, players and club.  If I didn’t know any better, I would say that he was hired by our most hated rivals.

My prediction is that by the end of the following week, Inter will have a new coach.  Whether that’s Monday or Friday, Inter will make a change.  I believe we probably have someone in mind, who knows Inter, Serie A, and our players.  Someone who will be prepared with tactics and strategies.  Someone who will review game tape and utilize the newest technology to strengthen our squad.  Someone who will not only unite our players, tifosi and club but galvanize us back to winning ways.  FORZA INTER!

[Ed. Note: I would like to thank LaPinetina for taking the time to write and share what I (and many Interisti) feel.  I am honoured to be able to host her writing and look forward to any future collaborations.]

Inter: Where We Are & How We Got Here – Part II

The following is Part 2 of a 3 part series written by @LaPinetina (http://www.twitter.com/LaPinetina).   These thoughts, words and opinions belong to @LaPinetina and are in no way affiliated with FC Internazionale Milano.  Any thoughts that I, TB, may have will be distinguished with the [Ed. Note] interjection.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way, shape or form affiliated in any manner to Football Club Internazionale Milano (FC Inter Milan).  I do not represent in any way, shape or form the thoughts or beliefs of FC Inter.   Please note that the following thoughts belong to @LaPinetina, so don’t crucify TB.  Forward all of your angry tweets and comments to me instead.  I will respond appropriately.

PART 2
Now that I’ve explained why I believe we hired Rafa Benitez I will go into great depth of why he will be fired.

From my recollection, Benitez stated several times during the last few months of his tenure at Liverpool, as well as in the first two months of his reign at Inter, how EASY it is to win at Inter.  Not so easy now, huh?  To win over the Inter tifosi, amongst his first words were to get rid of Esteban Cambiasso [Ed. Note: A Future captain of Inter] and to bring Javier Mascherano to Inter.  Shockwaves of anger engulfed me.  How dare Rafa minimize Cambiasso’s skill, talent and his role within our club?  Was he daft?  Did he not know of the ensuing Diego Maradona drama and how both Javier Zanetti and Cambiasso were controversially excluded from the Argentina World Cup squad?  Apparently if it didn’t happen at LFC, Rafa was unaware.  So Rafa and Carboni, who pushed this move, were not popular from the getgo.  Fortunately, Cambiasso stayed put and Barcelona were the fortunate ones to “land” Mascherano.  By the way, Mascherano seems to have spent more time on the Barca bench from the impression I’ve received from the stories and fans.

Rafa also stated, as the new Inter coach, that a Spanish player should win the Ballon d’Or since they won the World Cup.  Seriously?  Hello!  The BEST player on the frickin planet is on Inter- his name’s Wesley Sneijder!  Yeah, Rafa was racking up likeability points from the beginning, NOT!

Now, I shall summarize his deficiencies as a coach.  Rafa told us that he wasn’t going to change anything.  He lied, in my opinion.  Rafa changed everything.  We won the treble, so in turn Rafa made what he felt to be “necessary adjustments” by changing the entire system, defensive scheme, trying to divide the team/pit them against each other and playing players out of position.

Rafa stated he wouldn’t change the system and yet within a couple of matches into our preseason he changed it all.  First off, he implemented a 4-5-1 system where Samuel Eto’o sits on top and Diego Milito on the right.  If both strikers want to play on top, why not institute a 4-4-2 or 4-1-2-1-2?  [Ed. Note: I’ve been told by many LFC fans to “keep dreaming” in regards to a formation different from 4-5-1.  Doesn't happen under Rafa.] The only player who seemed to “succeed” in Rafa’s system was Eto’o.  The concern with such dependence on one player (like the Zlatan Ibrahimovic years) was what would happen when Eto’o stopped scoring?  Where would the necessary goals come from if the Eto’o well dried up or was insufficient to win matches?  [Ed. Note: With today's ruling of Samu getting a 3 game ban because of his coup de boule, we will unfortunately have to find out sooner than later.]

I believe Rafa became threatened with a team who he perceived was loyal to Mou, when in fact, our players are loyal to the club.  An example of how Rafa tried to divide the team was the Milito-Eto’o situation.  Rafa made it known early on that he did not like Diego Milito and subsequently substituted him at the end of several matches in the 60s and 70s.  I believe Milito takes about 30 minutes of game time to “warm up” and his most productive minutes frequently come towards the twilight of matches.  In my opinion, he had almost succeeded in dividing the team by pitting Milito and Eto’o against each other.  Players aligned on sides with a few in the middle.  With time, most players fell on the long list of falling out of favor, no one more public than Sulley Muntari.  In my opinion, Muntari wasn’t the exception, he’s the rule but his case was made public.  I think that anything positive said about Rafa is to limit damage control at this time.

Rafa has shown the incapability to play a formation other than a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1.  He makes no adjustments.  His substitutions are questionable at best.  For example, he took Cambiasso off earlier Sunday versus Chievo, maybe to save him for the CL midweek match versus FC Twente…?  I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt since Cambiasso is coming back from injury.  Instead of putting in an attacking player for Cambiasso (Inter were down 1-0 to Chievo), Nwanko, a primavera player, came in and he struggled.  Why not think about moving Dejan Stankovic (Deki) in a holding position and introducing Amantino Mancini or Denis Alibec in?  He subsequently subbed in Alibec (a primavera striker) for Jonathan Biabiany.  Yes, he still took out an attacking player.  I thought the correct mentality would be to go for the win?  Wouldn’t we need all of our attacking options to score?  That’s just my opinion, of course.

Rafa changed our defensive scheme.  We have the best defenders in the world.  Yes, Walter Samuel has recently suffered a season ending traumatic knee injury but prior to being injured the new defensive system had [Ed. Note: has] wreaked havoc.  We went from man marking to a zonal system where attacking players glide with ease between our center backs to score on cue.  An advanced line implemented by Benitez has resulted in catching our central defenders frequently on their back foot, behind the attacking players leaving them to score at will.  No adjustments have been made to implement changes nor systems that would build on our players’ strengths rather than expose weaknesses.

Benitez continues to place players out of position.  I realize that Benitez wanted Mascherano rather than keeping Cambiasso but he continues to play him out of position.  Cambiasso demonstrated last season that he was the best defensive midfielder in the world.  Maradona didn’t agree but Maradona also couldn’t win with an extremely talented Argentine side at the World Cup.  Rafa plays Cambiasso in an advanced attacking position instead of planting him in front of the center backs.  Yes, Mou experimented with Cambiasso in attack but realized that he brings stability and control to our defensive scheme.

[Ed. Note: Part 3 and the conclusion to come tomorrow...]

Inter: Where We Are & How We Got Here – Part I

The following is Part 1 of a 3 part series written by @LaPinetina (http://www.twitter.com/LaPinetina).   These thoughts, words and opinions belong to @LaPinetina and are in no way affiliated with FC Internazionale Milano.  Any thoughts that I, TB, may have will be distinguished with the [Ed. Note] interjection.

First and foremost I want to thank @SonoTuttoBene for giving me an opportunity to blog as a guest.  I appreciate it.  As usual, I have much to say.  So much so that my thoughts may need to be divided into three blogs.  The first blog entry will discuss what led to the hiring of Benitez, the second discusses the events that have led Inter to the dismal state in which we currently exist, and the third will be the refutations of Benitez’s excuses.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way, shape or form affiliated in any manner to Football Club Internazionale Milano (FC Inter Milan).  I do not represent in any way, shape or form the thoughts or beliefs of FC Inter.   Please note that the following thoughts belong to @LaPinetina (yes, I just referred to myself in third person thank you very much), so don’t crucify TB.  Forward all of your angry tweets and comments to me instead.  I will respond appropriately.

Enough with the housekeeping issues, back to the subject at hand, Inter and why we’re a “hot mess.”  My feelings go beyond anger and frustration.  Better words that more aptly describe my innermost emotions regarding present day Inter may include depression, desolation, bewilderment, feeling disheartened and demoralized, yes, you get the picture… I possess the “old” Inter feelings pre-Mou and pre-Mancio, when we didn’t win anything.  I don’t like it, especially with the progress and success we’ve achieved recently.

Who do we blame for the destruction of an unprecedented Italian treble winning side?  The list is long and many things factor into the current dismal state of my beloved club, Inter.

The following helps to explain what led to the hiring of Rafael Benitez.

First off, let me give due credit to Jose Mourinho.  Love him or hate him, he is by far the best coach in the world.  No question in my mind.  He’s the most prepared, tactically savvy, masterful man manager and brilliant footballing mind we will see for years to come.  Without “The Special One,” Inter would never have been so successful last season.  The reasoning behind Moratti’s desire to see Mou at the Inter helm was valid.  He wanted Mou because Signore Moratti knows Jose wins and he won at Inter.  Mou brought the elusive European Cup back to Inter after 45 long years.  For this fact, Inter will be forever grateful to Mou & you will never see a negative word regarding Mou for this reason alone.

Mou enabled our players to get over the “Champions League” (CL) block that seemed to create a barrier to any CL success.  He created a media frenzy that made Inter the number one story in the footballing world.  With utmost respect, we owe Mou much deserved gratitude.  With that being said (and this is the only time that I will state the following out of respect for what Mou has given Inter), Mou is to blame for the hiring of Rafa Benitez.  If Mou had not left Inter so abruptly, then Benitez would not have been hired.  In Mou, we had the mastermind of present day football.  We were always prepared and expected to win.  We were so prepared with a winning mentality that we finally won the treble.  We knew we would win.  We were a team of destiny and we fulfilled our destiny.  This is when things started to go awry.

Immediately after our CL win in Madrid, Mou announced to the media that he had achieved what he had wanted to at Inter and that he was done.  He was ready to leave Inter and fulfill his dream, which was to coach Real Madrid.  His statement sent shockwaves throughout the footballing world.  No one was more shocked (and dismayed) than everyone at Inter.  Yes, Mou had hinted at it but no one took him seriously.  We thought it was another media mind game to distract everyone from the CL Final.  Did anyone expect him to announce his resignation within moments of the win?  NO.  In my opinion, Signore Moratti did not know of Mou’s final decision until Mou announced it to the media.  Neither Mou nor Signore Moratti flew back with the team to celebrate in the deserved revelry that accompanies such a historic victory.  Not only had Inter won the CL but in the previous weeks, Inter had also won the Coppa Italia and a fifth consecutive Scudetto (Italian league title).  Inter had achieved an unprecedented treble.  Yet Mou’s departure had put a bit of a damper on the celebrations.  Signore Moratti may not have truly celebrated Inter’s achievements because a new media storm was filling the headlines: “Who would be the new coach at Inter?”

The following few weeks were filled with panic.  No one at Inter was prepared for Mou’s abrupt departure.  We  were under the impression that Mou would be with us for years.  We thought Mou was with us for the long haul, to build a winning system.  Apparently we were wrong.  There was no one in place ready or willing with “appropriate” experience to step in.  We couldn’t give the job away.  Laurent Blanc may have been a suitable choice but he was already committed to the French national team (NT).  When he was available in April/May, we still had a very committed Mou.  Fabio Capello was a strong candidate but he decided to stay with the English NT.  I won’t second guess that decision, looking at the poor results of the English since Capello extended his contract.  Guus Hiddink was tied up with Turkey, Roberto Mancini (Mancio) at Manchester City, and Luciano Spalletti with Zenit St. Petersburg.  There was no one else except for a very willing Rafael Benitez to take the job.  His sheer enthusiasm to step into Mou’s shoes should have been a warning flag.

I had hoped that Mou would have shown respect to Inter and given us notice, allowing us time to find a suitable replacement.  Maybe adequate is a better word.   In my opinion it was disrespectful to the entire Inter organization, not to mention our players and Signore Moratti and the tifosi to leave so hastily.  I don’t even think that Moratti has had a chance to enjoy the treble because he’s been so busy trying to deal with the post-Mou damage.

So what led to the hiring of Benitez?

Well my conspiracy theorist self has concluded the following…I’ve gotten the distinct impression that Mou and Marco Branca (Inter’s Sporting Director) were never great friends.  Was it due to too much machismo?  A clash of authority?  Questions of who’s in charge and the consequential pissing contest, etc.  I bring this up because after Mou’s hasty exit, if you remember Moratti and the board, resoundingly endorsed Branca.   In my conspiracy theorist opinion, he used this opportunity to persuade the board and Signore Moratti to back him.  So in the emotional aftermath of Mou’s abrupt abandonment, Branca pushed his agenda.

Branca has done great things at Inter and he will continue do so in the future but pushing to hire Rafa Benitez, Amedeo Carboni (current transfer market consultant) and squeezing Gabriele Oriali (former transfer market consultant) out were not his greatest achievements.  Blame must also be shouldered by Marco Branca for pushing to hire both Rafa Benitez and his boy, Carboni.  Would it be too much of a coincidence to make a connection between Branca and Carboni while they both played at Sampdoria and Roma at the same time?  I don’t think so.  In hiring his boy, Carboni, Oriali was shockingly and unjustly pushed out by Branca.  A huge mistake in my opinion.  (Side note: For all the Inter tifosi, why do we always go after the Roma rejects?  Ask Branca.)

[Ed. Note: Due to the length, both LaPinetina and I mutually agreed to publish parts 2 and 3, respectively, over the next few days.  We realize that a 10 page dissertation may be too much for most people to swallow in one sitting.]

Derby della Madonnina, Vol. 274

(Note- This was written prior to line ups, etc were announced.)

It’s been quite a rough patch leading up to today’s Derby della Madonnina for us Interisti.  Out of the last 7 matches in Serie A, we’ve only managed 10 points and 2 wins.  We were handed an EMBARASSING loss at White Hart Lane and people are finally starting to question Rafa Benitez and his fit (or lack thereof) as coach.

I thought we hit rock bottom last weekend against Brescia.  After that match, it was the most devastated and defeated I had felt in a LONG time.  Even though it finished 1-1, I felt we lost a lot more.  We had used all our substitutions by the 51st minute: injury to Maicon in the first half, Wesley Sneijder fainting at half time, and heartbreakingly, Walter Samuel to an ACL/MCL injury… again.  With all our injuries this season, we’re almost capable of fielding a whole pitch of players- it’s some ludicrous number like 19.

For the last 4 days (after our draw with Lecce), I have been repeating “We are so fucked.”  AC Milan have come into this round top of the leaderboard, first time by their lonesome since September 2008.  They have lost Pippo Inzaghi to an ACL injury as well, but their squad is still pretty much in tact with Andrea Pirlo back in the fold.  The focal point of today in undoubtedly Zlatan Ibrahimovic.  There are reports saying Marco Materazzi will be playing today to be on him.  If this happens, we don’t need the flares from the stands, because this match up will give us all the fireworks necessary.

Julio Cesar, Esteban Cambiasso and Wesley Sneijder have all been called up to the squad after their injury layoffs, so hopefully we aren’t so fucked after all.  This is also a “home” game for us, which means our home record is at stake. Quite simply, we CANNOT lose.  This match is worth more than just points and standings.

This is about pride.  This is about character.  This is about heart.

Our strength the last few seasons has been the ability to pull together as a family when we’ve hit rought patches.  We were able to garner strength through solidarity and achieve the result we needed to straighten the ship.

All last week, Milanisti have been running their mouth saying things like if they win, the Scudetto race is over.  Journalists, pundits and commentators have all tipped Milan to win.  You know what I say to them?  Va-ffan-cu-lo.

Yes, it’s been bleak, but my Nerazzurri pride won’t let me wither away.  It’s derby day.  Let’s get it.

The Diego Milito Appreciation Post

Abbraci per tutti

I literally have 5 different posts regarding Diego that are ready to go.  I’ve been stretched every which way- upside down, sideways, backwards, in regards to approaching this.  I’ve experienced A LOT of anger the last 21 hours with the FIFA/France Football Ballon d’Or list because of Diego’s exclusion.  At the same time, I have a lot of disappointment that Diego wasn’t even nominated.  As I tweeted earlier, I am very “disheartened, disillusioned and disappointed” because of his exclusion.

I could have gone one of two ways with this:

1)   Gone totally berserk and apeshit (which, don’t worry, will come in time).
or
2)  Just love, appreciate, and support Diego right now.

I decided to go with the latter.  You know when you just need to feel loved?  That’s where he’s at right now.  He knows what’s up; he’s not stupid.  I’m in his corner, like the Curva Nord, Mister Moratti and his teammates are.

I’m not going to hit you with numbers about his amazing strike ratio that he’s carried his whole career or even remind you of the fact that he hit ALL of our trophy winning goals last season.  I’m not even going to point out that there’s a damn good chance I’ve been following him way before you even heard of any Milito brother.  (Yes, I realize I just did hit you with it.  It’s called snark for all those Diego haters who have conveniently forgotten what he’s contributed.)

The point is, I just want to say this:

Diego Milito, sempre con te.

Julio Cesar is a STUD.

Our lovely Julio Cesar was on Chiambretti Night last night and here’s most of the appearance.

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

There are quotes/transcripts/summaries floating around the Inter sites and calcio news sites, so I’m not posting any of them here.  I’m just showing video because Julio is AWESOME.

Unfortunately, no one has the BEST part of the show, where JC and his wife, Susana, are on stage discussing tattoos.  JC shows his, dedicated to his family, and CN went on to show other Brazilian calciatori and what tattoos they would have if they had one.  First one shown was Fatty Ronaldo, which was awesome because of the awkwardness that everyone must have picked up on.  (Su was with Ronaldo before JC, if you didn’t know.)  Maybe it was one of those things you had to see yourself because I know I did not explain that great, at all.

The show finished with JC dancing, which was almost as good as the aforementioned awkwardness… if someone ever uploads the last five minutes of the show, THEY WILL BE GOLDEN.

Pazza Inter, Indeed

Julio Cesar making sure he messes up the group picture so we win.  (I don’t know why the quality of the photo sucks, btw.)

How good did it feel to watch an Inter match after how many weeks?  Really freaking good… or at least the first half was.  I couldn’t go on enough about that first half, that is, of course, until the second half hit.  That’s why the game is made up of two halves, no?