Translated material
Blinded by the sun
Inter is at the center of a scandal
While Juventus, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina are trying through numerous appeals to reduce the number of penalty points by another 30%, with which it is difficult to get out of the basement of the standings, the echo of the proceedings has reached Inter Milan. In the camp of the Nerazzurri, who will have to beat Spartak Moscow at home tomorrow, not everything is in order with purely football matters. And then the famous Italian referee Massimo De Santis, who was excommunicated from football, published information in the press that he and his family had been followed for a long time, listening to all telephone conversations, by detectives hired by Inter.Club president Massimo Morratti first had to answer through journalists, but he was unable to say anything intelligible. And recently the head of the Milanese received a subpoena, giving the necessary testimony under oath. By the way, it was not only De Santis who suffered. It turned out that detectives were monitoring all the movements of Inter forward Christian Vieri, known for his excursions to city nightclubs and social events. The former idol of the Nerazzurri tifosi, now settled in Atalanta, was greatly offended. And he even called for the championship title borrowed from Juventus to be taken away from the “black and blues”. Vieri was also joined by numerous detractors of the club. One of the relatives of Silvio Berlusconi - the patron of Inter's sworn enemy - added fuel to the fire, sarcastically saying that Milan knows how to work with a champion squad, but Inter does not, hinting, in particular, on the insolvency of Roberto Mancini.
At the same time, the Milanese continue to lead in the Italian championship, even if they do not show good football, earning points with difficulty. After a draw in the last round with Cagliari, the Nerazzurri barely avoided losses in the match with Serie A newcomer Catania, which came to the San Siro for the first time in the last 22 years. The last visit of the team led by Pasquale Marino to Milan ended in defeat with a score of 0:6, which the sports press did not fail to notice on the eve of the match. This had the best effect on Catania's mood, because by the 16th minute they were leading 1:0 thanks to Mascara's long-range strike. In the absence of the team leaders (the disqualified Vieira, as well as the injured Grosso, Cambiasso and Crespo), Inter found an opportunity to change the score, although the game remained not the most impressive. Inter was saved only by the individual skill of the ageless Luis Figo and the ability of Dejan Stankovic to say his weighty word at the right moment. The Portuguese assisted the Serb twice, the last time this happened a quarter of an hour before the end of the game. In addition, Argentinean Julio Cruz did not score the penalty he had earned. This is generally a disease of Inter - three rounds ago, in the confrontation with Roma, Ibrahimovic did not convert the penalty kick.
“We started well, but missed a ridiculous goal when the goalkeeper and defense were blinded by the sun, not seeing the ball,” Roberto Mancini shared his impressions after the match. - Catania defended well, trying to catch us on counterattacks, but we looked better after the break. We must win both matches against Spartak, a team that never stops playing. The match will be difficult, and the players are counting on the support of the spectators, who, I hope, will fill the stands as much as possible. With them we will succeed."
Goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Luis Figo are in solidarity with their mentor. “It would be great to take three points from Spartak together with the fans,” the Portuguese emphasized. “I believe in Inter’s chances,” the Brazilian took the floor. “We need to win not only against Spartak, but also against other rivals in order to continue the fight for the trophy.”
Inter will definitely need goals to win, but the Milanese are in a drought in the Champions League. Mancini's desire to play three forwards in the last round of Serie A resulted in unplanned point losses, so the head coach of the Black and Blues chose to change the formation this time. According to the latest news, Crespo will still be able to recover for the match with Spartak, unlike Cambiasso. But the Argentine clearly needs to get in shape. His compatriot Julio Cruz lacks stability, Recoba is always being treated, Adriano is so unconvincing that he forces him to change himself during the match, and Ibrahimovic is undisciplined, wasting his nerves in altercations with referees and opponents. The recently born son Maximilian did not add seriousness to the Swede, who is facing a three-match disqualification in Serie A for spitting at Catanya player Andrea Sottila.
Mancini himself confirmed the nervousness in the ranks of the Milanese: “I know that I won’t be able to stay here if Inter doesn’t win a significant trophy in the ongoing season, but the team will fight to the last. I believe in her."
The only one who remains calm is the Nerazzurri captain, Argentinean Javier Zanetti: “There is no crisis in the team. I didn’t believe those who predicted us an easy victory in the championship before the start of the season, but Inter is like a big family. No one gives Morratti advice. We read newspapers where they talk about how the players are ready to gnaw each other's throats and that all they do is go to Morratti's office, but this is absolutely not true.”
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Italian Championship. Series "A". 6th round. Ascoli - Livorno - 0:2, Empoli - Fiorentina - 1:2, Inter - Catania - 2:1, Lazio - Cagliari -- 0:0, "Palermo" -- "Atalanta" -- 2:3, "Parma" -- "Udinese" -- 0:3, "Regina" -- "Roma" -- 1:0, "Sampdoria" "-Milan - 1:1, Siena - Messina - 3:1, Torino - Chievo - 1:0. The leaders are: Inter - 14, Roma, Palermo - 12 each.