Votes on top means they are first choices.
01) Goalkeeper of the Season
Francesco Toldo - Although he was in erratic form in the beginning of the season, Toldone gradually got better as the season approached its end. Performances against
La Vecchia Puttana in Delle Alpi and Roma in San Siro are especially unforgettable.
Alberto Fontana - Despite of his outburst, Fontana played well when he was used by Mancini. His memorable performances included against Valencia in Mestalla and Milan in our 1st Serie A
Derby d'Madoninna. It is also arguable that Toldo were worried about his own place in the first team and thus resulting in Toldo's improvement.
02) Defender of the Season
Javier Zanetti - Now here's a tough one. Javier Zanetti hasn't been as stellar as we know he could be. But his consistency is as incredible as ever. He also lives up to his nickname of Mr. Versatility as he played on the left a few times this season, producing the same result.
Ivan Cordoba - Cafè would have gotten the award had he started the season better. He was caught out of position a few times in the beginning as the new defensive unit also struggled. But he improved rapidly as the new year approaches and even chalked in a few goals.
03) Midfielder of the Season
Esteban Cambiasso - An absolutely no-contest for me. Perhaps the easiest category of the whole award. Alongside Javier Zanetti, he is perhaps the most consistent player in our squad. I honestly cannot recall even a single poor performance by
Il Cuchu. Simply the pillar of the midfield.
Juan Sebastian Veron - Even as the biggest Veron-hater in this forum, I have to admit that he was arguably Inter's best player in the second half of the season. He would have given Cambiasso a run of his money had he not started the season poorly.
04) Striker of the Season
Obafemi Martins - A controversial decision here but I selected Oba because albeit his poor finishing, his goals came at the most consistent rate compared to the rest of our strikers. Vieri only started scoring in 2005 and Adriano stop scoring in 2005.
Adriano - As good as Vieri was in 2005 though, no man can be compared to
l'Imperatore in 2004. His first-half of the season performances alone is enough to guarantee him a place here. He's also our top scorer!
05) Player of the Season
Esteban Cambiasso - As I've said, he's simply the pillar of the midfield. He can play the role of a ball-winner or a 2-way midfielder, when he was used with Veron or C.Zanetti respectively.
Javier Zanetti - Here's another tough decision I have to take. I chose Javier Zanetti in the end because of his consistency, a factor which I regard very highly.
06) Under-Achiever of the Season
Dejan Stankovic - Ever since the 3-3 away draw against Cagliari, Deki has just simply lost it. Being injured or played out of position could perhaps play a factor in this but still, Deki was given heaps of chances yet he didn't deliver. Hopefully, he'll regain his form next year.
Marco Materazzi - Another tough one. Just like Cordoba though, Materazzi improved a lot but much later to the season. His early season performances were erratic at times. I didn't pick players like Burdisso or Recoba or Emre because they weren't given their chances.
07) Worst Player of the Season
Marco Materazzi - It's a bit harsh, considering his significant part in the run of clean sheet that we have in the end of the season. But as I've said before, a player is not the player you saw the last time he play. He is the player who have been playing for Inter throughout the whole course of the season and Matrix was enduring one of the most torrid times in his Inter career in the first few months of the season.
Dejan Stankovic - Another harsh pick, but the truth is, there is hardly a
Helveg or a
Guly or a
Morfeo this season! I simply picked Deki because he was never the same player after he scored against Cagliari in November 2003 even though Deki was given numerous chances by Mancini.
08) Most Improved Player of the Season
Obafemi Martins - It's scary to think that a player of Oba's quality of last season still gets this award but he really deserves it. This season, I feel that Oba has learnt to use his team-mates much better than last season. If he can improve on his finishing next season, he'll be one step closer to becoming the best striker in the world.
Cristiano Zanetti -
Il Martello was injured for the first half of last season and the first couple of months of this season. Once he returned, he formed an impregnable midfield partnership with
Il Cuchu. It is arguable that he was one of the most important player this season since the partnership turned Inter's season as they stop drawing and start winning. His great performances in the last match of the season, Coppa Italia 2nd leg, was the icing on the cake.
09) Surprise of the Season
Esteban Cambiasso - As if there's any other contender! :star: The only thing I hate from Cambiasso is how he embarassed me after I branded him a failure even before Cambiasso stepped on the field.
Cristiano Zanetti - To be honest, I thought his Inter career is dead and over since Davids & Cambiasso were bought in. But Cristiano defied all odds and held off Davids' challenge to be Cambiasso's first backup and the first choice player when Mancini wants to play with 2 defensive midfielders.
10) Players You Would Like to See More
Belozoglu Emre - I'm starting to think that the infamous outburst is just a media manipulation because Emre hasn't been lambasted by Inter, Moratti, Mancini & his team-mates. I am one of the biggest Emre supporter here and I personally think that he is more than able to repeat his performances in 2002/2003 if he is given the opportunity to do so. By saying that, I mean that he should play regularly and used in the middle. Emre this season has been used in all roles in midfield and thus, robbing continuity out of him.
Giorgos Karagounis - Karagounis' commitment to Inter is somewhat inhumane. After a good performance in Euro 2004, he could have easily left the club but he sticked with us, even after the opportunity was presented to him again in January. After months and months of waiting, Karagounis finally get a lot more playing time as the season approaches its end. Hopefully, Mancini will not be so stubborn and will use Kara instead of Deki if the former is unfit. But realistically, it is hard to keep all 3 of Karagounis, Emre & Stankovic since they have a very similar playing style.
11) Players You Would Like to See Less
Sinisa Mihajlovic - As much as he exceeded everyone's expectation, this new Inter is too young for Miha. I am skeptical that he will last for another season as a starter. We have to start forming a solid defensive duo and it will be Cordoba and someone else. Mihajlovic can be a substitute though.
Dejan Stankovic - As much as I like him, I really think that Stankovic is not an important member in the team but it is mainly because we have Emre & Karagounis. I still think that he should be a player in Mancini's starting XI but Mancini should not have put so much trust in Deki, especially when he's unfit or out of form. We have the the luxury of having great backups for Stankovic. Bench him when necessary, Mancio.
12) Best Incoming Transfer
Esteban Cambiasso - Since 01/02, only Emre of 02/03 can match up with Cambiasso's season. The best part is that he's a free transfer!
Ze Maria - This was another transfer that I hated last summer but it was because I thought Ze Maria was going to be used as Il Capitano's challenger or back-up, which sounds ridiculous. But due to the left-back problem that we have and the fact that Ze Maria can also be used as a right midfielder, Ze Maria enjoyed a good amount of playing time this season. His crosses from the right was crucial at times.
13) Worst Incoming Transfer
Juan Sebastian Veron - Casted one of Europe's biggest talent, Emre, away from the club. His relationship with the coach was a big problem in our season as Veron keeps getting a starting place, even if it means sacrificing the team's midfield by playing Veron out of position on the right.
Fabian Carini - It is the 'price tag' that made this transfer ridiculous.
14) Best Outgoing Transfer
Thomas Helveg - His role is now taken by Ze Maria. What an upgrade that is!
Jeremie Brechet - Call him Blunder Brechet.
15) Worst Outgoing Transfer
Fabio Cannavaro -
Il Capitano dell'Azzurri for Fabian Carini. :dielaugh:
:howler: This transfer made us the laughing stock of Europe. Not to mention that Cannavaro excelled, regardless of Emerson's performance & Capello's tactics, for Juventus and was integral in their Scudetto winning campaign.
Daniele Adani - He was a very solid defender who didn't mind being a back-up for Inter last season. His posture also made him the perfect substitute for Materazzi. But his contract was cancelled, just like that.
16) Best Moment of the Season
Cordoba lifting the Coppa Italia - The first trophy that Inter has won since I started seriously supporting them in 01/02.
THE comeback - 3 goals in the last 6 minutes to overturn the score from 2-0 to 3-2. Can be seriously compared to the mother of all comebacks from MLB last season, Boston Red Sox - New York Yankees 4-3 after the former trailed 0-3 in a best-of-7 series.
Adriano's hattrick against Messina - It was the first time I have ever seen an Inter player scored a hat-trick in a live telecast that I watched.
17) Worst Moment of the Season
EuroDerby II 1st leg - It was incredible that our unbeaten CL run also had to end against Milan. Also, after that match, I know that our CL campaign is all but over.
Inter - Juventus 2-2 (28 Nov 04) - Even though the way we came back was great and even though this was the turning point of our season, I was horribly disappointed because it was our 7th consecutive Serie A draws and our 9th in 11 Serie A matches.
EuroDerby II 2nd leg - Not only that we lost the game but Lady Luck was with Dida all night long and we even got a legit goal disallowed. The actions of the fans didn't help either.
18) Best Goal of the Season (Quality wise)
Dejan Stankovic's in Anderlecht - Inter 1-3 (29 Sep 04) - I'm not really fond of long shots or 50-metre run before scoring. Hence Adriano's goal wasn't chosen by me. This goal, Inter simply toyed with Anderlecht which involved Stankovic, Veron, Cambiasso, Adriano & Ze Maria. We constructed at least 9 passes before Veron's long pass was controlled by Stankovic before he curled in a beautiful shot from outside the box.
Alvaro Recoba's in Atalanta - Inter 2-3 (22 Sep 04) - Outrageous goal by
Il Chino as he Cryuff-turned a defender before launching one of those trademark curler.
Adriano's second in Inter - Udinese 3-1 (17 Oct 04) - Ran almost 70 metre, dodging 3 players in the process before finishing it brilliantly past De Sanctis. Need I say more?
19) Most Memorable Goal of the Season
Alvaro Recoba's in Inter - Sampdoria 3-2 (9 Jan 05) - Need I say anything?
Adriano's in Atalanta - Inter 2-3 (22 Sep 04) - The goal that ensure our first Serie A win of the season. It happens in the dying seconds of the game too!
Alvaro Recoba's in Roma - Inter 3-3 (3 Oct 04) - At that point of time, after watching the celebration, it felt wonderful. Especially considering that we were on fire after thrashing Anderlecht 3-1 in Brussels. It was a different thing at the end of the match though...
20) Most Dominant Match of the Season
Inter - Messina 5-0 (4 Dec 04) - Other than the penalty that Carini saved, Messina never threated our goal at all. Also, it was the first Serie A clean sheet of the season!
Valencia - Inter 1-5 (20 Oct 04) - I remember that I was at Tim's house at that time watching Celtic - Barcelona if I'm not wrong and when the commentator said, "Inter has just scored their fifth against Valencia!", we can only open our mouths agape trying to sink the reality in.
Inter - Siena 2-0 (1 May 05) - Had it not been Oba's poor finishing, we'd have thrashed Siena all the way to hell and back. Siena was absolutely poor and they didn't even try to draw level.
21) Most Memorable Match of the Season
Inter - Sampdoria 3-2 (9 Jan 05) - Self-explanatory! :stuckup:
Atalanta - Inter 2-3 (22 Sep 04) - Our first Serie A victory of the season and boy what a dramatic game it was! Recoba & Pazzini traded punches before
l'Imperatore sealed the match for us!
Inter - Messina 5-0 (4 Dec 04) - The biggest Inter win that I have ever seen live. Also, the first hat-trick.
22) Worst Match of the Season
Inter - Milan 0-1 (Serie A) (27 Feb 05) - First defeat of the season despite dominating the midfield. A fluke goal from Cacca didn't help either.
Lecce - Inter 2-2 (27 Oct 04) - Not only did we threw away a 2 goal lead, we should have won this match by at least 6-0 had Adriano & Martins been much more clinical. Lecce's offside trap was still at cave man's version and ObAdri had heaps of chances.
Roma - Inter 3-3 (3 Oct 04) - Entertainment wise, this match was full of it. But I was extremely disappointed as we threw away a 2 goal lead.
23) Best Performance by a Player in a Single Match
Adriano in Inter - Udinese 3-1 (17 Oct 04) - Sealed the match early for us, provided good passes to Vieri in which one led to an assist.
Ivan Cordoba in Inter - Roma 2-0 (12 Feb 05) - Incredible defensive performance by Cafè! I tell you what, Montella must still be wondering how did he made THAT tackle!
Juan Sebastian Veron in Inter - Siena 2-0 (1 May 05) - Veron at its best. Great simple passes to free players up and he didn't forget to defend as well.
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