Milan's Samba skills leave Italian press purring
Monday 29 September 2008 11:00
Plenty of indigestion this morning. What with all that humble-pie to be eaten last night.
Ronaldinho answered all his critics with a man-of-the-match performance in the Milan derby although it has to be said that Ricky Kaka ran him close.
A good night then for Milan’s boys from Brazil which was reflected in today’s headlines right across the board.
Milan's boys from Brazil dispose of Inter
“The Brazilian Milan,” hailed La Gazzetta dello Sport while Corriere dello Sport couldn’t resist a Samba reference.
“Ronaldinho dances,” summoned their headlines writers, following up with the sub-headline: “Inter surrender to the Brazilian superstar.” And so it was.
Ronnie may not be able to beat a man, well at the moment, but his range of passing remains undiminished as does his sense of the big occasion.
A flick here, a step-over there and a stunning header to cap it all. He even had time to stop and scoop up his errant alice-band before continuing a move.
Inter, for their part, couldn’t pick up the pace and Jose Mourinho was totally out-foxed by Carlo Ancleotti who sent his players out to pressure the Nerazzurri midfield.
Then, when they gained possession, they made sure they didn’t give it away.
Only the Argentines of Inter, Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, along with goalkeeper Julio Cesar, can be satisfied with their performances.
Not for the first time did Zlatan Ibrahimovic fail to turn it on when it really counted.
Tempers flare as Burdisso and Materazzi see red
Is the Swede turning into the new Eric Catania: world-class against mediocre sides and mediocre against world-class sides.
How Ricardo Quaresma remained on the pitch for the whole 90 minutes is anyone’s guess? Strolling around the San Siro does not win you derby games – not with Rino Gattuso in such bulldog mood.
Then, there were those two bumbling chuckle twins – Marco Materazzi and Nicolas Burdisso – who as long as the ball remained in the air were at ease with their lot.
However, once the sphere was back on terra firma, the pair treated it to a host of sliced clearances, misdirected passes and finally an inability to get anywhere near it when at the feet of anyone in red and black.
No surprise that both were sent-off: Burdisso for his customary lunge and Materazzi for his lip - and he wasn’t even on the pitch at the time, substituted as Mourinho finally woke up to the fact that he needed a few extra strikers on the pitch.
"Jose trudges off following first Serie A setback"
The result is certainly a major wake-up call for the Portuguese who cannot hope to rely on his arrogance alone and get away with it.
For want of a better word, everyone in Serie A is “arrogant,” in the sense that every team has the belief they can beat anyone on their day even if they don’t outwardly express it.
Mourinho’s approach has left a bad taste already and in true Italian style, revenge will be a dish best eaten cold.
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About Richard Whittle
Despite the name,
Richard Whittle is so at home in Italy that some call him Riccardo Rossi. He has lived and worked in Italy for the last 15 years as a football journalist and works as Italian soccer commentator for the English-speaking world covering Serie A, Champions League, Europa League and Italian Cup matches as well as Italy internationals. With Paul Visca, Richard concocts the regular
Calcio & Coffee podcast.