Reggina v Inter: Dropped Points? Stop the Presses!
By: Martha | April 7th, 2007
You know, every time I watch Reggina, they impress the hell out of me and, despite Cambiasso’s very legit penalty shout being denied, they did it again today. Inter undeniably dominated possession, but Reggina defended very well (I can really only remember a few threatening shots on goal), and the moment they won the ball they flew up the pitch and countered with impressive precision. Despite not offering many truly dangerous attempts, they were always threatening on the counter — Julio Cesar to be very, very alert. There was a five or seven minute sequence early in the second half that was just thrilling to watch: One team would play an inch-perfect long ball and create a legit threat, and then in return, the other would instantly do exactly the same thing, and be flying in the other direction. It was just awesome — the sort of thing that leaves you sitting on the couch with your mouth hanging open (and thanking your lucky stars that it’s them and not you doing all that running).
Speaking of running a lot, I thought Adriano was very good today (though I may be alone in that). I love how they’re using him right now, retreating further to win the ball and attacking from a much deeper position, from which he can see space and play others in rather than be the target himself. I could be crazy, but I really think that’s working. (That said, Cruz was mostly useless today, so all of Adiano’s service went for naught. Why not try this with a waterbug like Crespo playing ahead of Adriano?)
Also awesome was Figo (Honestly! He was!), particularly in the second half. The great majority of Inter’s attacking went down the left, and he was doing that “I’m Actually Not That Old!” thing where he wins footraces for the ball, beats people effortlessly, and generally kicks a whole lot of ass. Well, at least he kicked ass until Mancini decided to bring Recoba on to play in the midfield, which completely screwed everything up. Recoba seemingly interprets playing the central midfield as going everywhere and shooting from very long range, which completely destroyed the flow and rhythm Inter had built up until he appeared. (Now, granted, they weren’t scoring before he came on, so I understand making a change, I just don’t get why he came into the midfield instead of up top, for Cruz.)
So, to sum up: That century is suddenly looking a little further away.
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Forget Reggina. How about Cagliaris performance today?
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Adriano did look good, but the problem today is he seemed to be forgetting his instincts as a goal-scorer. Off the top of my head, there was an incident where he was in or near the attacking area with only one defender to beat, when he shockingly decided to hold up the ball and look for a clever pass. Seeing this upset me more than any turnover or wild shot over the bar of his ever will. When he was in his prime (which is strange to say about a 25 year old), he was arguably the world’s most complete striker and had this deadly cannon for a left leg. It’s occured to me that he may never return to his top level, but I just hate to see him give up or settle for being some tame, wannabee playmaker. His ability to create for teammates should be a bonus, rather than the focus of his game.
And you’re too harsh on Recoba! The problem (in addition to waiting too long to bring in Chino) was that Mancini left on too many attackers and the team was imbalanced and self-defeating. But this wasn’t so big a deal as I personally didn’t see much in the way of ‘flow and rhythm’ to begin with, which was to the credit of Reggina. Totally agree that Recoba should have come on for Cruz instead of Grosso.
Regarding Figo, the guy oozes class. But these days the end-results of his maneuvers can be lacking; he is perhaps less likely than Recoba (or even Adriano!) to make that final decisive pass.
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RT, I agree with you on pretty much everything — I actually like Recoba and was excited to see him up but, as you said, bringing him on in the midfield was a mistake and just created what looked like chaos to me.
And you’re right about Figo, too. As much as it hurts me to admit, the last ball is frequently lacking — the two times he got into a threatening position today he fluffed his chances horribly. Sigh.
I hear what you’re saying about Adriano, but it strikes me that, the way he seems to be feeling these days, it’s better to let him play withdrawn, where he can create for others. For whatever reason, he freezes when he has a chance to go to goal on his own right now — it’s like he’s suddenly noticed the pressure of being Adriano, and can’t take it. In a more supporting position at least he’s useful, albeit in a different way.
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Martha, if it were up to me (and it’s best that it’s not), I’d strap Adriano to a chair and force him to watch clips of himself from his Parma and early Inter days, in order to help put the killer back in him. But it’s been so terribly long since I last saw ‘A Clockwork Orange’, that I cannot remember if this was supposed to be a good idea or not. Perhaps it’s better to just continue the coddling…
I’m an avowed fan of Recoba, so my ideal starting XI for Inter involves him and two other attackers in front of three industrious midfielders, which Inter have in abundance. Plus, guys like Ibra and Adriano like to run around and look for the ball, so the team wouldn’t suffer for lack of work rate. However, I can’t help but feel that suggesting any starting lineup without Figo is somehow politically incorrect?
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I could be wrong because it’s been a while since my last Clockwork Orange experience, too, but I think that would make Adriano never want to score again. (Of course, since that’s evidently how he’s feeling now, it probably wouldn’t cause any noticeable change.)
And yes, your suspicion is correct: I’m afraid Figo must be in any starting lineup. Hmm. I also prefer that Stankovic play, if he’s healthy. Those two together would give that third midfielder a hell of a lot of defending to do, however …
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