Roberto Mancini

[Azzkikr]

Im pretty certain it wouldnt take mourinho 4 years to learn that you cant win in europe with 4 midfielders who are way to similar in strengh and weaknesess where none of them passes quick or accurate or have any creativity and where none of them are capable of moving the ball forward. And most important, none of them can coop under pressure. Mancini still hasnt learned this. He thinks he can approach every game the same way and that the players are good enough to win on their own, thats mostly true in serie a, but obviously not in europe.

Mancini refuses to learn from past mistakes, thats a big problem. We have been absolutely ridiculously poor in just about every away game in europe ever since he settled in.

He build a team that can pretty much win the current serie a, by playing the exact same way every game. What he doesnt realise is that its completely useless in europe.

 

[Aleksandar]

Im pretty certain it wouldnt take mourinho 4 years to learn that you cant win in europe with 4 midfielders who are way to similar in strengh and weaknesess where none of them passes quick or accurate or have any creativity and where none of them are capable of moving the ball forward. And most important, none of them can coop under pressure. Mancini still hasnt learned this. He thinks he can approach every game the same way and that the players are good enough to win on their own, thats mostly true in serie a, but obviously not in europe.

Mancini refuses to learn from past mistakes, thats a big problem. We have been absolutely ridiculously poor in just about every away game in europe ever since he settled in.

He build a team that can pretty much win the current serie a, by playing the exact same way every game. What he doesnt realise is that its completely useless in europe.

I have to agree with you on some points,specially about the midfielders

 

[Luka]

I dissagree Azz. Completely. Why?

Look at how Milan played last year. Let me take a Manchaster example, because they were flying sky high that year, and they are english side:

* 1 Dida
* 3 Paolo Maldini
* 8 Gennaro Gattuso
* 10 Clarence Seedorf
* 11 Alberto Gilardino
* 13 Alessandro Nesta
* 18 Marek Jankulovski
* 21 Andrea Pirlo
* 22 Kaká
* 23 Massimo Ambrosini
* 44 Massimo Oddo

That's how they played at Manchaster and they get a 3-2 result, only in last minute conceeding from Rooney great shot.

Now please, tell me, where was this milan so superior, where are those great passesrs etc. ? Pirlo, Kaka, and a little from Seedorf. That's it.

Jankulovski and Oddo on the sides of defence, as attacking full backs? Compare it to Maxwell, Maicon. I mean this is a discrace.

In midfield they play with Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrossini. Esteban and Javier are more offensive than those 2 anyday. The only advantage they have is Pirlo in midfield, but 1 guy can't do it all by himself.

Kaka and Seedorf are the ones behind the strikers, but Mancio opted for plain 4-4-2 so I guess he knew better. Why play 1 guy behind the strikers so he can pose some threat? :>

What about a home leg?

* 1 Dida
* 4 Kakha Kaladze
* 8 Gennaro Gattuso
* 9 Filippo Inzaghi
* 10 Clarence Seedorf
* 13 Alessandro Nesta
* 18 Marek Jankulovski
* 21 Andrea Pirlo
* 22 Kaká
* 23 Massimo Ambrosini
* 44 Massimo Oddo

The same story, and they won 3-0. Sorry Azz, but I don't buy it. We have the players to play football. We can't play as beautifull like Barcelona, or Manchester at times, but we have a team capable of playing some ball. This is a discrace that with our team, we were so pinned down. Cambiasso, Zanetti, Chivu etc. these are not players unable to pass the ball. Sure they can't play a 40 yard ball like Pirlo, or set up a striker, but they can still pass the ball to the closest player, aren't they?

Let's not make those players sound like they are at the same level as players from lower divisions of italian football, because they are not!

 

[Durai]

i think if we wanna win the CL we need a coach who is tactically flexible.

went in to the match with the wrong tactics and players.

why was stankovic on the field for 70 mins? first half he was awful 2nd even worser but u know how they share a bed so he let his lover stay on.

 

[minterke]

Pirlo, Kaka, and a little from Seedorf. That's it.

Well...

Seedorf is better than Stankovic, and Pirlo and Kaka make a HUGE difference in midfield, because they are skilled enough to keep possession and are world-class players who can compete vs. any team in Europe.

 

[kylan05]

...but Inter is or was cursed club till Mancini come in...

That is too true. I have shiver down my spine. I'm NOT going back to that era again. I love what Mancini has given us in Serie A..

 

[Alex de Large]

OH MAN, i hope they lose 3-0 today. forza gunners.

 

[Aleksandar]

Well...

Seedorf is better than Stankovic, and Pirlo and Kaka make a HUGE difference in midfield, because they are skilled enough to keep possession and are world-class players who can compete vs. any team in Europe.

Yes,we lost the ball after one pass,we couldn't complite 3 successful passes,I think Mancini should have bring Figo after 60 min. because when we are man down we need to defend but we didn't have a player that can hold the ball a little......when Vieira came it was little better but that was not it,Figo whould have hold the ball more and make some good passes and he would have fall often and force faul for Inter........but than again WE SIMPLE DON"T HAVE ANY LUCK.....our most important defender was injured in the crucial time

 

[Luka]

Well...

Seedorf is better than Stankovic, and Pirlo and Kaka make a HUGE difference in midfield, because they are skilled enough to keep possession and are world-class players who can compete vs. any team in Europe.

But let's take a look from a tactical point of view. Kaka and Seedorf are playing behind the strikers, they are not players who are creating the game from the back, who are battling for the ball in the midfield.

Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambrosini are the link between the defence and offence, and when you play possesion, you start from deffence, going up. If what Azz saying is true, they would never be able to pass to the Seedorf or Kaka, because Ambrossini and Gattuso are no Pirlos or Decos etc.

I know we don't have a player like Pirlo or Kaka in our team, but I don't expect us to play like Barcelona, I just want us to pass the ball along the midfield line, and the talk about us being unable to do this is absolutely nonsense.

I will give you an example. Poland played with Portugal a year ago, on our turf, you know what was the score? Until 90 minute it was 2-0 for Poland, with 1 goal for Portugal. They had Cristiano Ronaldo and other guys.

We were outplaying them, we were keeping possesion, and won it fair and square. Now you, or Azz want to tell me, that Poland has better technical players, or better passers than the second after Brazil the most technical team in the world probably?

This talking about us having midfielders unable to keep posetion of the ball is completely nonsense.

 

[Aleksandar]

But let's take a look from a tactical point of view. Kaka and Seedorf are playing behind the strikers, they are not players who are creating the game from the back, who are battling for the ball in the midfield.

Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambrosini are the link between the defence and offence, and when you play possesion, you start from deffence, going up. If what Azz saying is true, they would never be able to pass to the Seedorf or Kaka, because Ambrossini and Gattuso are no Pirlos or Decos etc.

I know we don't have a player like Pirlo or Kaka in our team, but I don't expect us to play like Barcelona, I just want us to pass the ball along the midfield line, and the talk about us being unable to do this is absolutely nonsense.

I will give you an example. Poland played with Portugal a year ago, on our turf, you know what was the score? Until 90 minute it was 2-0 for Poland, with 1 goal for Portugal. They had Cristiano Ronaldo and other guys.

We were outplaying them, we were keeping possesion, and won it fair and square. Now you, or Azz want to tell me, that Poland has better technical players, or better passers than the second after Brazil the most technical team in the world probably?

This talking about us having midfielders unable to keep posetion of the ball is completely nonsense.

man it's hard to keep posetion with a man down,we recently always played crap in the first half and in the second better,I'm convince that it would have been the same in this game(that we would played better) without that red card

 

[Azzkikr]

Fullbacks doesnt matter if they cant combine with the midfielders up the field. So it doesnt really matter how good maxwell/maicon is compared to oddo/janku.

The issue is the midfield.

Pirlo
Gattuso
Ambro
seedorf
Kaka

vs

chivu
JZ
cambiasso
stankovic

5 midfielders aside, milan simply has a way better mix of skills in their midfield, while we have 4 very similar players in terms of strenghs and weaknesess.

All of pirlo, kaka and seedorf are fairly quick passers but can also run, shoot from distance really well.
kaka and seedorf, can both dribble, hold up the ball. All 3 of them are great passers as well, pirlo can make inch precise passes anywhere anywhere on the pitch. All of them are very good technicaly and quick on their feet and are capable to get some combination play going and with Gatusso and ambro supply defensive power. Its a very balanced midfield both defensively and offensively, and that makes it much more capable to include the fullbacks in the plays as well.

As for inter, none of the 4 mentioned is a regular offensive player, none of them are great passers, not creative, none of them are technicaly accomplished and not very quick on their feet and they all suck at being under pressure when they have the ball. None of them pose much of a threat from outside the box either. They are incapable of any fast combination play while going forward as a team because they are all too similar.

Its simply not a balanced midfield in any way. Its way to strengh based and defensive. Only 2 of these 4 players should play at any given time. All 4 is simply way to much, its works in the serie a because there is hardly any pressure on the ball holder before we get to their side of the field, but in europe when the teams gives pressure on the ballholder on our own half our flaws in midfield really shows, we lose the ball so often, or the midfielder under pressure gets desperate and makes a poor pass or a long ball ending up nowhere.

Our midfielders simply arent good, fast or technicaly enough when they have the ball. They choke under pressure and no decent string of succesfull passes ever comes.

As i said, only 2 of them should play at any given time. Stankovic should never start in any important match period, he is a decent backup since he can cover several positions but not starting material, same partly goes for chivu.

In short, it basicly comes down that our midfielders on-the-ball skills just arent good enough.

Start jz and cambiasso and two technical player who have some speed and technique, who are good on the ball and who actually knows how to get some decent combinations going forward with the fullbacks, thats the way to go in europe.

 

[Luka]

man it's hard to keep posetion with a man down,we recently always played crap in the first half and in the second better,I'm convince that it would have been the same in this game(that we would played better) without that red card

I wouldn't say we were playing good lately at all. Parma and Catania games are coming to my mind. And the fact we were playing crap in the first half is no excuse. If it is on a daily basis, that means something is wrong, and we shouldn't be like: "Ok, we all know we play better in second half etc.".

We didn't have any posession when we were with 11 men, and I said it countless times. We had no shots, we had no game plan, we were deffending, and we didn't even counter attack. We couldn't exchange 2-3 passes without loosing the ball, we didn't fight in the midfield to shake off the Liverpool players from our half.

I think I've said enough, here and in other threads. I hope I opened eyes for some of you, because the way we played yesterday was a shame to the italian champions. I had enough off this, have to go cool off a litttle bit, and maybe Arsenal will make me a little happier today.

 

[Forza ragazzi]

It pains so much to say that Azzkikr is mostly right, but wait until the home game. Inter will be totally different. We dominated vs Villarreal and Valencia, but we somehow didn't get results worthy of what we created. The main problem is that our players can't cope with playing away from home. It's an extraordinary strange situation. I'm sure we won't qualify, but I'm sure we'll dominate the play at Meazza. We always do. But we never score enough.

The biggest problem is our away form. We totally crumble on away soil. And it's sad because that is half the tie. It was a very difficult situation last night, but losing 0-2 with no real shot on goal to show for us is really embarrassing. If we are to proceed into the deep stages of this tournament we have to at least be able to put up a fight, even with ten men. Going for the draw on away soil is lethal. The really good teams try to play for 180, we're only in for 90. It tires the players also, physically and mentally, having to run to cover spaces all the time. They are footballers, not maraton runners.

Looking at Arsenal-Milan and Lyon-Manchester United and it pains my heart so much to see that United and Milan actually enjoy possession.

 

[Azzkikr]

Well they have the advantage of their midfielders having some understanding and actually running for each other and making decent passes as well, something our midfielders should learn instead of running around like clueless brutes.

Both teams got good results as well.

 

[Aleksandar]

Well they have the advantage of their midfielders having some understanding and actually running for each other and making decent passes as well, something our midfielders should learn instead of running around like clueless brutes.

Both teams got good results as well.

We must admit they have mifdielders that can pass around and hold the ball.......also creative midfielders,every year they play careful football and the most importan for Ancelotti is not to received goal,he even said before the game that it wouldn't be so bad even if they lose with 1 goal in this game.

but they(milan) also have LUCK........something that can not be said for Inter

 

[mexican_azzurri]

Is curious and funny see posts of days ago to fans saying "Maincini is gonna broken the Herrera record like coach" the loyalty and trust to mancini dissappear after a match.....

 

[rockball]

Is curious and funny see posts of days ago to fans saying "Maincini is gonna broken the Herrera record like coach" the loyalty and trust to mancini dissappear after a match.....

Its not new..a trademark here

 

[mexican_azzurri]

Its not new..a trademark here

 

[Handoyo]

This has been mentioned several times in the match thread itself but I just want to emphasize it. Remember, it is impossible for a team to enjoy possession for 90 whole minutes. It is unarguable that Liverpool had the upper hand during the first 30 minutes but after the undeserved red card, any possibilities that the momentum will change to our favor simply disappeared. We were outnumbered in midfield and that cost us dearly.

I am not saying that we will win had Matrix stayed on the field; I am not even saying that we won't lose. But Mancini can definitely be excused for this failure because the red card all but eliminated our hope of playing our football in Anfield.

 

[Forza ragazzi]

This has been mentioned several times in the match thread itself but I just want to emphasize it. Remember, it is impossible for a team to enjoy possession for 90 whole minutes. It is unarguable that Liverpool had the upper hand during the first 30 minutes but after the undeserved red card, any possibilities that the momentum will change to our favor simply disappeared. We were outnumbered in midfield and that cost us dearly.

I am not saying that we will win had Matrix stayed on the field; I am not even saying that we won't lose. But Mancini can definitely be excused for this failure because the red card all but eliminated our hope of playing our football in Anfield.

Of course, and if you were referring to me I'm sorry I haven't underlined this.

It was extremely difficult conditions for play, but we could have sacrificed three or four players to go on at least one counter attack. What I noticed was that every time we went forward, Liverpool had five-six players back already. They ran like dogs to cover space. They deserve compliments for that, but defending like this and not caring to take your counters is death in CL 98 out of 100 times. Sooner or later your opponents will get their goal(s).

There was really no choice but to defend, however we should've been a tad more offensive when we had the chance.

But then again, had it ended 0-0 no one would've complained margins....