Fan v Fan: Internazionale-Juventus
11/26/2004 8:54:00 PM
This weekend sees one of the big games of Serie A – a Milan-Turin clash between Inter and Juventus. Both sides are doing well in the Champions League – but Juve lead the way in Serie A. Goal.com spoke to a fan from each team ahead of the game: for Inter, Danilo Pochini, and for Juve, Jamie Obertelli. Here’s what they think…
Goal: First of all, how do you feel about your side’s campaign so far? Have you been delighted or dismayed by it?
Danilo: Well obviously we can’t be satisfied about a season in which so far we’ve only won 6 games out of 18. The only positive aspects of this season are the early qualification to the next round of the Champions League, and the fact that we’re the only team in Europe not to have lost a game in any competition this season. But otherwise we have been frustratingly wasteful and almost indisciplined in the Serie A, particularly against weaker opposition. What you can say is that unlike past seasons we are playing good football on a more regular basis, only now we’re winning even less. There’s always something wrong at Inter, just when you think they’ve finally quit making their usual mistakes, they come up with all new ones.
Jamie: Naturally I’m delighted with their start to the season, what fan wouldn’t be? I can’t say I expected such a rapid improvement under Capello, but the performances have been outstanding.
Goal: Tactically, where do you think this match may be won or lost?
Danilo: Against Werder Bremen our defense appeared stronger than usual, so I think that if we keep it up in that aspect, we’re about three quarters of the way to winning this game. They say a game is won orm lost in midfield, but this time I believe the defences will be key, since both teams have playewrs upfront able to turn a game upside down in the blink of an eye.
Jamie: Inter have an awesome front line so the key will be Juve’s defence. If Capello’s boys can keep the likes of Adriano and Martins out then the Bianconeri should win it. With Inter’s dodgy defence Juve should find plenty of chances to score, but they must keep it tight at the back.
Goal: Which opposition player do you consider to be the greatest threat to your team in this clash?
Danilo: At the moment Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pavel Nedved are combining really well and their understanding will cause us more than a few problems, aside from the fact they’re both world-class players with an eye for goal.
Jamie: Adriano is one of the most fearsome strikers around and will be a major threat to Juve’s chances of taking all three points. I honestly can’t imagine Inter posing the same threat without him.
Goal: Who from your team should we keep a particular eye on here?
Danilo: I believe Dejan Stankovic is worth as much to us as Nedved to Juve. Last season Dejan was the best man on the pitch when this match was played, creating the first goal, provoking a penalty, and scoring the third. Leaving aside for the moment the usual Adriano, who will still be eager to show his worth after missing his first few games this season for Inter through suspension, we also have Obafemi Martins who has discovered that the Bianconeri are one of his favorite victims in the last season.
Jamie: Cannavaro will be up for this one after leaving Inter in the summer. Our defence has been watertight this season thanks to Fabio, something Inter cannot boast. It was madness to let him join us!
Goal: What are your side’s greatest strengths?
Danilo: Upfront we have a group of strikers that is the envy of everyone. Players like Adriano, Martins, and the criminally under-utilised Alvaro Recoba are the kind of players that people come to the stadium to see play. Of course we also have a great clutch of midfielders, in fact perhaps even too many, as it is impossible to tell right now what the Nerazzurri’s preferred first-choice line-up is. The only sure things seem to be Esteban Cambiasso and Stankovic.
Jamie: We may not be the most exciting team around, but Juve are certainly one of the most solid. The team looks unbeatable at the moment and gives very little away in midfield. I think the mentality has changed to as the players remember what it is to win even the victory is not essential. The players played for the pride of the shirt against Ajax, winning an unimportant game when already qualified.
Goal: And weaknesses?
Danilo: I refuse to say the most obvious thing, the defence, which has conceded 20 goals in the league so far. Individually, our defenders are still top-class. Rather, they don’t have a very good understanding between each other because they almost never find themselves together on the pitch in the same formation. This is mostly a fault of our coach, who also keeps turning over things in midfield as I said earlier. This lack of tactical identity, together with a confounding lack of determination in the most important moments, is what has led to an exaggerated 15-point gap between us and Juve.
Jamie: If there is any weakness at the moment it is up front. Whilst 1-0 results earn points, a little more flair could help us in tight games. Juve fans would like to see more goals scored, but we can’t really complain.
Goal: What do your lot typically think of their lot?
Danilo: We know inside ourselves they’re a strong team and that they think we’re pathetic in comparison. But we hold on to the thought that the day we will win the Scudetto again, the celebrations will be a hundred times louder and more exuberant all over Italy than if they win it. And that is something even they can’t deny. It’s the best way to get them off your back, and it also works for Milan fans.
Jamie: I do find it funny that every year Inter fans feel that it will be their year. Every year they are convinced that the right players have arrived, or that their new manager will bring success.
Goal: What single thing irritates you most about them?
Danilo: Almost too many things to mention. They have a reputation for getting wins by any means necessary, sometimes means not strictly connected with showing good football on the pitch. Everyone knows they were a bunch of druggies in the mid-’90s and in Holland they’re even talking about the possibility of taking back the Champions League trophy Ajax lost to Juventus in the 1996 final. Inter could perhaps do the same for the 1998 scudetto, which they narrowly lost out on. And of course they are also intensely hated because of the embarassing intimidation they cause with certain referees, and Inter hate them even more because it has repeatedly happened against them that Juve have been favoured by the refs.
Jamie: Inter seem to waste and destroy so much talent. The answer isn’t to keep buying the best players around and then replacing them. So many players have benefited from moving away from Inter. Cannavaro is the most recent player to realize this. How can a team with Vieri, Recoba, Adriano, Martins and co not win anything?
Goal: And what do you grudgingly admire?
Danilo: Their luck, their ability to squeeze out a result and to slow down and control a game to their convenience, which is completely beyond our capabilities. I saw them play against Ajax and it wasn’t pretty for sure but effective as hell. They are perhaps the world’s specialists at winning ugly and obviously they have a very powerful society and sporting directors and had a very smart summer transfer period. They are in every way the anti-Inter.
Jamie: Their squad is probably the best in World football. Inter have always had the best players around and this year is no exception. Adriano is awesome and will become the best striker in the World. I wish Juve had Adriano!
Goal: What’s your fondest memory of past clashes against them?
Danilo: Last season for the first time in a decade we took six points off them, and deservedly. In both occasions we didn’t really play fantastic football, it was them who played very poorly. But certainly winning on their pitch 3-1 after losing on our own 5-1 by Arsenal, around the same time last year, was quite special and hard to forget.
Jamie: It wasn’t a particular performance, but beating them in the title race on the last day of the season. That must have hurt.
Goal: What do you think the score of this match will be?
Danilo: I think basically everyone in Italy is backing Inter to win against Juve, except of course the bianconeri supporters themselves. If Inter can maintain their concentration for 90 minutes, and that’s a big "if", they have the quality to beat their arch-rivals simply because, as they showed last season when they won twice, they are a stronger team. Realistically I would predict a 1-1 or 0-0 draw, but Inter have shown character in recent games and will be determined to demonstrate they don’t deserve to stand 15 points behind their rivals. 1-0 for Inter (It would be the first time we would win by that score this season).
Jamie: 3-1 to Juve. I can’t see their defenders keeping us out. Inter should score as they are a great attacking team but I don’t think that will be enough.
source: goal.com