Inter -v- Barca, Champions League Semi-final 1st leg

Ush1

dor83 wrote: »

He played there against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia last week and it worked well, but Cordoba isn't good enough to play right back against Barca imo and I would prefer to see Zanetti in midfield and have him mark Xavi.

No doubt Maicon can be very effective on the wing but you would rather have a quick fullback with Pedro or Messi running at you I 'spose.

I think if Inter were more attacking with Maicon on the wing, he would be capable of keeping Maxwell busy. Abidal might be a different story though...

Essien

redout wrote: »

Training pics from the San Siro

Barca really do take ball control to a whole other level dont they! :eek:

LuckyLloyd

keane2097 wrote: »

I would expect Mourinho to be a little bit cleverer than just sticking Cambiasso on Messi and saying "mark him".

If that's the extent of The Special One's tactical nous then Inter will be ripped apart over two legs and tbh it will move Jose down a fair bit in my estimation...

This actually reminds me of something.

Irrespective of how complex or well executed Inter's tactics are, the commentators and pundits commenting on the game will boil them down to trite generalities like:

- Inter have really closed Barca down well and denied them space;
- Player X who has been around Messi for much of the game had him in his pocket, great decision to man mark by Mourinho;

I'd expect Mourinho to have his players set up to shift in and out of man and zonal assignments, and to rotate in and out of certain defensive alignments when the ball is in different areas of the pitch. Probably other stuff like alternating the frequency with which the attacking three full press Barca outside their own half, etc.

But there is no punditry team that is clued in and / or articulate enough to catch those things and explain them to the audience at home.

To get a grasp on what Mourinho actually does tonight, you'd need to get a recording of the game and watch it over a couple of times with the pause button at hand. I like to think I know a bit about football, but I have to hold my hands up and accept that a lot of what goes on at this level from the likes of Mourinho and Benitez is far too detailed and nuanced for me to get to grips with on a regular TV viewing.

flahavaj

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

This actually reminds me of something.

Irrespective of how complex or well executed Inter's tactics are, the commentators and pundits commenting on the game will boil them down to trite generalities like:

- Inter have really closed Barca down well and denied them space;
- Player X who has been around Messi for much of the game had him in his pocket, great decision to man mark by Mourinho;

I'd expect Mourinho to have his players set up to shift in and out of man and zonal assignments, and to rotate in and out of certain defensive alignments when the ball is in different areas of the pitch. Probably other stuff like alternating the frequency with which the attacking three full press Barca outside their own half, etc.

But there is no punditry team that is clued in and / or articulate enough to catch those things and explain them to the audience at home.

To get a grasp on what Mourinho actually does tonight, you'd need to get a recording of the game and watch it over a couple of times with the pause button at hand. I like to think I know a bit about football, but I have to hold my hands up and accept that a lot of what goes on at this level from the likes of Mourinho and Benitez is far too detailed and nuanced for me to get to grips with on a regular TV viewing.

+1. If Inter do beat Barca through superior tactics then it'll be annoying to see people saying they "parked the bus" or put ten men behind the ball. Setting your team up to nullify another and having the intricate plan necessary to stop a team that has soo many threats from so many different areas is just as deserving of praise as Barca's flowing football IMO.

Its also far from as simple as "man marking Messi." If you were to go down that road you'd hae to man manrk Xavi, Inesta and Ibra (if they were playing) and even Alves, who is easily as important to Barcas ability to stretch the opposition as anyone.

But that won't stop simplixtic views being aired, as they are on just about every topic on here from the Sack Rafa thread to the united thread. What can you do.

Ush1

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

This actually reminds me of something.

Irrespective of how complex or well executed Inter's tactics are, the commentators and pundits commenting on the game will boil them down to trite generalities like:

- Inter have really closed Barca down well and denied them space;
- Player X who has been around Messi for much of the game had him in his pocket, great decision to man mark by Mourinho;

I'd expect Mourinho to have his players set up to shift in and out of man and zonal assignments, and to rotate in and out of certain defensive alignments when the ball is in different areas of the pitch. Probably other stuff like alternating the frequency with which the attacking three full press Barca outside their own half, etc.

But there is no punditry team that is clued in and / or articulate enough to catch those things and explain them to the audience at home.

To get a grasp on what Mourinho actually does tonight, you'd need to get a recording of the game and watch it over a couple of times with the pause button at hand. I like to think I know a bit about football, but I have to hold my hands up and accept that a lot of what goes on at this level from the likes of Mourinho and Benitez is far too detailed and nuanced for me to get to grips with on a regular TV viewing.

Not so much that but Joe Soap isn't all that interested in such intricate details. In fact, alot of the best commentators emphasise the drama more than the actual tactics of a game(which can be extremely boring).

keane2097

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

This actually reminds me of something.

Irrespective of how complex or well executed Inter's tactics are, the commentators and pundits commenting on the game will boil them down to trite generalities like:

- Inter have really closed Barca down well and denied them space;
- Player X who has been around Messi for much of the game had him in his pocket, great decision to man mark by Mourinho;

I'd expect Mourinho to have his players set up to shift in and out of man and zonal assignments, and to rotate in and out of certain defensive alignments when the ball is in different areas of the pitch. Probably other stuff like alternating the frequency with which the attacking three full press Barca outside their own half, etc.

But there is no punditry team that is clued in and / or articulate enough to catch those things and explain them to the audience at home.

To get a grasp on what Mourinho actually does tonight, you'd need to get a recording of the game and watch it over a couple of times with the pause button at hand. I like to think I know a bit about football, but I have to hold my hands up and accept that a lot of what goes on at this level from the likes of Mourinho and Benitez is far too detailed and nuanced for me to get to grips with on a regular TV viewing.

Hopefully zonal marking will do a write up on it for us

gimmick

flahavaj wrote: »

Why the f*ck shouldn't people support Inter?

I think you mis interprted that. I think he is just surprised that so many think Inter will win as opposed to actually hoping they do.

flahavaj

gimmick wrote: »

I think you mis interprted that. I think he is just surprised that so many think Inter will win as opposed to actually hoping they do.

Yeah I just re read it. I read it as "I can't understand anyone supporting Inter."

Post deleted. Sorry redout. I'm in foul humour today after that bastard volcano stopped my holiday at the last minute.:mad:

Spiritoftheseventies

Yes will be intriguing to see how Messi fairs tonight.

Warper

Spiritoftheseventies wrote: »

Yes will be intriguing to see how Messi fairs tonight.

Messi, just being on the field is always a massive boost for Barca. Inter cant afford to leave him one on one with anyone so he will be double-teamed when the ball is close to him which can only leave more space for Xavi etc..

Is Ibrahimovic playing tonight as I dont fancy Bojan for this match. Inter have big physical defenders who will be fired up for this. I wouldnt be surprised if Samuel sees red.

Tbh despite what way Mourinho sets up his team, Guardiola can beat him.

event

redout wrote: »

I think you are confused. Inter did not play Chelsea in the quarter-finals. They played Chelsea in the last 16 and CSKA Moscow in the quarters.

event

Warper wrote: »

Messi, just being on the field is always a massive boost for Barca. Inter cant afford to leave him one on one with anyone so he will be double-teamed when the ball is close to him which can only leave more space for Xavi etc..

Is Ibrahimovic playing tonight as I dont fancy Bojan for this match. Inter have big physical defenders who will be fired up for this. I wouldnt be surprised if Samuel sees red.

Tbh despite what way Mourinho sets up his team, Guardiola can beat him.

i think he will double mark Xavi.
Espanyol did that to good effect. the thining being if you cant mark messi, mark the man who gets him the ball

Warper

I have a feeling Inter will go for it tonight and wont be just concentrating on stopping Barca. After all they kinda have to. IMO Inter need to win tonight to have any chance of getting through or at worst get a 0-0, any score draw and I feel they are gone. I cant wait for this match now as there is so much to it.

eZe^

event wrote: »

i think he will double mark Xavi.
Espanyol did that to good effect. the thining being if you cant mark messi, mark the man who gets him the ball

Espanyol didn't man mark anyone mate, they hunted in trio's all over the pitch, but mainly they pressed Barca's back 4, putting them under pressure. Xavi wasn't even given enough ball time to merit being marked.

Think Barca will step up again tonight and get a score draw. Probably 1-1, Ibra and Motta to score. :P

Ush1

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2010/04/20/1886971/massimo-moratti-inter-are-scared-of-barcelona

Sort of a fly in the face of Sneijder saying we don't fear anyone.

redout

Barca lineup:
Valdés; Dani Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Maxwell; Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Keita; Pedro, Ibrahimovic, Messi

Ush1

redout wrote: »

Barca lineup:
Valdés; Dani Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Maxwell; Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Keita; Pedro, Ibrahimovic, Messi

:mad: Still going for Sergio ahead of Toure!
Is Abidal on the bench then?

Frisbee

Coverage on TV3.

Brilliant.

redout

Ush1 wrote: »

:mad: Still going for Sergio ahead of Toure!
Is Abidal on the bench then?

Yeah Abidal makes the bench.

Toure is fed up imo and will leave.

Frisbee

redout wrote: »

Yeah Abidal makes the bench.

Toure is fed up imo and will leave.

We'll gladly take him off your hands

Ush1

Frisbee wrote: »

We'll gladly take him off your hands

Didn't you say to me you'd start Diaby ahead of him if he went to Arsenal?

Warper

Put a fiver on Ibra to score first and Barca to win 3-0 @ 70-1

Frisbee

Ush1 wrote: »

Didn't you say to me you'd start Diaby ahead of him if he went to Arsenal?

So?

If each club only had 11 players no games would ever go ahead.

Large squads fare better through league campaigns and Toure would be a pricelss addition to the squad / starting XI.

Ush1

Frisbee wrote: »

So?

If each club only had 11 players no games would ever go ahead.

Large squads fare better through league campaigns and Toure would be a pricelss addition to the squad / starting XI.

So you wouldn't start him?
So he'd swap Barcas bench for Arsenals?

Frisbee

Ush1 wrote: »

So you wouldn't start him?
So he'd swap Barcas bench for Arsenals?

When Diaby is on from he's fantastic.
When he's not he's woeful.

He goes through these patches quite regularly. So Toure could easily be accomodated in our starting XI through:

---

Fab

---

Toure

---

---

Song

---

or

---

Fab

---

Diaby

---

---

Toure

---

And if Diaby can't improve his consistency, get over his injury proneness then Toure would be first choice.

Put it this way. He's a much better chance of getting in the Arsenal team atm than he does the Barca one.

redout

L'prof

redout wrote: »

I've never seen Pique use his telekinesis before, maybe I just don't watch Barca enough! Great skill to have for a footballer

redout

For all you Messi worshippers out there

gimmick

Not for the life of me why Toure is not starting again

Looks a decent line up aside from that. Gonna be an interesting ame.

eZe^

Toure is better than Song, don't see how he wouldnt walk into Arsenal's first XI, he's as good a DMF as any possession orientated side could hope for.


On topic, YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS for Ibrahimovic starting. I knew we wouldn't beat Espanyol last Saturday when Messi was playing up top, as soon as Zlats came on his frame and first touch helped the side immensely. Would bloody love a Zlatan special sometime tonight, this would do nicely;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGnKwGkxlUQ

WHAT a goal.

Warper

Can someone tell me the difference between the Giuseppe Meazza stadium and the San Siro? Do Inter call it the GM stadium and AC the SS?

Frisbee

eZe^ wrote: »

Toure is better than Song, don't see how he wouldnt walk into Arsenal's first XI, he's as good a DMF as any possession orientated side could hope for.

I think he's wasted as a pure DM though, just imo.

He seems better if allowed a box-to-box type role. Again, imo.

DazMarz

Warper wrote: »

Can someone tell me the difference between the Giuseppe Meazza stadium and the San Siro? Do Inter call it the GM stadium and AC the SS?

Giuseppe Meazza is the official name as far as I know, and hence UEFA would use that name as opposed to San Siro (which is a nickname, as far as I know).

L'prof

Warper wrote: »

Can someone tell me the difference between the Giuseppe Meazza stadium and the San Siro? Do Inter call it the GM stadium and AC the SS?

San Siro is it's nickname.

fillmore jive

Warper wrote: »

Can someone tell me the difference between the Giuseppe Meazza stadium and the San Siro? Do Inter call it the GM stadium and AC the SS?

Giuseppe Meazza is the actual name of the stadium and San Siro is the name of the area where it's at ( like Aviva/Landsdowne road) i think.

Ush1

Frisbee wrote: »

I think he's wasted as a pure DM though, just imo.

He seems better if allowed a box-to-box type role. Again, imo.

Well I can't see him moving to be rotated with a "patchy" player.

I'd have him ahead of either Song or Diaby when all three are fit.

Frisbee

Ush1 wrote: »

Well I can't see him moving to be rotated with a "patchy" player.

I'd have him ahead of either Song or Diaby when all three are fit.

Well he shouldn't even be in the position where he might have to move to play as he's twice the player Busquets is but still isn't getting played.

L'prof

Frisbee wrote: »

Well he shouldn't even be in the position where he might have to move to play as he's twice the player Busquets is but still isn't getting played.

Busquets is great at diving to win free kicks and fouling without giving them away. You just can't teach that!

Ush1

Nice quote from Lizarazu about Messi.

"When you see him in his normal clothes, he looks like a schoolboy. But when he's in his shorts and jersey, it's the other players that look like schoolboys."

eZe^

jasonorr wrote: »

Busquets is great at diving to win free kicks and fouling without giving them away. You just can't teach that!

Busquets is quality, once he matures he'll be the best DMF in the world.

flahavaj

gimmick wrote: »

Not for the life of me why Toure is not starting again

Looks a decent line up aside from that. Gonna be an interesting ame.

I'm constantly susprised that he doesn't play more often, i think he's a f*king monster and really thought this was the season he's emerge as the best in the world in his role. Would love to see him in United's midfield. Any reason for him being in and out of the team? Is Busquets really that much better than him?

SlickRic

eZe^ wrote: »

Busquets is quality, once he matures he'll be the best DMF in the world.

i know you can't argue with success, but is he honestly, in your opinion, a better option than Touré in there right now?

L'prof

eZe^ wrote: »

Busquets is quality, once he matures he'll be the best DMF in the world.

I don't care what he does in the future unless he cuts out the crap.

redout

flahavaj wrote: »

I'm constantly susprised that he doesn't play more often, i think he's a f*king monster and really thought this was the season he's emerge as the best in the world in his role. Would love to see him in United's midfield. Any reason for him being in and out of the team? Is Busquets really that much better than him?

In a word No

Pep was his coach at Barca Athletic and has a great fondness and belief in his La Masia players (Pedro and Jeffren)

Frisbee

SlickRic wrote: »

i know you can't argue with success, but is he honestly, in your opinion, a better option than Touré in there right now?

This, I'm all for seeing younger players get their chances. But in the bigger games surely the more experienced and proven player should get the nod.

I know Busquets has played plenty of big games already but imo Toure is still the superior player at this moment in time.

Warper

3 of Inter's backline on yellows - if they get booked tonight they miss next week - Maicon, Zanetti and Samuel. One or more are bound to get booked

eZe^

SlickRic wrote: »

i know you can't argue with success, but is he honestly, in your opinion, a better option than Touré in there right now?

Nope, but Guardiola has shown his faith in Sergio in every big game we've played over the past 18 months. I find it surprising that you all are still surprised by his inclusions. Also, for the record - barring the Clasico back in November, he has been immense in every big game he plays. If he can consistently play like that against everyone there's no doubt in my mind he's a better player than Toure. However, Toure is the consistent finished article, Guardiola is grooming Sergio.

jasonorr wrote: »

I don't care what he does in the future unless he cuts out the crap.

He won't, he's got that nasty egotism, he's basically like a young more talented version of Marchena, he'll always be a c*nt....

SlickRic

redout wrote: »

Pep was his coach at Barca Athletic and has a great fondness and belief in his La Masia players (Pedro and Jeffren)

it did occur to me that this would probably be the answer, but if i was Touré, i'd still be slightly miffed.

he's done f*ck all wrong to be a bench-warmer.

but again, for now, you can't argue with what seems to be working.

flahavaj

I would also presume that with this wealt of talent that they have at DM/CM between Keita/Toure and Busquets that Barca are likely now to cool their interest in Mascherano in the Summer? Or is he still being linked?

Frisbee

Milito to score first and Barca win 2-1 @ 66/1


Let's do it!