CL Wrap-Up and Udinese Preview

As with my last post, this one will be really brief. As I’ve explained, I’m going through a real busy patch at work and Timmy is on vacation, so this is largely just to give us all a place to post thoughts, etc.

Hanging Our Heads In Shame

What have we all done to deserve this? Lazio succumbed to a killer 4-1 defeat at the hands of Villarreal in a game that quickly became excruciating to watch and got progressively more painful. It was my intention to bring you a LiveBlog but having been delayed and returning home ...

Atalanta - Juventus: "I'll trade you my Ciro for your Conte, maybe..."

Old Foes New Horizons

Back on the road, which during the end of Reja's and [all of] Donadoni's reign, was a worrisome venture. Now there is a certain air of expectation surrounding the game, one of optimism and victory. The words spoken by Mazzarri say it all:

“It's the ideal week to lose ...

Cagliari-Sampdoria

After a week at home resting following three games, all wins, the previous week, Cagliari gets ready to welcome Sampdoria, one of Serie A's top teams, but also a team whose attitude and mindset often determines its fortunes more so then its talent. This lead up should make for a ...

Our Deki did WHAT?

Ok, so everyone who follows Inter Milan knows that Dejan Stankovic is, well... for lack of a better term, a muppet. He is goofy, wears his heart on his sleeve, and has large sticky-outy ears. In other words, he is just about the last person on the team that I would have expected to be accused of "mimicking a rude, unmistakably sexual gesture" but that is just what has happened.

Historical Context and Mercato Rumours

Napoli's 3-2 victory in Torino last Saturday was the club's first victory away to Juventus in 21 years. This alone is reason for celebration, but if you look the entire week it might be the best week of Napoli calcio since the team qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1991-92. Can anyone remember a time during the last 17 years when Napoli did better than beating Fiorentina and Juventus away and drawing Milan at home? If the team continues to pick up results, there will be inevitable comparisons with Maradona era of the late 80's and early 90's.

Avia's Champions League Night

Avia shared pictures and videos from his night at San Siro, and who better to furher share it with than you!

Elephantiasis of the Left Thigh.

Roma 2 - Fulham 1
The English will have you believe this was about the referee. But with the benefit of video replay we have seen...
i. The intentional handball in the first half on the ball to goal was a red card and penalty.
ii. The red card in the second half was not.
So they cancel each other out and a penalty is left on the table. Pretty decent swap if you ask me.
(A win is a win is a win these days, right?)
GAME

Baptista skirts one wide. Fulham with one last throw, nothing done.
That, admittedly, was a pretty poor call. But Roma were just playing the keepaway game and it has little effect on this game.
Straight red for Konchesky for a tackle on Taddei, who sells it like Rodrigo Taddei.
Two minutes added.
Menez with a streaking Taddei makes the poor choice and shoots. Still a bit of maturing to do.
87' Zamora goes to ground quite easily in the box, wants a call, none given.
Okaka goes for an audacious bike from outside the box and Schwarzer forced into a leaping save.

Dinamo 1 - Pazza Inter 2

First things first. Happy Birthday to Angelo Moratti RIP, Luis Figo and Mourinho's daughter.
Alright.
Allow me to summarize my reaction to the first 84 minutes of this game: Here we go again.
I thought: another game in which we are the better team and not necessarily acting like it. Oh, we had most of the possession… even in the first half if that means anything. We had more corners, way more shots on target, and more shots in general, etc., etc. But we weren’t putting the ball in the net. Which is not the norm when we play in Serie A. We have a fantastic offence in Serie A. In Europe, we squander chances, it seems, even against the Anthoris Famagustas of the world. I can only hope that the team that shows up against Barca is the team that won the second half and the game in Kiev.
I also, before I get to the meat of this review, I wish to share an experience. I watched the Barca game and heard the commentators talk about our "group of death" about 3 times. After our game yesterday, I read about our "group of death" and our "group of champions" several times. Why do I bring this up? Well, I used these phrases two weeks ago and a frequent visitor to this board told me I was full of it and an apologist for my team. It's nice to be vindicated, again.
Okay, my Inter Man of the Match:

Highlights after the break.