Serie A Week 1: Mourinho's Grand Entrance Spoiled By Delvecchio (Inter – Sampdoria: 1-1)
August 31st 2008 04:01
The Italian Calcio kicked off yesterday with a surprise result when Sampdoria got a draw against Jose Mourinho's Internazionale Milano. The Great One's arrival in Italian football had been the talk of the summer (along with Ronaldinho's signing), and people couldn't wait to see what he would do with three-times defending champions Inter.
As is the case in Italian football, the match was a tactical battle between the two teams - Sampdoria used Cassano as a roaming forward while Inter opted for technical skills on the flanks with Mancini and Figo supporting Ibrahimovic in front. Injury problems among Milan's defenders forced Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso to play alongside Marco Materazzi.
The first quarter of the game was marked by Sampdoria making long-range shots on goal while Milan 's attacks came mostly from the flanks. When Sampdoria tried to pierce Milan's backline, their man of choice was Cassano who spent the first half running from wing to wing. Inter's backline was solid though. Cambiasso's anticipation of the play often stopped Sampdoria's attack from entering its final phase, subsequently relieving the pressure around Inter's 18-yard box.
The first goal came at the 32nd minute after a nice one-two between Ibrahimovic and Mancini. The midfielder's one-touch pass sent the Swedish striker through, and his weak strike to the far post fooled Sampdoria's goalkeeper who didn't move on the play. With a one-goal lead, the visitors started to ease up the pressure in midfield, letting Sampdoria come to them. The result came at the 67th minute when Delvecchio recuperated a loose ball in the 6-yard box to hammer home the equalizer. Inter were stunned. After all, their defense was holding up, how could this happen? Three minutes later, Cassano had a potential winning-goal at the tip of his foot while on a breakaway, but he was unable to properly control the ball, and Materazzi desperate toe-poke took it away from him.
In an effort to get his team back into attack-mode, Mourinho proceeded to three substitutions taking out Figo, Mancini, and Muntari, and replacing them by attack-minded players – strikers Balotelli and Crespo, and attacking midfielder Jimenez. Unfortunately, the three strikers (Balotelli, Ibrahimovic, and Crespo) never found a connection in the last fifteen minutes of the game, and the result stayed the same with each team picking up a point after this encounter.
In the end, this was a hard-fought match. Neither team deserved to lose, it's only fitting that it ended in a draw.
Inter - Sampdoria Highlights
Inter Milan's line-up: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Esteban Cambiasso, Marco Materazzi, Maxwell; Javier Zanetti, Dejan Stankovic, Sulley Ali Muntari (Hernan Crespo, 71st); Luis Figo (Luis Jimenez, 71st), Mancini (Mario Balotelli, 63rd); Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
As is the case in Italian football, the match was a tactical battle between the two teams - Sampdoria used Cassano as a roaming forward while Inter opted for technical skills on the flanks with Mancini and Figo supporting Ibrahimovic in front. Injury problems among Milan's defenders forced Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso to play alongside Marco Materazzi.
The first quarter of the game was marked by Sampdoria making long-range shots on goal while Milan 's attacks came mostly from the flanks. When Sampdoria tried to pierce Milan's backline, their man of choice was Cassano who spent the first half running from wing to wing. Inter's backline was solid though. Cambiasso's anticipation of the play often stopped Sampdoria's attack from entering its final phase, subsequently relieving the pressure around Inter's 18-yard box.
The first goal came at the 32nd minute after a nice one-two between Ibrahimovic and Mancini. The midfielder's one-touch pass sent the Swedish striker through, and his weak strike to the far post fooled Sampdoria's goalkeeper who didn't move on the play. With a one-goal lead, the visitors started to ease up the pressure in midfield, letting Sampdoria come to them. The result came at the 67th minute when Delvecchio recuperated a loose ball in the 6-yard box to hammer home the equalizer. Inter were stunned. After all, their defense was holding up, how could this happen? Three minutes later, Cassano had a potential winning-goal at the tip of his foot while on a breakaway, but he was unable to properly control the ball, and Materazzi desperate toe-poke took it away from him.
In an effort to get his team back into attack-mode, Mourinho proceeded to three substitutions taking out Figo, Mancini, and Muntari, and replacing them by attack-minded players – strikers Balotelli and Crespo, and attacking midfielder Jimenez. Unfortunately, the three strikers (Balotelli, Ibrahimovic, and Crespo) never found a connection in the last fifteen minutes of the game, and the result stayed the same with each team picking up a point after this encounter.
In the end, this was a hard-fought match. Neither team deserved to lose, it's only fitting that it ended in a draw.
Inter - Sampdoria Highlights
Inter Milan's line-up: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Esteban Cambiasso, Marco Materazzi, Maxwell; Javier Zanetti, Dejan Stankovic, Sulley Ali Muntari (Hernan Crespo, 71st); Luis Figo (Luis Jimenez, 71st), Mancini (Mario Balotelli, 63rd); Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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