MOURINHO : "I have a friend in the volcano."
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INTER MILAN VS BARCELONA (First Leg)
- LIVE @ Singtel Football Frenzy Channel 61
- 2.45 AM ** LATER **
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Inter Milan Form Guide
A two-legged blockbuster tie against the best team on the planet was always going to stretch Inter Milan to their vigilant best.
Nevertheless, buoyed by a resolute 2-0 win over Juventus in the Derby D’Italia which put their Serie A title challenge firmly back on track after an almighty wobble in recent weeks, the Italian champions will feel now is the time to end their 45-year wait for a third European crown.
Recollections of previous encounters with Barcelona however do not bode well. Outplayed in the group stages at the San Siro before being arraigned 2-0 at the Camp Nou, it is not difficult to see why the Nerazzurri start the clash as underdogs.
Coach Jose Mourinho will say he cares not, but his lugubrious expression suggests that it is on his mind.
Barcelona Form Guide
After a well-deserved 2-0 win over eternal rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico, Barcelona were brought back down a peg or two after being held 0-0 by city neighbours Espanyol.
"We will go all out to win the game, as always," midfielder Sergio Busquets told Spanish daily AS. "This is a decisive stretch of the season, we are in a semi-final of the Champions [League] and we will go for it," he added.
Past Encounters Between the two Sides
In football’s very own version of a twist in the tail, the tie will be suffused with past connections, as well as former team-mates in Samuel Eto’o, Maxwell and Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to their old stomping grounds.
The reappearance of Los Cules’ most detested man after Luis Figo and Florentino Perez – Jose Mourinho, whose previous battles with the Spanish champions whilst manager of Chelsea has not been forgotten in a hurry, will be interesting for the neutral.
Send the kids to bed early, lock the doors, grab a cold beer and tune in with zeal for a potential European classic!
Team News:
Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho is set to start with attacking trio of Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito as the Nerazzurri attempt to create a buffer zone between themselves and their hosts in the first-leg.
Only backup goalkeeper Francesco Toldo and full-back Davide Santon are unavailable for the Italian champions.
Despite making a six-hour round trip to Milan by coach, apart from defender Gerard Pique, full-back Eric Abidal and midfielder Andres Iniesta, Barcelona have no injury worries to contend with. Captain Carles Puyol returns to the first-eleven after being suspended for the second leg against Arsenal.
Likely Line-ups:
Inter Milan (4-2-1-3): Julio Cesar, Maicon, Samuel, Chivu, Zanetti; Cambiasso, Stankovic; Sneijder; Pandev, Milito, Eto'o.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes, Dani Alves, Milito, Puyol, Maxwell, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Henry.
Prediction:
Inter Milan 2-1 Barcelona
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suay sia cannot take plane
so one bus
suspect draw -
i also think will draw..but hopefully not a 0 goals match..
both Milito on the field? 1 defender 1 striker.. wa lol..
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Difficult to tell..... I like mourinho, but its sucide to bet against messi
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Originally posted by TTFU:
Difficult to tell..... I like mourinho, but its sucide to bet against messi
yea...he is the man to be feared... inter would be holland dude Sneijder
dontknow eto will shine ornot.
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1 -1 for sure.............i always correct when i don't bet............
Julio Cesar put Inter ahead, Valdes equalize for Barca................LOL
Milito will put Inter ahead in 27th min...............Ibrahimovic equalize in 57th min..................
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Is Julio Cesar the Brazil no.1 keeper now? Heurelho Gomes got chance to make it to South africa or not? He has improved so much this season i feel he deserve to be in the world cup squad. For the match 2nite, i will be rooting for inter to cause an upset.
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no chance for gomes since the Roma keeper is no. 2 i think................hope Inter win also and many players injured so Roma win title and also Bayern can win the final................
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i will say this.. Barca has the chance to end this tie tonight..Where as Inter will need to play well in both legs to stand a chance.
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Tip Inter Milan win 2-1 in 1st-leg
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if barce cant win... they will force a draw.. and they are very good at this.
less than 6 hrs !
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Barca did not do well over the weekend, managing only to hold dervy rivals Espanyol to a goal-less draw. They sent their best team out except Ibra and had Dani Alves sent off.
Inter, on the other hand, is high on spirit after defeating title pretender and arch-rivals Juventus 2-0.
With Barca having to travel 2 days on the bus just to play Inter and Inter Milan having the home advantage combine with Mourinho's tactical brilliance, i think Inter Milan would edge this by at least a goal.
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Originally posted by SGporkz:
i also think will draw..but hopefully not a 0 goals match..
both Milito on the field? 1 defender 1 striker.. wa lol..
they brothers leh
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bro def bro
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yea thats why... bro vs bro.. what happen when inter M comes in and barce M say ok im going to let u pass..only this time!
HAHA
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barce ahead by 1
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ahhh 1 - 1 snejdier
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maicon for inter!
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ho seh liao... Militto in blue score.. 3-1 to inter
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3-1..
tio hammer sia
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full time...~ wa....shocking comeback from inter...
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Originally posted by ChoCoChips:
3-1..
tio hammer sia
yea...barce got hammer hard. players all like no strenght like that... messi n ibra from barce.. eto from inter kanna mark real bad. whole match nth from them.
inter def v good ...
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Dont worry lah, nou camp 4-0 no problem