MD3: Inter - Catania 6/9/07 (14.00 UK)

[Jager]

Serie A Week 3 - 16/9/07 (14.00 UK)
Inter - Catania

Stadio Meazza


Inter and Catania will both be satisfied with the starts they have made to the season, but will want to show they have plenty more to offer when they meet at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. With the opening nerves out of the way this match should be a good judge of their respective chances this term.

After the Week 1 jitters saw them reduced to 10 men and drop two points against Udinese at the San Siro, the Nerazzurri recovered well to ease past Empoli with a convincing 2-0 victory in their last match. They will need another good performance in front of their home fans to persuade the tifosi that the 1-1 result against the Zebrette was not a sign of things to come and after the international break their multi-national squad will need to return their focus firmly to club football.

Goalkeeper Julio Cesar is expected to be welcomed back to the team following the suspension for his red card against Udinese, despite Francesco Toldo’s clean sheet in Empoli. The Brazilian’s return means that Coach Roberto Mancini’s only absentee is Marco Materazzi, due to the thigh injury he suffered on international duty, meaning summer signing Cristian Chivu should switch to his more accomplished position in the centre of defence. The biggest surprise is likely to be the inclusion of Adriano alongside Julio Cruz in attack. The striker, who looked almost certain to leave Inter this summer, is set for a recall after hitting a hat-trick in last week’s friendly.

In the Catania camp, Coach Silvio Baldini will probably have to make do without the injured trio of Takayuki Morimoto, Andrea Sottil and Giuseppe Colucci, although the latter two have a slim chance of making the game after returning to training this week. Baldini will be able to call on Cristian Silvestri though, after the full-back finished his suspension and he is now expected to be named in the side at the expense of Marcello Gazzolla.

The two draws in as many games earned by the Elefantini so far this season would suggest that there could be a similar scoreline in this match, especially considering Inter’s tie in their only previous home game. However, the Beneamata will be a very different class of opponent for the Rossoblu than either Parma or Genoa. That means they will need to up their game under Baldini if they are to emerge from the San Siro with a favourable result. Hitman Gionatha Spinesi also needs to find the back of the net as soon as possible after his two blanks so far, as without his scorer’s instincts Catania could struggle.

Keep an eye on: Ivan Cordoba (Inter) – The Colombian star has impressed so far and helped soften the blow of Marco Materazzi’s injury considerably. With Cordoba at the heart of the defence, Catania shouldn’t be expecting many chances to test the Nerazzurri ‘keeper.

Last season: Inter 2-1 Catania

Form guide: Inter (- - - D W) Catania (- - - D D)


Inter (probable): Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Chivu, Maxwell; Zanetti, Vieira, Stankovic; Figo; Cruz, Adriano

Catania (probable): Bizzarri; Silvestri, Stovini, Terlizzi, Vargas; Baiocco, Tedesco; Llama, Martinez, Mascara; Spinesi

Ref: To follow...

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[apetimberlake]

Man i screwed myself on my TLN picks..i put Catania over Inter by accident and i cant change it..oh well at least my proline pic's will be correct

[Jager]

I will be extremely surprised if Adriano plays.

Keep an eye on: Ivan Cordoba (Inter) – The Colombian star has impressed so far and helped soften the blow of Marco Materazzi’s injury considerably. With Cordoba at the heart of the defence, Catania shouldn’t be expecting many chances to test the Nerazzurri ‘keeper.

For Joel!

[Jager]

Mancini: We warned Vieira! Saturday 15 September, 2007

Roberto Mancini bitterly criticised Patrick Vieira and Raymond Domenech for the midfielder’s new injury scare. “They should’ve been more careful.”

Inter publicly asked France boss Domenech to spare Vieira for the second Euro 2008 qualifier with Scotland after he had already played 90 minutes against Italy, but they were ignored and now Vieira is out for anything up to three weeks with a new muscular strain.

“I spoke to Patrick when he returned. He is not in good shape and in no condition to play,” confirmed Mancini in today’s Press Conference.

“It is a great shame not to have him, as he was only just coming back from a long-term lay-off due to two serious injuries. It’s not easy to sit out and I understand how he feels. Clearly, he could have been a little more careful and so could the Coach…

“We had even sent one of our fitness Coaches, Professor Claudio Gaudino, to speak with the France staff and ask him to rest Patrick in the Scotland game. That was only because he had not trained in two weeks and was not ready for two matches in four days.

“If you watched him carefully against Italy, you’d see Patrick remained in the central area without ever pushing or trying to sprint for 20 metres. That shows his condition was not good, yet it went well enough and he could have avoided the second game.”

The Nerazzurri are particularly irritated by this setback, as they also lost Cristian Chivu to a shoulder injury he sustained on international duty and Marco Materazzi is out for several months after his thigh injury when playing for Italy.

“It is not easy for a player to stay away from his national side, especially if it’s something he really cares about,” continued Mancini.

“It is important to carefully evaluate the physical condition of the players and we did everything possible with France. We sent our fitness staff over to explain the situation and even had the two doctors talk to each other.”

To add insult to injury, Domenech told the French media after the 1-0 defeat to Scotland on Wednesday that he knew Vieira was not in good shape.

“That doesn’t count for much now. We must bear the brunt of the damage, because now Patrick will be out for a while. We asked Vieira to be careful and let us know, then we were in contact throughout the week. We could not have done more.

“Patrick probably felt good after the Italy game and that lulled him into a false sense of security, as otherwise I doubt he would have risked playing. Perhaps he should have been more careful. Now I don’t know how long he’ll be out for. We don’t want to rush him back, as that would be acting like Domenech. Our objective is to get him back so he can be useful for the team.”

The issue has also been raised in Spain, where Barcelona President Joan Laporta has demanded remuneration for players injured on international duty.

“If people were just a little more careful, they could avoid many problems to players who, at the end of the day, are the ones who never want to back out,” insisted the Inter boss.

“Anyone who has played football knows this. But Coaches need to focus on the long-term. In fact, now we lose Vieira, but France could also not have him ready for their next matches.”

Adriano took a knock to the back during training this week, but is called up for Sunday’s Serie A encounter with Catania.


Inter squad: Toldo, Julio Cesar; Cordoba, Maxwell, Maicon, Burdisso, Rivas; Zanetti, Stankovic, Figo, Dacourt, Cambiasso, Solari, Pelè, Cesar; Ibrahimovic Cruz, Adriano, Crespo.

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I hear that Cucho could play as a CB in this game. Things are not looking good at the moment.

[Jager]

Its half time in Milna, and Inter lead Catania 1-0 on a Crespo goal. Inter have dominated until the last ten minutes of the match, and Catania have been presurring us.

[acitalianman13]

bella partita crespo a cesar juve lost 1-0 milan tied 1-1 some 1 post the standings as for 2 day ok plz

[Jager]

Alright game, they had some difficulties, but they pulled it off. Still have a long way to go, but we were missing half of our lineup, and Catania is not a very good team, but a win is a win.

The real game during the week, I hope we can get some of our injured players back for that one.

[Jager]

Serie A Week 3 - 16/9/07 (14.00 UK)
Inter 2 - 0 Catania
Crespo 15 (I), Cesar 79 (I)
Stadio Meazza


Adriano did not mark his comeback with a goal, but Inter did comfortably take full points off Catania.

Roberto Mancini had a real injury crisis on his hands with Marco Materazzi, Cristian Chivu, Walter Samuel and Patrick Vieira sidelined. Already two points off the Serie A leaders and with a Champions League trip to Fenerbahce coming up, the pressure was piling on the Nerazzurri. Catania also needed to buck up their game after two draws and had Cristian Silvestri back from a ban, but Coach Silvio Baldini continued to sit out his suspension for kicking a colleague.

Adriano was given his first official appearance of the campaign, but it was Catania who went close after three minutes when Julio Cesar was at full stretch to fingertip a low Izco drive out for a corner.

Bizzarri flicked a spectacular Luis Figo chip out from under the bar and Inter took the lead in chaotic circumstances. Adriano slipped just inside the area, but Douglas Maicon continued the move for Hernan Crespo to tap in from six yards.

Martinez had penalty appeals for a Nicolas Burdisso challenge waved away, then Adriano sprung the offside trap to chest down the ball, but tried an ambitious scissor-kick into the ground that did not trouble Bizzarri.

Adriano was jeered by the San Siro crowd after quite a few errors, but on 28 minutes he tested the goalkeeper with a fierce strike. L'Imperatore also put the ball in the net, but only after shoving marker Mark Edusei to the ground.

A Silvestri attempt from 30 metres was turned out for a corner, as the Sicilians did not merely sit back.

After the restart there was a fine move between Gionatha Spinesi and Giuseppe Mascara, the former bringing a difficult save out of Julio Cesar at the near post.

Julio Cesar had a muscular problem, but was able to continue, while substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a chance cleared practically off his foot from six yards.

Inter doubled their lead 10 minutes from time. Ibrahimovic moved the ball to the left flank for the on-rushing Cesar Aparecido to blast the shot past Bizzarri.

Adriano's hopes of marking his comeback with a goal were ruined by a Bizzarri save at the near post in stoppages.


Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Burdisso, Maxwell; Figo (Stankovic 65), Cambiasso, Dacourt, Cesar; Crespo (Ibrahimovic 59), Adriano

Catania: Bizzarri; Silvestri, Stovini, Terlizzi, Sabato; Baiocco, Martinez (Vargas 46), Edusei, Mascara, Izco; Spinesi

Ref: Orsato

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