SCUDETTO: INTER RELAUNCH
After winning the derby, the Nerazzurri to have four out of six games at home.
INTER: CATCHING MISSION
The resurgence of Inter and the five matchdays in Milan.
After the derby, four out of six matches are at the San Siro.
Here's the plan to get closer to the top.
Milan - The resurgence of Inter is going through five matchdays in Milan. One was already behind, gloriously we might add (derby on Sunday), the other four at the San Siro will fall in the next six league games against Lazio, Palermo, Bologna and Novara. To add to this favorable schedule (four out of six at home), Ranieri's team has won six consecutive victories with the recent one being the Milan derby. Inter are the most in inform team in Italy as they are pondering the ambush to those who are even closer to the top of the standings.
Pillars of Hercules On February 22, Inter will resume their Champions League action against Marseille and right after that, they have a very difficult trip to Napoli but for now the Nerazzurri do not want to think about it. The Pillars of Hercules are fixed on February 19 and they don't go beyond that. From now until that date, Inter will pedal themselves going all out for the league thanks to the four home games and they will also see how far they are from the top of the standings. The first opponent is Lazio, the club that is only one point ahead of Inter and unlike the Nerazzurri, Lazio will play four of the next games away from home. Udinese, weakened by the African Cup of Nations, will meet both Juve and Milan in their first six games. Allegri, intoxicated by the derby, with a couple of hot potatoes in his hands (Pato-Ibra situation, Boateng a midfielder or trequartista?) also has a challenging schedule: away at Lazio and Udinese and with Napoli at home. Juve, apart from Udinese, have a softer schedule but it is also true that against weaker opponents, they have dropped some points so Interisti can certainly take into account of other braking by the Bianconeri.
Not simple But let's look beyond the Pillars of Hercules on February 19 and say that, the resurgence of Inter and its Scudetto race will not be simple. First of it's the schedule. In the second part of the season, Inter will have the toughest away games at Roma, Napoli, Juventus, Udinese and Lazio. At home only for the derby. The second is the insertion of Sneijder and Forlan especially the Dutch. His place in this team is inevitable because Inter have to grow in quality. You can not win the Scudetto just by leaving the ball to the opponents, limiting the risks and looking for counterattack opportunities, errors like that of Abate or from a dead ball situation. If Inter want to raise their ambitions then they also have to raise their level of play. They should be bold and create more than they did in the derby or in general, the league. Ranieri, the master of emergency, will now have to invent to win. With Sneijder and the eventual return to a rombo (diamond midfield), will the defense have same protection and coverage? Will the older Inter players be able to cover for each other in the midfield?
Variable transfer market It's true that the transfer market could bring reinforcements (better midfielders than a Tevez), but the market is a variable that could also reinforce the competition. However, at the present, Inter do not want to look that far. In their head, there are only pedals and handlebars to push as hard as they can. After the five matchdays in Milan, we will see more about this resurgence and to what extent they can still dream about it.
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