Preview:
Obviously no one at Inter was expecting at the beginning of the season to have only this much-reviled Italian Cup to fight for in this decisive May period, but things didn’t quite go as planned in Serie A, with the more traditional heavyweights Milan and Juventus turning out to be the only serious title challengers. Coach Mancini may claim that there were many new players that needed to get used to each other, but that excuse doesn’t exactly hold water as elsewhere in Europe teams with many new faces did manage to create a winning blend, like Chelsea and Barcelona, and they have had magical seasons. And it’s not like those teams are exactly used to winning each year either, of course Chelsea won their title after 50 years and Barça are about to win it after 6 years. Of course, you’re not exactly helping yourself when you sell your only truly reliable defender to your number one rivals, Juventus, who now are on the brink of winning an umpteenth Scudetto.
What can be said in Mancini’s favor, and it’s not something to be underestimated, is that he has managed to make the team play much better football than in previous seasons, in which they not only failed to win scudettos but also failed to entertain the crowd or convince their critics. Of course, in Italy all that matters is winning and that’s why Mancini is still often criticised. But at least the team now seem to have found its groove also in terms or results, as the team has ammassed practically the same amount of points as Milan and Juventus since November-December, right about when they fell out of the Scudetto race. Of course with Inter one should always look on the bright side of things, but at the same time it’s also worrying that the team only started doing well once the pressure was off, once they had nothing more to lose, at least in Serie A; it remains to be seen whether next year, when all eyes and all the pressure will be on them to continue to perform as they are doing now, they will manage to keep the pace of the top two teams (they’re always likely to be the same two).
To do that the management will have to try and change the team as little as possible and add only some quality defenders perhaps, but if they start next year stuttering for no reason like they did this season, then we might really fear for the future of the club as perhaps the immense pressure of playing in an Inter shirt might end up being the real reason why the team has consistently failed over the last, well, decade and a half. If that were the case, it would be a problem very difficult to solve, and despite all the money of Moratti, we might see the club slowly recede over the years and become a Torino or Genoa or Fiorentina. Of course, these are gloomy, pessimistic thoughts, and the club’s future certainly looks a lot brighter than the likes of fallen greats Roma and Lazio for example, both Scudetto winners only a few years ago, or Parma,
UEFA Cup winners in 1999, all of which are standing on the brink of relegation this year. But then again, with Moratti’s wealth, the future couldn’t look anything but bright, and it always has over the last 10 years, but the only actual trophy conquered was the
UEFA Cup of 1998, certainly not a primary objective of the club at any time.
This year they also have a chance to win another “minor” trophy, that being the Coppa Italia. More than the value or importance of the trophy itself, the players will have to prove to everyone, and to themselves, that they are capable of winning something, as that would a massive confidence boost ahead of next season and would also give a chance to play the Italian Super Cup in the summer, probably against Juventus, which would be a highly prestigious event for the club. But most of all Inter must now do what they are expected to do by everyone; there is no reason why they shouldn’t win this Cup, as all teams involved (Roma, Udinese, Cagliari) have a lower league position, Inter never lost against them, and over the two Serie games Inter have taken four points off all of them. While some cynics in Italy are already suggesting that if Inter get knocked out by Cagliari it will actually be better as they will have more time to prepare for next season (seeing as the two-legged final will be played, absurdly enough, in mid-June), for the club it is truly of vital importance to take home this trophy. Cagliari may be a tough team at home, where they lost just once all season to Milan, but if Inter escape unbeaten tonight there will be no excuses for not finishing the job at San Siro next week.
TEAM NEWS
Cagliari
No injury worries for the Sardinians.
Inter
The usual suspects: Van Der Meyde, Recoba, Burdisso probably won’t feature anymore this season, Davids is supposedly injured but wouldn’t play anyway, while Cristiano Zanetti and Favalli are also out injured,
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mauro Esposito (Cagliari)
This young Italian international is one of the many players being followed by the Inter management. He plays as a winger upfront in a Dutch-style 4-3-3 formation and it would be difficult to imagine on which position he would play at Inter. But his qualities are evident and he always ends up being one of the Cagliari’s best players on the field. Along with Zola and Suazo he forms one of the most dangerous (in fact, one of the only) trident attacks in Serie A.
Obafemi Martins (Inter)
With last weekend’s brace against Brescia, he broke his personal record of Serie A goals. He is one of those young players who seems to be improving and developing every season. Possibly one of the fastest strikers on the planet, he’s extremely difficult to handle for almost any defence. Gets better results when he trusts his instincts rather than when he starts thinking. In the corresponding league game back in November, he scored two terrific goals late on to save a point when Inter were 3-1 down in what was a then-typical “Inter game”. - Courtesy of soccerage.com
POSSIBLE STARTING XI’s
Cagliari (4-3-3):
Brunner; Lopez, Maltagliati, Loria, Agostini ; Budel, Conti, Gobbi; Esposito, Zola, Abeijon.
Inter (4-4-2) :
Toldo; J. Zanetti, Cordoba, Mihajlovic, Favalli;, Karagounis, Veron, C.Zanetti, Kily Gonzalez; Martins, Adriano.
PREDICTION
Playing away, Inter have improved this season. Cagliari under the Maestro Zola, they are playing one of the most exciting football in Italy.
But the prominent records playing at The Sant’Elia stadium, where Cagliari only lost once all season to Milan, Inter have to prove they are up to it.
Inter have every tendency to fall apart from playing away to weaker teams.
It looks like a draw game. But Cagliari would be safest as an option to bet with +1/4 on AH
Cagliari-Inter 2-2
Deeply apologised for not stating the source. It is from soccerage
Coppa Italia 12/5 Cagliari vs Inter
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TOTW/F/M Award(s): 1
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We'll wait and see what Handicap has to say.
