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What: Serie A - Matchday 18
Who: Inter (1st, 42 points) vs Cagliari (13th, 21 points)
When: Saturday 9 January 2009, 20:30 CET
Where: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
Exciting New Year For Inter
Jose Mourinho’s Inter could hardly be entering 2009 in more confident mood. Going into Serie A’s winter break, they earned eight consecutive victories and they currently hold an impressive six-point lead over Juventus on top of the table. True, their latest victory away to Siena was highly controversial, as Maicon’s second goal was a couple of metres offside, but overall Inter’s domestic season so far has confirmed they are the team to beat in Italy.
It took a little while, but the Special One seems to have finally found his first choice starting XI and formation, after trying his preferred 4-3-3 system at the start, with mostly disappointing results. New arrivals Ricardo Quaresma and Amantino Mancini buckled under the pressure time and time again up front, so Mourinho eventually reverted to the more efficient 4-4-2 system used by his predecessor Roberto Mancini, and since then Inter have been unstoppable in Serie A.
However, now comes a crucial moment in the season. At this point a year ago, the team suddenly suffered a drop in form, although it must be said they also had to cope with a slew of injuries. Key players such as defenders Ivan Cordoba and Walter Samuel, who have been rock-solid so far this season, and main man Zlatan Ibrahimovic were out for an extended period of time. Mourinho will hope he has all his best men available particularly for the Champions League knock-out tie against Manchester United, which is sure to produce fireworks as the former Chelsea coach will lock horns with an old rival in Sir Alex Ferguson.
Of course, the Serie A race should not be underestimated either. Juventus especially have shown they have the consistency necessary to keep up with the Nerazzurri, and six points is by no means an insurmountable gap, also considering that Inter nearly threw away an 11-point lead over Roma last season. As for Milan, they obviously have a huge potential and probably have the most skillful team of the whole Serie A, but so far they have not shown enough consistency and defensive solidity to be able to keep up their Scudetto challenge, and they are currently nine points behind.
On paper, Inter’s next few matches don’t look too daunting, and they will not be facing a "big" team until the derby on 15 February, by which time they will hope to have built on their nine-point lead over their city rivals. Aside from a defeat to Milan early in the season, the Nerazzurri’s form against the more prestigious teams has been very impressive, as they thrashed both Lazio and Roma away from home, and beat Palermo (away), Juventus, Napoli, and Udinese (all at home).
Still, they should not take the home match against Cagliari, Inter’s first of 2009, for granted, as the Sardinian team have been known to give them a hard time in the past, and they are currently on a highly impressive run of form.
Cagliari To Continue Where They Left Off?
After making a disastrous start to the season, losing their first five games on the trot, Cagliari have made huge improvements lately, and they have turned the Sant’Elia stadium into a nearly impregnable fortress. The likes of Sampdoria, Fiorentina, and Palermo all lost there recently, and so far Cagliari have only lost twice at home.
Like many relegation-battling sides, the Rossoblu build most of their survival hopes on their home form, but their away form has also been impressive lately. On their most recent trip, they gave Roma a huge scare, taking a 2-1 lead at the Stadio Olimpico after going behind, only to allow the Giallorossi to score two late goals (the second coming in injury time) and win the game at the death.
They also confirmed they are Napoli’s bogey team in their preceding away game, when they managed to steal a 2-2 draw at the San Paolo thanks to a 95th minute goal by Daniele Conti, who also made headlines in the match against Roma for scoring Cagliari’s equaliser with a screamer of a free kick. Daniele’s father and Roma sporting director Bruno did not look amused as the cameras zoomed in on him. Last season, Cagliari managed to beat Napoli both home and away, even though the Azzurri had an impressive season overall.
It’s curious to note that also last season Cagliari made a terrible start and got themselves into a hopeless position halfway through, but then they suddenly had a revival when coach Davide Ballardini, now at Palermo, arrived in January. This season, however, the team’s slump did not last as long and coach Massimiliano Allegri was allowed to stay on, and now he is repaying president Massimo Cellino’s trust.
If Cagliari are able to continue where they left off last year, and give a performance akin to the ones against Roma or Napoli, they will certainly be able to trouble Inter and make it a very interesting match.
FORM GUIDE
Inter
20/12 (Serie A): Siena-Inter 1-2
14/12 (Serie A): Inter-Chievo 4-2
09/12 (Champions League): Werder Bremen-Inter 2-1
06/12 (Serie A): Lazio-Inter 0-3
30/11 (Serie A): Inter-Napoli 2-1
Cagliari
21/12 (Serie A): Cagliari-Reggina 1-1
14/12 (Serie A): Roma-Cagliari 3-2
07/12 (Serie A): Cagliari-Palermo 1-0
30/11 (Serie A): Cagliari-Sampdoria 1-0
23/11 (Serie A): Napoli-Cagliari 2-2
TEAM NEWS
Inter
Patrick Vieira is still out injured, while Maicon is suspended.
Possible formation (4-3-1-2): Julio Cesar; Santon, Cordoba, Samuel, Maxwell; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari; Stankovic; Ibrahimovic, Adriano.
Cagliari
Defenders Paolo Bianco and Diego Lopez are both out suspended.
Possible formation (4-3-1-2): Marchetti; Pisano, Canini, Astori, Agostini; Fini, Conti, Biondini; Cossu; Acquafresca, Jeda.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Adriano (Inter)
The next five months will probably represent the 26-year-old’s very last chance at Inter. Once again this season, the Brazilian has shown a lack of professionalism off the pitch with his partying shenanigans, just when it seemed he would be able to make a new start under Jose Mourinho. The latest example of this was his failure to turn up for the first training session of the new year, and he has duly been fined by the club for this. In spite of Adriano’s persisting discipline problems, he has given a few decent performances so far this season, and was one of Inter’s best players in the 1-0 victory against Juventus according to Mourinho, which gives some hope for the future.
Robert Acquafresca (Cagliari)
The 21-year-old Inter youth product is proving himself to be a decent striker, having scored five goals so far this season, after reaching a respectable tally of 10 goals last term in his debut Serie A campaign. The Under-21 international certainly looks like he has the potential to be an important player in the future, especially considering he is already one of Cagliari’s leaders despite his young age.
PREDICTION
The first game of the new year can be tricky, but Inter have a near-full squad available, and anything less than a home-win would be a major surprise.
Inter 2- 0 Cagliari
