Ranieri: Improving Inter can overturn deficit
Reuters - Monday 12 March 2012, 02:00
Inter Milan coach Claudio Ranieri
believes it would be a crying shame if his improving side fail
to overturn their 1-0 deficit in Tuesday's Champions League
last-16 second leg at home to Olympique Marseille.
Inter won their first match in 10 games in all competitions
when two late goals sealed a 2-0 Serie A victory at Chievo
Verona on Friday and Ranieri was so overjoyed he had tears in
his eyes.
While 2010 champions Inter are digging themselves out of a
hole, Marseille have slipped into the mire with four straight
defeats since their first-leg win and Ranieri sees an
opportunity.
"Emotion is the most beautiful thing. I do this job to feel
emotions, both positive and negative, but to tell the truth the
positive ones are better," he said.
"I hope that on Tuesday against Marseille the San Siro will
be full and the fans will be urging us on. It won't be an easy
game, but we'll try. We have a chance. Let's try to see what we
can manage to do with our fans behind us."
Inter will be without suspended defender Cristian Chivu
while centre-back Andrea Ranocchia and midfielder Ricardo
Alvarez are injured.
Ranieri's team selection will be hard to predict for
counterpart Didier Deschamps after the Italian tried various
formations in recent weeks to try to stop the rot.
He played three up front in the 2-2 home draw with Catania
last weekend, when Inter's nervousness at home was again exposed
as they went 2-0 down, but reverted to a 4-3-1-2 against Chievo
with playmaker Wesley Sneijder coming in.
Substitute Giampaolo Pazzini replaced fellow striker Diego
Forlan and previously out-of-form Esteban Cambiasso came on for
Andrea Poli before Walter Samuel's and forward Diego Milito's
late goals in Verona.
AYEW FIT
Marseille's reversal of fortune was unexpected given their
1-0 win over Inter at the Stade Velodrome last month had
stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 matches.
Deschamps, a former Juventus player and manager who knows
all about the Italian game, rested several key players on Friday
when Marseille lost 1-0 at AC Ajaccio.
France winger Mathieu Valbuena and holding midfielder Alou
Diarra came on only as second-half substitutes while Morgan
Amalfitano and Loic Remy played one half as Deschamps tried to
keep his squad fresh.
"It was Didier's decision so that the players can be fully
fit on Tuesday in Milan. I think we will be fine physically
speaking," assistant coach Guy Stephan told the club's website.
Ghana striker Andre Ayew, who scored the injury-time winner
in the first leg, is also likely to be fit to play after
recovering from a shoulder injury as Marseille seek their first
goal since his header.
Possible teams:
Inter: 1-Julio Cesar; 13-Maicon, 25-Walter Samuel, 6-Lucio,
55-Yuto Nagatomo; 4-Javier Zanetti, 19-Esteban Cambiasso,
5-Dejan Stankovic; 10-Wesley Sneijder; 22-Diego Milito,
7-Giampaolo Pazzini.
Marseille: 30-Steve Mandanda; 2-Cesar Azpilicueta, 3-Nicolas
N'Koulou, 21-Souleymane Diawara, 24-Rod Fanni; 17-Stephane Mbia,
4-Alou Diarra, 7-Benoit Cheyrou, 28-Mathieu Valbuena, 18-Morgan
Amalfitano; 11-Loic Remy.
Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal).