A scout report on Inter Milan
Last time, we met Inter Milan; we were the underdogs, facing the then European Champions. We faced them without fear, outclassed them and unearthed a star in Gareth Bale and the rest is history.
A lot has changed after that fixture in last 2 years. While we have a largely unchanged core group of players, Inter have gone through a unsuccessful transition period. They sold prime assets like Eto'o, Pazzinni, Sneijder, Coutinho and Motta while bringing in inadequate replacements. The club is under huge financial stress with unsuccessful campaigns. Coach: Andreas Stramaccioni - 37 year old, ex-defender, Rookie manager with no prior management experience. Took over late March 2012 and got them to a respectable 6th in league in 2011/12. Started the season well in 2012/13 with 9 wins in 11 games. But since then, has gone through a terrible phase accumulating just 19 points in 15 matches.
Tactics - His tactics have been scrutinised all year, as many feel he is too conservative for a club of their stature, playing a negative style. He alternates between 3-5-2 & 4-2-3-1 system. Goal Keeper: Samir Handanovic - A highly rated shot-stopper, who is currently in form of his life. He was said to have made 3 miracle stops against Balotelli in the Milan derby game last week and saved them from a certain derby defeat. In the week before, Inter lost to Florentina 4-1, but Handanovic was Inter MOM with pundits describing his performance as saving grace, from a possible humiliating double figure scoreline. As long as the game finishes before Penalties, we need not worry much about him.
Defence : Not the best. Suspect in setpieces. They have lost 7, drawn 1 ,won 1 in their last 9 away Serie-A games. With Veteran defender Walter Samuel injured, they are led by old timers Janier Zanetti & Chivu in the back line with other young defenders like Ranocchia, Juan, Nagatomo. Alvaro Perira at left wing back is real good talent. AVB should know him, being an integral part of his Porto side.
Midfield : Sneijder & Coutinho were sold in January. And they bought Kovacic, an 18 year old Croatian midfielder. He is seen as one of the best young creative midfielders in Europe. But he is still raw and not a regualar in Inter side. Their creative threat is Freddy Guarin & Ricardo Alvarez. Guarin is their chief playmaker, playing behind the 2 strikers. One to watch out for.
Forwards: This is a key department where Inter are falling short at the moment. This season they have largely relied on 3 front men to score - Milito, Cassano & Palacio. Going by Serie A goal scoring chart, Milito is in 15th position, followed by Palacio in 16th spot. Milito has had a season ending knee injury. Then a week back, Cassano had a major training room bust-up with manager. He was then dropped for their last Serie A game against Catania. But the news is some kind of patch up has been done between the manager & the player and he could be in the squad to face us. Their striker shortage is so bad that they were about to recruit the free agent John Carew, only to pull out of the deal as Carew failed medical.
If Cassano & Palacio play together, they should be seen as a threat. Both can play between the lines and trouble our defence. While their forward line can score, but gone are the days of intimidating Eto'o. If our defence is organised on the day, we should be able to deal with them. They had a convincing win over Cluj in Last 32 round, but their league form is far from satisfactory.
They should come in with a bit of posiveness having won their last game 2-3 coming from 2-0 behind. But, having seen some of their games, I would say we should overcome this Inter side home & away. Their coach Stramaccioni is said to be under significant pressure to qualify for CL. So, the question is not how serious we are taking Europa League (it's a big yes from AVB). The right question is how serious Inter are taking Europa League?
Written by sydqcb5
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