Serie Aaaaargh!… : Inter

Serie A-ren't we terrible...?

Richard Whittle — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:47:00 GMT

It was another hellish week for Italian clubs on the continent - one which makes you wonder if there's any point battling all season to qualify for Europe only to then embarrass yourself at nearly every turn.

Not many will remember but Serie A teams once possessed determination and energy; now they are becoming better known for being weak-willed and lifeless.

The tactical masters can still play the perfect game in their heads, but have no answer to quick movement on and off the ball.

Even the usually dependable Inter almost allowed Spurs back into a game they were leading by a street, only to be nearly overtaken by the speedy Gareth Bale and the help of the befuddled Julio Cesar – sorry, where else is a left-footed player going to put the ball when he is speeding into the area on his stronger foot?

The far post of course, and it was more like the last post for Javier Zanetti, Lucio and Ivan Cordoba who must have seen the sun setting on their careers as they laboured behind a player over a decade younger.

Never mind. Serie A is full of old men dithering around the pitch every weekend only because the game in Italy is played at a pace in keeping with a summer’s afternoon in Sicily.

Like their ageing AC Milan counterparts across town, who had no answer to Real Madrid's direct approach, they are driving the Italian game forward at the speed of an OAP on a country road.

The cycle of such players is almost over but really it cannot come quickly enough, with the greying generation nearly on their push-bikes.

While the Champions League representatives may be labouring under pedal power, the Europa League is a dumping ground for the clapped out in the extreme.

Juventus were fortunate to grab a draw at Salzburg and remain without a group win so far, while Napoli played the tradition of Liverpool rather than the reality of the once mighty Reds - and of course the home fans kept the Italian game in the medieval age of stabbings and mob rule.

Sampdoria were shamed by ten-man Metalist Kharkiv and Palermo also had no answer to the rise of the East when they crashed 3-0 at home to CSKA Moscow who could also afford to miss a penalty.

Even the previously divine Javier Pastore has fallen into Italian petulance when the chips are down, and was duly sent off for applauding the referee having already been booked.

Inter may be champions of Europe but we cannot blind ourselves to the fact that there was a special reason for that. Italian clubs have been stumbling for a long time and are now fall guys not only for the traditional heavyweights but welterweights as well.

Apart from the Nerazzurri, there is a real danger of having no representatives in the knockout stages of either the Champions League or its lesser second-cousin the Europa League. This may dilute both competitions when they reach the more watchable rounds, but there can be no complaints if Serie A gets left behind.

If we cast our minds back into the mists of time, to 2003, Old Trafford was the venue for an all-Italian Champions League final. But drawing conclusions from this week there is little chance of Wembley Stadium repeating that feat. Dublin too need not worry about an invasion of dark shades and hair gel.

Ranieri's relaxed Romans reap rewards

Richard Whittle — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT

When in Rome... there was little option but to sit back and accept the traffic jam snaking away from the Olympic Stadium, breathing in the sweet smell of success mingled with the exhaust fumes.

It had all the makings of a long Saturday evening, no matter what the outcome of AS Roma’s top-of-the-table clash with Inter.
And considering that not one of the 70,000 inside the stadium could dare leave before the drama subsided, the trip back into the centre of the city was always going to be a laboured experience.

Of course, Roma now feel they are in the fast lane after such a pulsating win over the leaders and – never known to keep their feet firmly on the ground when flights of fancy beckon – the locals now believe that come May they will be dancing around the Circus Maximus, just as they did in 2001.

Back then, those festivities went on for months but unfortunately the revelries turned into one long hangover that has continued ever since.

So, when everyone is finally seated at the pizzeria some two hours later, the chatter takes on an ever greater air of exuberance. Even the slice of luck of Diego Milito hitting the woodwork in the dying moments is considered an omen that Roma will be champions, making it a fruitless gesture to urge caution.

It would have fallen on deaf ears anyway, or dismissed with a theatrical Roman wave of the hand – and rightly so; after all, who can argue against a team that hasn't lost a league game since October? The momentum certainly seems to be with the racy Romans and the priceless win over Jose Mourinho’s men was a test of nerve more than anything else.

While expectations are sky-high amongst the fans, tellingly the players seem as unflappable as their coach Claudio Ranieri.

Even Francesco Totti hasn't forced his comeback too soon – and he could well be the decisive factor in the run-in as Roma look to match the champions stride for stride. If one player can change a team’s fortunes for the better in an instant, then it's il capitano when he has something to play for – even if it is on one leg.

Totti and Toni: tip-top

Inter may have greater strength in depth overall, but apart from having the Champions League to occupy their thoughts, they seem to have run through their repertoire of formations, line-ups and personnel changes.

Mourinho may have played his hand once too often and there is very little else he can bring to the table – especially if he continues to leave Mario Balotelli out of the squad.

Their fractious relationship hit an all-time low just before the Champions League return leg at Chelsea when the temperamental teen apparently spoke out of turn to one of Mourinho’s assistants.

It was Gucci handbags by all accounts but when Jose got involved it became slightly feistier. The upshot was that the youngster’s prized necklace was snapped and – of greater concern – his relationship with the Portuguese rendered irreparable.

There is a touchy environment of a different kind at AC Milan where Leonardo has become increasingly peeved by Silvio Berlusconi, whose sly little digs at the team’s dip in form aren't matched by a willingness to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to reinforcements.

The first signing for next season will be Mario Yepes, the poster-boy signing for the club: a free transfer in his mid-30s who already lives in Milan.

Back in the here and now, shorn of the inventive Ronaldinho and Andrea Pirlo against Lazio the Rossoneri looked no nearer to becoming champions than Juventus – and you would have to say that Palermo, Napoli and Sampdoria are playing much more pleasing football deserving of a Champions League spot.

The title race will still come down to the current top three and Milan’s task looks the toughest over the next seven games, with Palermo, Fiorentina, Genoa and Juventus all to play.

Inter and Roma have similar run-ins, with the leaders facing Juventus on the same weekend as the Roman derby, but the Nerazzurri’s trip to Fiorentina will be crucial to their hopes.

However, no matter the opposition, this title could well come down to which side feels more composed – and for once it is the capital that looks the calmest place to be.

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Ranieri's resilient Roma ready for Inter invasion

Richard Whittle — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:49:00 GMT

For once Roman hyperbole is not overstepping the mark and Saturday’s encounter with Inter is indeed “the game of the year.”

The phrase has been on the lips of the ever-talkative Roma fans since witnessing their heroes come away from Bologna with victory in midweek to leave them just four points off the leaders.

It's good to see the capital abuzz after throwing off its winter coat and the first rays of warming sunshine have brought the locals flocking out to populate the squares.

Even the paving stones in the Testaccio area - where the club played their formative games - have been given a fresh lick of yellow and red paint whilst banners and flags have started to festoon balconies and window ledges.

Where else would anyone want to be than in the Eternal City on the weekend when the title race could finally come alive for real? Any excuse for a party at which Bacchus would have slurred, so there was little need for Claudio Ranieri to turn into a club promoter to incite the locals into the Olympic Stadium – which already had the sold-out signs up first thing Thursday morning.

House Full (well, it will be)

It has been a long time coming but slowly, steadily and almost stealth-like - in fact the complete antitheses of Roman thought – La Roma have clawed back a deficit that stood at 14 points when the teams last met back in November.

Ranieri has lived by his code of humility rather than humiliation and those qualities have rubbed off on the players.

Fabio Capello once complained that during his time in charge if the team went unbeaten for two or three games he had to watch them like a hawk in case they started treating life as an excuse to kick back and enjoy the trappings of success. Now after a 20-game unbeaten run, the height of excess has been a group evening out for a pizza and home to bed before 10.

Some of the more exuberant club followers long for the old days when garishly-clothed players would saunter up to various restaurants, bars and clubs to while away the night. The downside of that came at the weekend when they had to put with the self-same players turning it on for 20 minutes or so before wandering around in a trance.

Luciano Spalletti’s final months in charge were a bit like that: everyone, including the fans, had become comfortable, accepting that the team was never going to be a force to compete with Inter. The champagne football had lost its fizz. Ranieri has arrested that drift into lethargy and in doing so has put a solid work-ethic in place. But there have been signs that he will let the players off the leash now and then.

The last two games have seen him employ a three-man attack. Jeremy Menez and Mirko Vucinic responded with swaggering performances, while Luca Toni has been a more than willing battering ram amongst the dandies.

There were signs that the game at Bologna was a dry-run for Inter: Rodrigo Taddei hardly ventured into the opposition’s third, while David Pizarro was so withdrawn the little Chilean was almost a sweeper in front of the back four. Full-backs John Arne Riise and Marco Cassetti held their line and were only allowed to tiptoe forward on special occasions.

Let's work together: Toni and De Rossi

The tactic of building solid foundations worked against a home side that possess a similar physicality to Jose Mourinho’s men – albeit minus the class, skill and know-how of world-class players – and that should be the approach again. Apart from Juan returning in the heart of the defence and maybe Simone Perrotta replacing Menez or possibly Taddei if he feels punchy, Ranieri should stick with the starting XI from midweek.

With Mourinho set to show his “Chelsea hand” again, maybe for once Ranieri won't come, see and tinker – leading to a night of revelry in the Eternal City.

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