CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL AT SAN SIRO: A DATE WITH HISTORY
Mou: "I want everything." Balotelli or Milito is a doubt, the Argentine is a favorite. Barcelona with Ibra.
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: KEY POINTS FOR THE GAME
Sacchi: "Take the game into your own hand and stop Barca at ball possession."
The recipe from
Jimenez: "To exhaust them with stifling pressing. With Sevilla, I eliminated them."
Sneijder unveils plans: "We wil play without fear. Messi is the strongest, but he will understand who takes command at the San Siro."
THE NIGHT OF INTER
Messi at the San Siro.
Mou, here to serve a masterpiece.
The first objective is not to allow goals, and avoid giving them space: even a 0-0 would be fine. But with Sneijder and Balotelli, the feat is possible.
Milan - Intoxicated by the magic of Messi and the debates about how to stop the Argentine in particular or Barca in general, we are forgetting that on the field there will also be Inter. Or at least Inter should be, since the last time they didn't arrive at the Camp Nou according to the honest Moratti, and before that game, he was satisfied with a 0-0 draw at the San Siro which was the inaugural game of this adventure in the Champions League.
Self-esteem Inter of today, however, have grown a lot comparing to the one in fall in the group stage. The qualifying game at Stamford Bridge, against Chelsea, is the key that has finally opened their self-esteems, rejected the old inferior image. For the truth, the balance of prognostication, at purely technical level, it still hangs from the part of Barca, even if this time, Zanetti and company can hope to qualify for the final, seven years after the last attempt against Milan.
The draws In 2003, with Cuper on the bench, Inter came out with two draws. And with two draws, one year ago, Barcelona eliminated Chelsea and flying toward their third cup in history. Mourinho, who has studied all these things, knows that it is not ashamed to repeat the 0-0 seven months and seven seasons ago, at the San Siro and at Camp Nou Inter certainly don't want to allow two goals like they did in November. In theory the plan is unexceptionable, because in this case it will take intelligent counterattacks. Also as important is not to leave them space especially Messi but also to Pedro and Ibrahimovic. The key, however, is not to overdo the calculations, because the primary goal here is not to allow goals, Inter and its men are aiming for the sixth consecutive victory in Europe. With one more day off and over a thousand miles less could give them a welcome help. A help that was provided to Inter, and it could make it a shiny star.
The choices And here we enter the field, always mysterious are the choices by Mourinho, who seems willing to cover the defense with only Cambiasso who will be playing behind the quartet of Maicon, Motta, Sneijder and Eto'o, with Milito as the central forward. The idea here is to broaden the field, using the wings, and the likes of Maicon will be pushing forward a little less than usual because he will be few meters ahead. The same also applies for Eto'o, who will have to make many sacrifices on the left. The man that can make a difference is still Sneijder, with his acceleration and passes. Don't forget about Balotelli.
Top secret Many indications in training that lead to the decisions of Mou such as dense midfield, Maicon as attacking winger. Ten starting spots seem already allocated, while in front the two candidates are Diego Milito and Mario Balotelli. The first one is the favorite, Mourinho considers him as the only durable starter, but there is no doubt that the Argentine has shown in recent matches (one goal in five games) some difficulties physically. That's why here comes the candidacy of Mario Balotelli, surely the freshest among the strikers, probably the one that can adapt to the system of lone striker the best.
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