While in the Champions League all Italian sides made it through to the knockout stages, there was a fear that in the Europa League there would be no Serie A teams. Luckily, Napoli managed to qualify with a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest, thanks to a very late goal by Cavani. And there was more good news for Italian sides around the world, Inter Milan were victorious in their semi-final of the World Club Cup, and they’ll be playing African champions TP Mazembe in the final of the tournament.

Napoli desperately needed a win at the Stadio San Paolo, or else they would not qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League. But Steaua Bucharest came to defend with grit, staying turtled up in their own half, soaking up Napoli’s pressure, and then striking on the counter-attack. Napoli did their best, pushing well on the flanks and through the middle, eventually creating a great opportunity which Cavani put over the bar. Steaua had opportunities to score as well, and going into halftime, the two teams were fairly even.

The second half continued like the first, with Napoli slowly chipping away at the resolute Romanian side. Walter Mazzari’s team created more and more chances, with Cavani even hitting the post. The ending became more and more tense, with insults being thrown to and fro from players on the field to the ones on the benches. Both Steaua and Napoli were getting frustrated, creating goalscoring chances which weren’t finished properly or were saved by a pair of outstanding goalkeepers. Yet Napoli believed until the very end, and in the 92nd minute of the match Edinson Cavani scored what he calls, “a miracle goal”. The young Uruguayan managed to flick a corner from the near post with his head, sending Napoli through to the knockout rounds of the Europa League. Yet the tension was still high, and Paolo Cannavaro got sent off before the final whistle after receiving a second yellow card.

The other Italian sides did surprisingly well considering their previous poor form in the Europa League. Palermo defeated Lusanne Sports 1-0 away from home thanks to a late goal from Munoz, and Juventus got a good 1-1 draw against Manchester City, with some youngsters on display for the crowd at the Stadio Olimpico. Sampdoria though weren’t able to win or draw away against Debrecen, and lost 2-0. It’s nice that Napoli have managed to qualify for the round of 16, and hopefully they’ll receive a good draw and go deep in the tournament.

Inter Milan were in Abu Dhabi, where they defeated Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa 3-0. This victory was an important one for Rafa Benitez, because the team is slowly recovering from injuries positively, especially Diego Milito who scored and assisted the other two goals. However there was a slight setback for Inter in this match; in the first minutes Wesley Sneijder received a tough tackle and had to be replaced. He won’t be able to make the final, which will be played against TP Mazembe, the first African side ever to reach the FIFA World Club Cup final.

The final is being played this Saturday, and while some don’t really consider this tournament as very important, if Rafa Benitez could manage to win it, it could be a turning point for his team. There have been many doubts over whether Benitez would stay much longer at Inter, and it seems like Massimo Moratti has calmed the voices by prasing the Spaniard regarding the team’s performance. But no matter how much praise Moratti heaps on Benitez, the president wants the coach to win this tournament, and transfer the momentum to the Serie A and Champions League campaigns.

What are your thoughts regarding Napoli’s qualification and Inter Milan’s solid win? Share your thoughts below!

It’s the final group stages matchday of the Champions League, and Roma and Inter Milan need to win their midweek matches. After such a poor display from Italian sides in the Europa League, the Serie A needs to hold its head high and have three teams go into the knockout stages of Europe’s top competition. If Inter can manage to steal first place in their group from Tottenham, and Roma manage to qualify in their group, things will be looking slightly brighter for the Serie A, and the two clubs themselves.

Roma will be travelling to Romania for their match on Wednesday against CFR Cluj, and while at first it doesn’t look like a very difficult match, an upset could end Roma’s Champions League campaign early. After their fantastic 2-2 draw against Chievo (Chievo came back from two goals down, and then came close to scoring a winner after De Rossi was sent off in the final minutes), they play Cluj, and then the giallorossi will be hosting last-placed Bari next weekend. But two tough matches come right after playing Bari, first they’ll have to host Lazio in the Coppa Italia in the midweek, and then they travel to AC Milan the following weekend, and both of those matches could finish in a loss for Ranieri’s side.

While I think that Roma will manage to move on to the knockout stages of the Champions League, Lazio could knock out Roma from the Coppa Italia, and then the Ibrahimovic led AC Milan could easily defeat Roma at the San Siro. What do you think? Share your comments below!

Inter Milan are certainly in one of their worst moments right now, especially after their 3-1 loss to Lazio over the weekend. But Rafa Benitez has remained upbeat and optimistic about his current situation with Inter, and he seems to be prepared to grab a win away against Werder Bremen, which is the last game of Inter’s group stages in the Champions League. Yet the odds seemed stacked against him, not only will Rafa Benitez be missing Diego Milito, but the Spaniard will also have to do without Wesley Sneijder and Lucio! A cold trip to Germany doesn’t seem the best place to test out even more new youngsters, but it seems like Benitez will be forced to.

Right after the important game in the Champions League, Benitez has a chance to redeem himself after this season’s bad start with the European champions will travel to Abu Dhabi to play in the FIFA World Club Cup. Many players seem set to return in this competition, and winning a fairly simple trophy could motivate and convince players enough to begin winning in the other competitions. It’s very possible that Julio Cesar and Maicon will manage to return for the FIFA World Club Cup, and two veteran players like them should be able provide some cover for Inter at the back. Do you think that Rafa manage to right the ship at Inter Milan? What if Inter loses to Werder Bremen, and then has a poor display in the FIFA World Club Cup? Would it be time for him to go? Share your comments below!

Two matches have been played so far this weekend, and the more interesting result of the two has to be the 1-1 draw which was played out between Inter Milan and Brescia. The other match played was a 2-0 for Bologna against Lecce, with Di Vaio and Gimenez scoring simple tap ins.

But the match which will be attracting the media attention was at the San Siro, where Brescia almost managed to pull off a win against Rafa Benitez’s side. The Inter squad is currently destroyed by injuries, with Benitez unable to utilize Julio Cesar, Thiago Motta, Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and Sulley Muntari. And this match Benitez has lost another couple of players to injury, first Maicon was substituted for a right thigh muscle problem, and then Walter Samuel awkwardly landed on his knee, twisting it and needing to be stretchered off. Wesley Sneijder also needed to be taken off at half time because he was apparently suffering from “lightheadedness”, another blow for Benitez.

The game seemed to start well for Inter Milan, some good possession with a few shots scattered as Brescia started defensively. But 14 minutes in a long ball for Caracciolo wasn’t dealt properly by Samuel and Lucio, and the Brescia captain managed to finish past Castellazzi to give the away side the lead. Then, Benitez’s side began to panic, and Bresica made sure to cover up defensively to not allow Inter to have any goalbound chances.

Maicon had to be replaced around the half-hour mark, so Benitez chose to do so with Cordoba. Then when Samuel needed to be substituted as well, Benitez finally put in Santon, sliding Cordoba in the middle of defence with Lucio, and giving Santon the right wing to operate on. And Benitez had to take off Sneijder at halftime because of some “migraine problems”, and Benitez decided to put in the young Nigerian Obi.

Inter pressed and pressed, with Pandev as useless as a stump, Eto’o dribbling too much, and Coutinho the only player providing danger to the Brescia goal. Milito, Obi, and Coutinho worked hard to make sure that Brescia remained on the defensive, and Santon was exceptional in tearing down the right wing to provide an attacking option. Eventually Inter Milan created the opportunity to score, Samuel Eto’o was brought down in the penalty box after one of his trademark dribbles, and referee Gava gave the penalty. Samuel Eto’o sent the keeper the wrong way with an unreachable and beautifully taken penalty into the bottom left corner of the net.

Regarding whether it was actually a penalty or not, it’s a very tough call to make. Eto’o had been brought down plenty of times in the box where the referee could’ve called a penalty with certainty, yet the referee called one when it was slightly dubious. There was certainly pushing and maybe some tripping by the defender, but looking at the replay, it seems like Eto’o is slipping with his foot literally on top of the ball. Whether he’s slipping because of the defender’s push, or his own faulty traction, we don’t really know.

So Inter manage to squeak a 1-1 draw where they were probably the better side, but I’m not sure they deserved a win. They had plenty of opportunities to score, one of which in the last minute of stoppage time with Diego Milito in front of an open net, volleying the ball over the goal, but Inter didn’t put any away. Sure, they kept possession and had some goal-bound shots, but they still didn’t score from open play, a worrying statistic for any Inter fans.

But what Inter fans should really be worried is the injury situation. I think that Samuel will be out for at least a month after his awkward and wince-causing knee injury, and Sneijder’s migraine problem isn’t a positive thing. But if you were to take the positives for Inter from this match: Santon is doing wonderfully and he can easily replace Maicon, Coutinho looks fantastic and was unlucky not to have a goal, and Milito is returning with a hardworking mentality.

What are your thoughts regarding these two matches? Was Inter Milan’s draw a surprise for you? Please share your thoughts below by commenting!

Fifa released its list of the 23 nominees for the Ballon D’Or of 2010. Along with the 23 players, there are also 10 managers/coaches competing for the World Coaches of the Year award. The winners of both will be announced by FIFA on December 6th.

Something which will stand out right away when you look at the list of the 23 players is that there are no Italian players. This was predictable especially with the Italian National team having trouble in the 2010 World Cup. While I thought that maybe the Juventus central defender Giorgio Chiellini could’ve made the final 23, he didn’t. I’m certainly disappointed, and I hope that next year we’ll be able to see a couple of Italian names on that list of 23 players. Maybe Giuseppe Rossi, Davide Santon, or Mario Balotelli?

Although the list is devoid of Italians, luckily there are some players representing the Serie A. There are only four Serie A players, and all four of them play for Inter Milan. They are: Julio Cesar, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o, and Maicon. If you were to ask me, those are four great choices, but it’s a little disappointing that there’s no other Serie A side represented.

And there’s an interesting player who wasn’t included in the final 23, and that’s Diego Milito of Inter Milan. Surely if there was a star goalscorer from last year, you’d have to think about Inter Milan’s Argentinean. He scored both goals in the Champions League final to make sure that Inter won the historical trophy, but FIFA haven’t included him in the nominees for the Ballon D’Or. I think he should’ve been included, what about you?

Funnily enough, there’s an Italian on the list of the World Coaches of the Year award, good old Carlo Ancelotti. Carlo did a great job at Chelsea in his first year, and he won the English Premier League title. Along with Carlo, Jose Mourinho is nominated after his extraordinary treble which he accomplished with Inter Milan last year.

While I think this award will go to Jose Mourinho, what are your thoughts? Please comment below! And what are your thoughts regarding the lack of Italians? Who do you think will be the next Italian to be on the shortlist? Share your thoughts below! And if you haven’t seen the list of the nominees yet, be sure to check it out here!

The soccer press has been buzzing about the latest Wayne Rooney press conferences, statements, and rumors.  The usual suspects have been named as possible destinations: the ATMs that are Manchester City and Real Madrid, EPL rival Chelsea, and Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich.  But where Wayne Rooney really belongs is in Italy, and specifically Inter Milan.

Here is why Rooney in the Black and Blue makes the most sense:

• He moves to a team that is already successful and won’t need him to be their savior: Don’t get me wrong, Inter Milan needs the talents of a player like Wayne Rooney.  Although they are well positioned to repeat as Serie A champions again, their campaign so far has been lackluster.  Their nine goals are the fewest scored by any of the top six and its been their defense that has won attention.  An on-form Wayne Rooney immediately boosts their offense.  But Inter Milan does not absolutely need him; if they did not sign him Eto’o, Milito, and Sneijder are still world-class up front.  His addition would add a key component without the pressure of being “The Man” for Inter.
• Rooney counters the Milan signings: The media attention in Serie A has been on Inter’s intercity rival.  Their Ibrahimovic signing so far has been worth every euro, and they have become the popular pick to snatch the title away from Inter (sorry Lazio fans).  While press clippings don’t win scudettos, signing Wayne Rooney reminds everyone which club is the defending champions of Italy and Europe and pushes Milan to the second page.  This is a definite benefit to management.
• He provides needed youth up-front: It’s hard to remember, but Wayne Rooney is just 24 years old.  Milito is 31 and Eto’o is 29.  Rooney becomes the young striker that Balotelli had been for the Nerazzurri.
• Rafa Knows Rooney: Having managed against him in the EPL, he is well aware of his skills so the learning curve on how to use Wayne Rooney in his system will be short.  Plus, he has dealt with the press in multiple countries and can help with that aspect.
• Serie A is a clean start away from the English press:  Athletes in crisis management are well served stepping out of the spotlight for a time to re-craft their image.  While Rooney playing with Inter would still cause a media circus, he would be covered daily by the Italian press and not the English press.  While the Italian press can be critical (to put it lightly), he is out of the country where he is seen as THE face of football.  At the same time he would still be playing top-flight football and could showcase his skills on the international stage.  And I suspect Fabio Capello still has a few friends in Italy who can keep an eye on Rooney for English national purposes.

What do you think of Wayne Rooney with the Nerazzurri?

Today’s UEFA Champions League draw was one that should prove that Serie A is still one of the premier leagues in the world, and that Inter is arguably the world’s best club.  The Nerazzurri swept the UEFA individual awards: Goalkeeper of the Year (Julio Cesar), Defender of the Year (Maicon), Midfielder of the Year (Wesley Sneijder), Striker of the Year (Diego Milito), and Footballer of the Year (Milito again).  Milito scored both goals in Inter’s defeat of Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League final.

But of course the big news is the draw, and with Sampdoria’s loss this week Serie A has three teams represented in the Champions League – defending champion Inter Milan, AS Roma, and AC Milan.  The draw was a mixed bag for all three, but all have a good chance of advancing.

Inter was placed in Group A along with Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur, and FC Twente.  Bremen is of course the club that eliminated Sampdoria, and so it has a second chance to knock off a Serie A team.  Tottenham is playing in its first Champions League since 1963, and has a potent attack led by Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe.  FC Twente are the reigning Dutch champions but are making their first  Champions League group stage appearance ever.

This is a tough draw for Rafa Benitez’s club, but they will not have to travel far for away matches, two of which (White Hart Lane and De Grolsch Veste) hold fewer than 40,000 spectators.  They won’t go through the group stage undefeated, but it’s hard to see how Inter doesn’t advance from this group probably at the top.  My instinct is a loss either at Tottenham or Twente, but they finish first in their group.

Their rivals AC Milan also face a group of quality opponents rich in history, possibly making them part of this year’s “Group of Death”.  Milan (a Pot 1 club) is in Group G with Real Madrid, Ajax, and Auxerre.  Last year Milan went to Madrid and escaped with a upset 3-2 victory, helping them advance from the group.  This year, they will face the defending Champions League winning manager Jose Mourinho who is looking for a third title with his third team.  Ajax is one of Europe’s most famous clubs, but does not have the level of talent it has had in past years.  Auxerre is the French club that has a knack for upsets – it qualified for the group stage by knocking off Zenit St. Petersburg.

Jose Mourinho is likely salivating to play in Milan again and knock off the Rossoneri.  I have my doubts that AC Milan can go into Madrid and beat Real Madrid again, but they can advance from this group.  The key is not to lose focus when playing Ajax or Auxerre, because both are more than capable of advancing themselves.  This group will also have a ton of attention paid to it simply because of the names involved.  As such, Allegri will have a tough tightrope between preparing for his group and the domestic league.  Still I expect AC Milan to finish second and advance.

The third Champions League team Roma will be expected to finish second in their group, but because of the balance in this group all four have the possibility of advancing.  The Pot 2 team drew Group E headlined by Champions League runner-ups Bayern Munich, which will be a tough test for the Giallorossi.  The upset pick from this group will be FC Basel, Switzerland’s most successful club who have played in European competition since 1999.  While Roma has more talent and big names, Basel will not be an easy victory.  The fourth club, CFR Cluj, is a Romanian club that under new ownership in the 2000s has found success after being a second division team most of their history.  Roma fans will remember this club as the one in 2008 that came to Rome and won 2-1 in the Champions League.  I expect Roma to advance, but to have to battle the entire way.

My prediction is that all three Serie A clubs will advance, one in first and two in second.  But what do you think?  Tell us in the comments section, in the poll below, and on Twitter @roberthayjr

Maicon knocks in the second goal

What more could you ask for from the home club?

Inter Milan convincingly beat what many have called the world’s greatest soccer team yesterday with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona.  The match was controversial from the start, as Barcelona endured a 10 hour bus ride to Milan because the European airspace was still mostly closed.

Despite what had to have been an uncomfortable ride, Barcelona struck first.  The simply named Pedro took a pass from Maxwelland buried it in the back of the net for an early lead in the 19th minute.  The crowd, knowing what Barca had done at the Emirates in the previous round, had to have been rather uncomfortable, especially since for the rest of the first half Lionel Messi was quiet but threatening.  Their discomfort was increased when Inter missed a few good chances from Diego Milito to even the score.

That equalizer came in the 30th minute when Milito decided that if he couldn’t put the ball past Victor Valdes, Wesley Sneijder on the wing could and did.  Inter went ahead for good in the 48th minute when Milito again garnered an assist, this time to Maicon from close range.  The man of the match finally got his goal in the 61st minute, closing out the scoring and giving Inter a comfortable cushion in aggregate goals.

Barcelona’s defense was inadequate yesterday and too often left attackers unmarked.  Barcelona needs at least two goals to advance and although they have to be favored at home, Inter Milan has put themselves in an excellent position to advance.  They probably could not have expected a better result, and as such may be the slight favorite to advance to the Champions League finals.

Serie A’s lone representative in the Champions League advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-0 aggregate win over a feisty CSKA Moscow club.  Their reward: facing probably the best team in the world, a Barcelona club that obliterated Arsenal yesterday at Camp Nou.

Inter did what it needed to do to advance in the tournament – play conservatively and not make stupid mistakes.  Wesley Sniejder’s goal in the sixth minute had Moscow under the gun very early, putting them down 2-0 on aggregate and 1-0 down on away goals.  Their quest to score two or more goals was further hindered by a second yellow card to Chidi Odiah for a stupid foul early in the second half.  Inter tightened their defense for a few fruitless home team attacks, and basically ran out the clock by dominating possession at the end of the match. 

Now the Nerazzurri will face a familiar foe.  Barcelona and Inter shared the same qualifying group in the fall last year and their two matches were quite competitive.  The clubs had a scoreless draw in the San Siro while Barcelona gained a 2-0 victory at the Camp Nou.  Inter owner Massimo Moratti has already proclaimed the desire for “revenge” for the loss, but one has to wonder if this is possible. 

Barcelona seems to be hitting its stride in the Champions League.  Their 4-1 defeat of Arsenal yesterday (or maybe more accurately, Lionel Messi’s 4-1 victory over Arsenal) was an utter domination.  After Bendtner’s early notch, Arsenal never could pull together a legitimate threat.  Legitimately, you can claim this was partly due to the decimated Arsenal backline, but Barca also dominated their 2-2 draw at Emirates.

April 20 at the San Siro cannot come soon enough.  In the interim, share your thoughts in the poll and comments section.

(polls)

A nice quiet weekend in Serie A.  Fortunately, there were no matches of interest and no controversy that came out of the matches.  Nothing unusual or interesting at all.

REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Or not.  In a weekend highlighted by the top two squads facing off, injuries to star players, and an odd mask celebration, let’s take a moment to look back on the insanity.

Nine is fine for Inter Milan

According to the poll at the end of my post, over 50% of you thought AC Milan would win by two goals or more.  If we’d have known Inter would have played most of the match with ten men, how high would the percentage have jumped?  Instead, it was i Nerazzurri who dominated the match despite Wesley Sneijder being sent off in the 26th minute and Lucio receiving a red card in second half stoppage time.  Marco Materazzi, the famous “victim” of the Zdane head butt in the World Cup, celebrated by mocking the Italian prime minister with a mask.  What a match.

Roma should enjoy its success

AS Roma’s 2-1 victory over Juventus may be its high point of the season.  Roma sees itself in third place, only two points behind AC Milan for second place.  But it also sees its new acquisition out for six weeks (Luca Toni) plus a daunting schedule ahead – while they have Inter and AC Milan at home, they have almost all of the top 10 clubs away.  Roma’s away record:  3-5-3 while allowing 17 goals.

Napoli hangs on to fourth

Napoli’s 2-0 win over Livorno moves them three points clear of Palermo (!) for the last Champions League spot.  However it took a penalty kick against a midfielder filling in for a keeper in the 90th minute to get the full three points.  They have a chance to prove they belong with three of their next five matches against Genoa, Inter and Roma – all at home.

Bari blew a good opportunity to gain points

Do you think Giampieo Ventura will have nightmares about Henry Gimenez?  Bari had an excellent chance (and an early goal) to take care of a relegation candidate in Bologna, but instead allowed two goals to Gimenez to fall into 11th place.  Bari has to learn the lesson – if you want to compete for a European competition spot, you have to win these type of matches.

photo: File Image | AFP

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 — Netherlands 1: 0 Scotland today at Hampden Park (here’s the minute-by-minute report).

As George Burley said, Scotland deserved at least something from the match at home in which they threatened the woodwork serially. The difficult loss ends Scotland’s chance of qualifying for South Africa’s pageant next summer.

I saw Wesley Sneijder in ice making his way to the club-house. Today he was replaced in the 77th minute by Rafeal van der Vaart.

Inter needn’t worry overmuch about his ice-taped right ankle. Reportedly in Eschede last week, he was stretchered off after scoring in what became the Netherlands’ 3-nil thrashing of Japan. X-rays proved the knock was not as bad as it looked and not severe enough to keep him out of the Dutch side today in Glasgow.

If anyone has a feed from today’s match, I’m sure many will enjoy this one in which Scotland will have felt the urgent need for a result, albeit without the inspirational James McFadden.