Thursday 18 December 2008

CL Draw: Inter!


As we all know, Friday will embrace a very exciting Event for football fans, Champions league. And Barcelona Opponent will be one of four, Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter, or Lyon.

To Discover how Inter Milan Fans feel now that the draw is approaching, I made short interviews with Michael Gagliano and Carl MH Barenbrug, two dedicated Fans of Inter.

My apologizes for them, and for the other friends I approached, for the Delay in posting the interviews for some, and for late contact for others, it has been a heavy schedule for me at my work.

The rest of the interviews will come during the period separate us from the Draw due time, for now lets read what the Inter fans have to say for us!


Michael Gagliano

How do you evaluate Inter performance in the CL and the league?

Unfortunately Inter have not been able to replicate their domestic league performance in Europe. As a team with phenomenal talents as Inter has, big things were expected of them and placed in such a group; they should have come away with more points. I agree with Mourinho in that I do not think a team should advance to this round with only 8 points.
In Serie A, Inter for another consecutive year have been showing great talent and strength as a team. They are working much better in the domestic league than in Europe and seem to fit better with their new manager there too. They show they can beat strong teams like Juventus, and our consistent in winning every week.

Do you watch Barcelona games? What are your impressions?

I do not watch them thoroughly, but I do follow la liga. They are one of the strongest teams in the world right now and it will take a great team to challenge them. That is my impression of Barcelona.

How do you feel now that there is a chance Barcelona and Inter may meet in the knock out stage?

I am excited about a potential match up such as this. They are both fantastic teams with world class players and historic traditions, and I think that it make for great football. It will be a true test for either team.

What are the weaknesses Inter suffers from and you guess Barcelona may benefit from to knock your team out of the competition?

I would have to say Inter's biggest weakness would be finishing big plays. Maybe it has been bad luck, but more in the first months of the league, Inter has trouble scoring multiple goals in a game and finishing scoring chances when they can. Winning 1-0 is still a win, but of course you are much better off scoring 3 goals. If barcelona can close down Inter's ability to make quick plays and send things over to the other side of the field, basically shutting down their forwards like cruz and ibrahimovic, they can beat them.

What makes Barcelona dangerous?

Barcelona has one of the strongest back lines of any team. Throughout 15 league games only 9 goals against. They have a strong goalie in Valdes, so they are a dangerous team because they can quickly shut down offense attacks. They have a skill of covering the flanks well and can take control of tricky plays.

What kind of games do you expect between the two clubs?

I expect a game with entertaining plays, fast movement of the ball, great chances and real quality. Mourinho will have everything on the line and he will make sure his boys are ready.

Do you prefer to meet another club instead? Which team you will be glad to be drawn against on Friday? Why?

I would like a match up with Liverpool or Porto also. Even though it would be good to defeat a strong team like Barcelona earlier in the tournament, I would like to see Inter take revenge on Liverpool after our loss last year. I think Porto is also a great match up considering our Portuguese influence on Inter.



Carl MH Barenbrug

How do you evaluate Inter performance in the CL and the league?

Up to this point (completion of group stage in the CL and round 16 of Serie A) I have a mixed reaction towards Inter's performances. The Champions League performances have not been particularly inspiring, and have dented a lot of fans' enthusiasm for Inter's main objective, which is to win the CL competition, however at the same time I feel the group stage has been focused on experimental tactics from our coach Jose Mourinho, so I shall remain optimistic. The league season however has been very impressive. I think Inter have played some excellent football, and have dominated almost every match, and to be 6 points clear after 16 rounds is a remarkable achievement so far for both Inter and Mourinho who is experiencing his first season in Italy. Furthermore, this seasons Calcio is far stronger and competitive than it has been for the previous two years, which makes Jose's contribution all the more impressive.

Do you watch Barcelona games? What are your impressions?

I have not watched a great deal of their games this season, however I have seen highlights from a number of them, and my general impression of them would be that they offer an unpredictable and unbelievable attacking force, which is unmatched anywhere in Europe. They have produced a squad which offers a great number of world class players, and a good mix of youth and experience. Their defensive qualities are their weakness, however not many teams can outscore Barcelona. This is a team I would like Inter to avoid in the first knockout round in the Champions League.

How do you feel now that there is a chance Barcelona and Inter may meet in the knock out stage?

I have the attitude that Inter should fear nobody in world football, but until Mourinho finds his best 11, which I don't feel he has yet, I would prefer to avoid Barcelona until the later stages of the competition.

What are the strengths you can count on to beat a team like Barcelona? Where do you see Barcelona weakness?

Our strengths is our physical strength and size. Inter are a very physical side with good height from defense to attack. Inter also have great character, and know how powerful they are. Individually, our strengths will derive from Cesar, Samuel, Maicon, Cambiasso and Ibrahimovic. Barcelona's weaknesses are from set-pieces. They don't offer great height through their team, so defensively, they can be exposed.

What are the weaknesses Inter suffers from and you guess Barcelona may benefit from to knock your team out of the competition?

What most worries me is Inter's speed. We are not the quickest side in Europe, whereas Barcelona are probably the fastest playing team in the world, so I would worry about counter attacks, however this would be my only worry.

What makes Barcelona dangerous?

In short, Lionel Messi. Almost every attacking move is through Messi, however a number of their players have hit top form now, such as Henry, Xavi, Puyol, and Eto'o. Barcelona's biggest strength is their speed of play and their movement. They certainly play the bets football in Europe at the current time.

What kind of games do you expect between the two Clubs?

If they indeed play each other, I would expect Inter to focus on the midfield to break up their attacking play and limit them to set-pieces and long range shots, which Barcelona don't particularly like doing. I think Inter are a much more physically strong side, and Barcelona might just be overpowered by the Nerazzurri, however I would predict high scoring games.

Do you prefer to meet another club instead? Which team you will be glad to be drawn against on Friday? Why?

Yes, I would prefer to meet a different team to Barcelona, however I do not fear them. Personally, I would prefer to be drawn against one of Man Utd, Bayern Munich, or Porto. I feel these games would offer a great footballing display.

I will try to update this post by more Interviews with Inter fans, beside the fans of other clubs, Keep following.

Ramzi Tanani

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well done Ramzi

Any know what time the draw is and can you

watch it live?

Anonymous said...

the draw will be 12 Barcelona time, and no doubt it will be broadcast live.

Waleed said...

nice work Ramzi, why do i feel its been a long time?
Inter actually are the toughest candidate for me.
as expected whatever the team that will face us in CL from this point on, will play a defensive game no doubt. knowing this, Inter will be hard to play as they play the best defensive football in the most defensive minded league, i.e. they are used to this kind of games. at the same time they have all quality needed to attack and score both in the Mid and foward, although it looks like their defenders are scoring a lot of goals this season, I'm not sure if Adriano is going to catch that match as he is in Brazil now recovering from an injury with doubts increasing about his staying at Inter, but with all the super subs they got, thats never going to be a problem for them. for Mourinho that would be his game of the season, we already knocked out his Chelsea from CL a couple of years ago, and he will try to proof for us that we should curse our luck because we didnt appoint him!
but certainly he is not going to play with 11 players behind the ball :) !!

Unknown said...

Hey pep can you keep on the chat machine when the draw is going on???
Thanks

pep said...

Great idea, Koyya, wish I have had it muself before. But I think Omar is now sleeping as the angel he sure is, so the chance hit will be up is quite limited.

I will have a post up as soon as the draw result is known. And next draw we'll have the chat, so thanks beforehand for the idea!

Unknown said...

No Mention
And keep the good work :)
Barcelona for life :D

Anonymous said...

12 Am or is it 12 PM ?

Anonymous said...

At noon in Europe.

Anonymous said...

k thanks

Anonymous said...

can u watch it on uefa.com for free

Anonymous said...

good piece Ramzi, it was nice to see in the part with Michel Gagliano that he recognised that Valdes is a great keeper. For so long now we have had to listen to people say that Victor is our weak spot because of about 2 mistakes that he made. Now people are recognising he is a top level goalkeeper.

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