So often in American sports you hear of super agents like Scott Boras and Drew Rosenhaus who are more famous then some of their clients. In European football, agents play a big part, but you rarely hear from them or see who they are. Over the past few years, probably the football agent that has gotten the most publicity has been Mino Raiola. Raiola was Pavel Nedved’s agent back in the day, and most notably nowadays he’s the agent of players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli. This summer was arguably his biggest summer, where he managed to take Balotelli away from Inter and to Manchester City, and bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to Italy with Milan. Raiola’s story is pretty interesting, and here it is:

Because Mino (real name Carmine) Raiola get’s a lot of publicity in Italy you may think he’s Italian. And yes, he’s obviously Italian. But what you may not know is that he really isn’t that Italian at all, he’s born and raised Dutch. Raiola was born in Nocera Inferiore (provincia di Salerno) but when he was one years old his family immigrated to Haarlem in the Netherlands, where they opened an Italian restaurant. So Raiola grew up in the Netherlands, and even played for Haarlem’s football club until he was 18 when he decided that playing football wasn’t for him. He had another talent: making deals. Raiola had met many players throughout his childhood, because many of them would be at his parent’s restaurant many times a week. At the young age of 18 in 1986, he was named head of Haarlem’s youth system. From there, he decided to become a football agent, and from there his career took off.

So, Raiola isn’t an Italian agent, he’s licensed and registered in the Netherlands, and works for Amsterdam-based firm Macguire Tax and Legal, which has offices in Brazil, Montecarlo (where Raiola lives), and the Czech Republic (that’s how he got Nedved) as well. Raiola also speaks 6 languages, and always apologizes that his Italian isn’t perfect. Raiola however has always had a connection with the country of his birth. In 1993, he was the one that brought Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp to Inter. He then brought Pavel Nedved to Italy, first to Lazio and then Juve, where he forged a relationship with Luciano Moggi. Because of this relationship, his client Zlatan Ibrahimovic wound up at Juve in 2004 instead of other destinations. In the summer of 2009, when Ibra wanted out of Inter, Raiola went to work and managed to get him a megamillion dollar move to Barcelona (as well as his other client Maxwell).

This past year, Raiola managed to acquire the services of Mario Balotelli. As soon as the news broke out, Inter fans everywhere knew this was trouble. And it was. Balotelli wanted out, and Raiola found a new destination for the emerging Italian star: Manchester City. Then came the Ibrahimovic deal to Milan, which Raiola calls “the greatest deal he ever made”. He managed to talk Barcelona down from an asking price of around 60 million euro to a one year loan with buy out clause of only 24 million euro (that’s only twice the price of Jorge Martinez!). Milan admired his work so much that when they went to get Robinho on the last day, they sent Raiola to Manchester to negotiate the deal with Manchester City. And how do you think that worked out? Robinho to Milan.

This certainly won’t be the last you hear of Mino Raiola, who is quickly becoming football’s supreme super agent. For now his job is easy since the transfer market is closed, but once January rolls around, get ready to see him in the press again.

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This isn’t really worthy of a whole post, but it’s a slow news day and this shocked me.

When players get transferred, they all undergo medicals by their new clubs to ensure that they are fit. This is often how any kind of problem is found, such as Lilian Thuram’s heart problem which ended his career and move to PSG in 2008. Usually, these medicals last a few hours, never more than a day, and the player is announced as an official signing.

Well, Juventus have clearly heard about Alberto’s past injury problems. So they’re testing him incredibly thoroughly for his upcoming move to the club. His medical so far has been a whopping 6 hours, and it’s still not over. It’s going over to a second day, which is fairly uncommon as far as I know. To put that in perspective, Aaron of the Juve offside reports that Krasic’s medical took 1 hour and 40 minutes.

This may just be one of the longest medicals in football history. At least the kid is ambitious.

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After seeing Liverpool and Torres play today, this little newsbite from Roberto Mancini doesn’t seem as ridiculous. Though it still does seem slightly ridiculous.

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And finally, best of luck to Sampdoria tomorrow. They have a tricky task at home, needing to overturn a 3-1 first leg loss. Cassano will have to be much more effective than last game, whilst Pazzini will just have to keep doing what he does best. The defense will also have to put the first leg behind them and focus on being watertight. Out of everyone, though, I think this will be Curci’s time to shine. He’s due a big game in net.

Although you wouldn’t know it to look at Inter. Sure, we finally concluded that whole Balotelli affair, but the incoming players have been few and far between. To make matters worse, today is Ferragosto and most of Italy is either at the beach or in the mountains this week. Except football players, that is. Inter’s are hard at work getting ready for the Italian Super Cup, and while they looked ok against Juve, that Milan game showed there is still a bit of work to do.

First, some good news:

The UEFA Club Football Awards nominees have been announced and Inter figures prominently.

• UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year
Júlio César (FC Internazionale Milano)
Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyonnais)
Víctor Valdés (FC Barcelona)

• UEFA Club Defender of the Year
Lúcio (FC Internazionale Milano)
Maicon (FC Internazionale Milano)
Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona)

• UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year
Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona)
Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München)
Wesley Sneijder (FC Internazionale Milano)

• UEFA Club Attacker of the Year
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Diego Milito (FC Internazionale Milano)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC)

Plus, one of these nominees will also win the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year 2010. Winners will be announced during the Champions League group stage draw on Thursday, August 26.

Is he good enough to beat out Messi?

A quick look though the list shows that the competition is quite stiff, except for maybe in the Defender category. I just dont see how either Maicon or Lucio doesn’t walk away with this (I bet it will be Maicon). As much as I love Julio Cesar, I think Lloris will be awarded Best Goalkeeper (although I still want JC to win anyway). The Midfield category is particularly tough. The buzz around Sneijder is huge right now, though, so I think he has a pretty good shot at this.

Best forward will probably go to Messi. Really, Milito could score 10 goals in the CL final and this award would still go to Messi. It is just the way of the world. I feel badly for Milito as this may be his last year to really garner the recognition he deserves but there is just no way to compete with Saint Messi.

Similarly, Lionel Messi is the bookie’s favorite to win the Player of the Year. Even so, when I look at the Champions League campaigns of Bayern Municu, Barcelona, and Inter, I think that both Robben and Sneijder where more influential and important to their teams than Messi was to Barcelona. Which is not to say he isn’t a very talented player, only that Robben and Sneijder were more decisive for their respective teams. Put another way, Inter and Bayern need Sneijder and Robben more than Barcelona needs Messi. It doesn’t matter though. Messi will probably win. As I said, it is just the way of the world.

MARKET RUMORS

It may not look like it, but Inter is still actively working the market. Balotelli is gone – we knew he would be – while Maicon is staying. I think this is largely a function of the new 1 non EU from outside Italy rule. Inter was in negotiations with that Uruguayan right back (Aguirregaray) but had to abandon the deal because we already had Coutinho coming in. If that rule had not been implemented, I think Maicon would be a Real Madrid player right now.

As for Balotelli, it is really for the best. He wont be subjected to monkey chants when he goes out to dinner with friends and journalists wont be waiting by the gates of the training facility to see if he is on time for practice. Still, if he thinks that Manchester City fans wont jeer him for being lazy or divey or for disrespecting the team colors, he has another thing coming. In the end, though, I think this will be a growing experience for Mario – whether it is positive or not is entirely up to him. I will gladly admit that I am disappointed that things did not work out for him at Inter. Also, that I will miss him next season. Even so, if he couldn’t bond with his teammates at Inter last season then it will never happen and for everyone’s sanity, he needed to move on. I hope he knocks them dead in England.

Good luck on your new adventure, Mario.

Now that the whole Mario drama is over though, Branca can turn his mind to more important things, namely Balotelli’s replacement. According to SkySport, the newest name is some relatively unknown Danish kid named Morten Nicolas Rasmussen. He is 25, a Danish international, and plays his club football for Celtic. Ok, hands up: who has ever heard of this guy? Cause I actually saw Celtic play this summer (against the Sounders) and I dont remember him at all.

Nope, the picture doesn’t help – I still dont know who Morten Rasmussen is.

Besides, one wonders if this isn’t just entirely pulled out of SkySport’s ass given that he just joined Celtic last January and his bio on their web page says: “The Danish internationalist is an old-school, penalty-box striker and is viewed as a major part of Tony Mowbray’s long-term plans.” Plus, given the recent arrest warrant issued for him, he may not be at liberty to leave Scotland. (ok, it was only for speeding, but still, missing his court date doesn’t look good).

Sculli seems like he is coming to Inter. I dont really understand why, but there you go. He has reportedly bought a house in Milan and will make the move later this week. At 5 million euro, he is certainly easy on the pocketbook, but I just dont see him as a player for a club with high aspirations. I guess he seems like settling to me and the really great clubs never seem to have to settle. It is a little frustrating.

Really? We just won the triple and this is the best guy we can pull? Really? Yikes.

In terms of midfielders, Mascherano and Ledesma are still on Branca’s list. Last week it looked like Mascherano was well on his way to Barcelona but then the offer failed to materialize. Even though both Liverpool and Macherano himself say he is on the way out, but a 25 million euro price tag is just too much for this season’s market.

Since Barcelona did not make the big offer Liverpool were angling for, it may be they are willing to consider 10 million plus Muntari. That is all well and good, certainly more reasonable, but I think it will be difficult to pry Muntari out of his “second family,” as he has taken to calling Inter. The big test will come this Thursday. If Mascherano plays in Liverpool’s Europa League qualifier against Trabzonspor then he will be cup tied and his transferability will go down quite a bit. Basically, if he is cup tied, he is no use to either Inter or Barcelona.

Ledesma’s name has cropped back up again. Word is that he and Lazio are having trouble coming to terms for his renewal so offers are now being accepted. Sportitalia say that Juve have offered 5 million euro but Lotito wants 10. As I say, much depends on what happens Thursday with Mascherano. Also, Lotito is still angry about that whole Pandev deal last winter so may not be too keen on dealing with Inter.

Going the other way, we still have a bit of a bloated squad. Burdisso will probably go to Roma next week (after the super cup) for 6.5 million. With interest from Chelsea, 5 million is just too far below his market value of 7.5 million to really consider.

What is the consensus? Is Obinna ready to make the jump to Inter?

Others on the out list include Rivas, Obi, Mancini, Kerlon, Suazo, and Obinna. Obinna has made no bones about it – he wants to stay. Certianly he is playing like a lad looking for a spot on the team. What do we think, is he ready for the big leagues? He isn’t getting any younger so if not now, maybe never. At this point, I am willing to take up a collection to pay a team to take Mancini or Rivas. Better yet, Mancini and Rivas. That may be the only way to scrape the two of them off. Kerlon is horribly injured and back in Brazil for treatment. He is likely unsellable. Obi is looking pretty good and Branca should have no trouble finding him a loan deal some where or other. Same with Obinna (if he goes). Suazo needs to move on but I think his wage demands are just too high for the type of club he would excel in.

So, while there is nothing definite in terms of incoming players, there are irons in the fire and Branca certainly has his work cut out for him finding suckers teams to take our growing cast of extras.

GETTING READY FOR ROMA

The boys are back in training today in the final push to get ready for Roma and the Super Cup. They have a small game against the youth squad tomorrow as Rafa wants to try some tactics. I have to say, the lads look like they need a little sharpening up as well. Sure, that 45 against Juve was passable, but the second 45 against Milan was horrific. Basically, I want to win this game so the squad better get cracking!

Santon is back training with the squad (hooray), as is Zanetti (you just cant keep him down). Mancini, Thiago Motta, Muntari, and Alibec had individual sessions. Thiago Motta has some sort of knee injury. He would like to be available for the Italian super cup, but it is iffy. Mancini is better off unavailable than actually playing.

Well, I guess that is all the news/rumors.

Dont forget to enter my contest (detail are here), there are prizes and everything.

FORZA INTER

Now the Inter squad is taking up flying.

You can’t begin something new without ending something to make room for it. Today officially became the day that the club ended it’s relationship with one of it’s younger contributors and biggest distraction. Mario had a tenuous at best relationship with the fans of Inter. And while no one doubted his potential, plenty doubted his loyalty to his teammates, the team and those that supported both.

The Trofeo TIM is usually the last “friendly” that Inter engages in before the real games start, sort of. The SuperCoppa isn’t really a real game, but it’s the overture to the season.

Mario Balotelli finally left Inter in what was about the most protracted transfer saga I can remember. Is he a good player? Yep. Is he more potential than substance right now? Yep. Is he a distraction to the team? Yeah, things have worked out that way, whether he wanted it to or not. As it is, he can’t blow his nose without the media getting all over him and putting the club on the front page of all the newspapers and proving a distraction. I don’t think that very many of the team itself really didn’t like him until the very end. At the end of last season it was “don’t leave us Maicon and Mario” from the players. This summer it’s “don’t leave us… Maicon”.

Some might say that he’s better off. He might be, but the truth of the matter is that if he stayed he would have been a part of something special. Now all he’s just a part of the BPL and Man City. He got the raise that he couldn’t wait for. I would like to see what happens to this situation in a couple of years.

Trofeo TIM

Game one:

Inter 1 – Juventus 0

Inter: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Materazzi, Chivu, Cambiasso, Nwankwo, Obinna, Sneijder (25’), Pandev, Eto’o.

We started the day against Juventus in a 4231 with Cambiasso and Nwankwo in the “2” and Obinna, Sneijder and Pandev in the “3”.

What we learned about Inter:

If we were to assume that this mini-game is a harbinger of things to come – and there really isn’t – then we can assume three things will change from last year in addition to the coach and the players – faster pace to the game, more one or two touch short passing and more possession. Obinna terrorized the Juventus back left forcing Pepe to run the length of the field several times. Cambiasso looked in command as a holder and director of the action and Sneijder gave good account despite this being his first action for the team this august. Lucio and Sneijder played a full 45 for the first time this august. Pandev looked good, but we shouldn’t be too surprised. He essentially joined the team off the street last season and this is a chance for him to have a full offseason of training behind him. Nwankwo looked good in that there were no obvious mistakes for the primavera player. It’s a heartening showcase but I expect this player to be back on the Primavera before too long if for no other reason his name is a pain to spell.

I don’t think that it can be argued that we controlled possession and position for the duration of the 45. We used the width with our wingers but there was attack from up the middle as Sneijder’s goal at 25 minutes can attest to. Again the score isn’t really the issue here… we looked sharp, the passes looked more on target than they had the week previous and we got quality time to players that we expect to use a lot. I just want to mention this again – Obinna looked very useful.

Game Two:

Inter 0 – Milan 0 (3-2)

Penalties: Milito (I) goal, Flamini (M) miss, Mancini (I) miss, Inzaghi (M) miss, Coutinho (I) goal, Oddo (M) goal, Obi (I) goal, Huntelaar (M) goal, Stankovic (I) miss, Ronaldinho (M) miss.

Inter: Castellazzi, Maicon (17′ Natalino), Cordoba, Materazzi (17′ Benedetti), Biraghi, Stankovic, Nwankwo (35′ Obi), Biabiany, Coutinho, Mancini, Milito.

This game went at a much slower pace than the first one. We still had a lot of possession. We still used a lot of short passes. It seemed to me like we poured the offense through Coutinho quite a bit. I was encouraged at how many chances in front of the goal we had. I was also encouraged overall at how many of our youngsters we were able to use and still be very competitive against the mix of Milan starters, second choice and youngsters. Overall, I think it was a pretty forgettable game. It seemed to me that Mancini has gotten worse from last season…which I wouldn’t have thought was humanly possible. When is his contract up, again? Am I going to have to go through an entire season of making fun of him, of hating him more than I do already? Isn’t there family that this joke has in Brazil that he’s homesick for and just has to go back and see? Or have they seen him play too…

Disturbing signs

Samuel, Mariga, Muntari and Motta didn’t play today. Anyone heard what’s the deal with Motta? I haven’t heard anything about him this summer.

FORZA INTER

Lots going on today in the world of FC Internazionale Milano, besides my kick-ass contest (dont forget to enter), that is. First, Rafa has taken a squad down to Bari for the Tropheo TIM tomorrow. This mini-tournament (of doom) will be our first chance to scope out the potential competition. Plus, I think the 24 men Rafa has called up deserve a good looking over because many of them may well end up in our 2010/2011 squad.

What: Trofeo TIM, Inter v Juve v Milan
Where: Stadio San Nicola, Bari
When: Friday, August 13, 8:45pm local time (11:45am pacific, 2:45pm eastern)
How to Watch: I think we will all have to find streams. Try: MyP2P, Rojadirecta, Ustream, and ATDHE.net

First, a little background on the Trofeo TIM

This tournament has been around for 10 years now, and as far as I can tell, it is a marketing exercise. From the wiki:

The teams play 3 round-robin 45-minute matches. If any match ends in a draw, it is decided by a penalty shoot-out. Three points are awarded for a victory during regular play, with no points going to the loser. If the match is decided by penalties, the winner is awarded 2 points and the loser 1.

Last year, Juve won their first Trofeo TIM (something I predicted, by the way) which just goes to show that this friendly is utterly meaningless. Also, last year Cambiasso suffered a knee injury that required surgery (Yikes). He was out for a month. The year before, Marco Materazzi had a terrible injury that took him out for at least a month as well. My point is, this tournament scares the poop out of me — which player will it claim this year? I say, we all light candles to the calcio gods now, just in case. Hell, maybe throw in some incense and maybe a couple airline bottles of Baileys Irish Cream (which I am sure they have gotten a taste for by hanging out at the San Siro). Really, whatever it takes.

For the very curious (or the terribly bored), here are the highlights from Inter’s participation last year:

Juventus 1 -1 Inter, Juve win on penalties

Milan 0-1 Inter

Rafa Benitez has called up 24 players:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar, Castellazzi, Orlandoni.
Defenders: Cordoba, Lucio, Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel, Chivu, Biraghi (34)*, Benedetti (35)*, Natalino (57)*.
Midfielders: Stankovic, Sneijder, Cambiasso, Obi, Coutinho, Mancini, Nwankwo (40)*.
Strikers: Eto’o, Milito, Pandev, Obinna, Biabiany.

*Youth player, shirt number in parenthesis

You will notice there are some absences: Alibec, Thiago Motta, Muntari, Santon, Suazo, and Zanetti trained apart today and will not be risked for this trip. In addition, Mariga is still off on international duty, Burdisso has been given a few days off, as has Balotelli. I think we have seen the last of Balotelli in black and blue.

The squad is starting to shape up

Rafa gave a short interview today about the tournament. He pointed out that many of our players were just on international duty while Sneijder has only been training for a few days. As for the game, he said:

“The idea is to try to play the ball more, to have more intensity in games, but remember that our two rivals will be two strong teams, I dont know it is will be possible to only play beautiful football.”

He also pointed out although Juve are well ahead of Inter in terms of training (they are already playing real games, after all), “…but when it comes to teams at this level you can not say anything before you play: football is something special a team can play well and then the other only makes a goal and it’s over. We, however, have quality and confidence, therefore we will play a good tournament. “

Alrighty then.

As I have said many times before, this is not my favorite friendly. I dont like its timing and I dont like the format. Still, I hope the team at least plays well together and no one gets hurt. I dont really care if we win (well, I would like to win one of the games). I would rather the team save themselves for the real games that are just around the corner. I want those super cups. Let Juve and Milan scrabble around for this meaningless trophy.

Oh, and in case you didn’t notice, shirt number are up on the Inter web page. As expected, Julio Cesar has taken the #1 jersey. Everyone else has their usual numbers. Only thing is, we have no #7. Hmmm maybe Branca is looking into that right now.

MARKET NONSENCE

The market is still rolling on. I think it is now a foregone conclusion that Mario is on the way out. Manchester City is now offering 28 million plus bonuses and Raiola says there has been a break though in the negotiations. My jersey curse continues.

It seems Inter’s interest in Mascherano may well finally be over. Barcelona have swooped in and hijacked the deal. Well, I guess I dont really mind so much. With Maicon staying we already have a pretty good defensive midfielder to partner Cambiasso in Javier Zanetti. Plus, I never really wanted to spend that much money on him. I will be interested to see who Branca scraped up to replace Balotelli. Oh, and I still think we need another full back.

As for Burdisso, it seems he will go to Roma but not before the Italian super cup. Inter doesn’t want him to spill any tactical secrets to the opposition. On the other side is Mancini. The problem there is that, well, there are no offers for him. I really dont want to get stuck with him again. Or Rivas. Suazo is very transferable but he is once again injured. Getting them off the books my take some work.

Well, that is about it.

Dont forget to enter the contest (details here).

FORZA INTER

Beppe Baresi still has it!

The squad will be returning to Italy this weekend. They will have a couple days off, then will start preparing for the Super Cup in earnest. Oh, there is this horrid little mini-tournament game thing they have to play in Bari first – the Tropheo TIM – but then it will be gettin’ down to business time. Oh, and lookie who finally showed up for training…(^)

Why does Orlandoni always look like he is moments from shouting “brains” and lurching around the room?

The team seemed to enjoy themselves in Dallas. Some of club staff (and Mrs. Moratti) took a little trip into town and visited the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play (it is brand spanking new, state of the art, and just what Inter needs back in Milan). I guess there was a little dress-up included in the tour.

Randomly, they also went to the grassy knoll… You know, the grassy knoll… of Kennedy fame.

I dont know, this just seems like a really strange place to go on vacation.

Back at the training center, though, things were getting frisky. First, everyone got their very own cowboy hat.

I wanna be a Cowboy baby, Ridin’ at night ’cause I sleep all day, Cowboy baby .

Then, there were team building exercises. I love team building. Plus, it is a chance for Marco and Deki to express how they really feel about each other without being made fun of (I do wonder how Chivu felt, though. He must have been so jealous). JC looks a little sheepish about the whole thing.

This photo actually made me giggle out loud when I saw it – at work.

It is not quite as fun as Mou making everyone carry their teammates piggy back, but it is a start. (I know he did it. I didn’t just make it up in my fevered brain. Too bad I cant find the photos now.)

Anyway, as I said, the team will have a couple days off then start work for the next (and last) preseason friendly, the Trofeo TIM.

First, I hate the Trofeo TIM. It has a stupid format plus someone always seems to get injured during it. Last year it was Cambiassio, the year before, it was Materazzi. It is cursed, I tell you. This year is especially ominous as it falls on Friday the 13th. We already have like 5 of these things – maybe lets give someone else a chance. I am always hearing how wonderful Roma is – perhaps they could take our place this year. Really, anyone or lets just forfeit. The game is going to be held in Bari – maybe the team could go to the beach instead of play. I bet gelato could even be worked in there somewhere. I should totally start a petition or something. Anything. Just lets not play this “mini-tournament” of doom.

Why does Maicon insist on torturing us this way?

After that, Inter has three games (real ones, mind you) in 9 days. Rafa was recently asked about this and his answer was sort of worrying:

In 9 days, from the 21st to the 30th of August, Inter must take on the UEFA Super Cup against Atletico Madrid, the Italian Super Cup against Roma and the league debut at Bologna. It is possible to arrive at these three stages with the true Inter?

“We will try. It will be a strong squad, but not the squad we all expect.”

WTF? Not the team we all expect? (”ma non la squadra che tutti aspettiamo.”)

Wow. That is not an entirely calming statement right there. So, which game are we going to blow off by fielding babies and crapsters like Mancini? ‘Cause I think we should really win all three.

Or do you suppose that means there will be some new faces…. Nah, how would Rafa know? He is the coach and in no way involved in transfers. Of course, he has come out and said that he really hopes that Inter keep Maicon around (”…he is clearly a player that we want, a very important player for us). Not so much for Balotelli. Our coach seems pretty well resigned with him going off to Manchester City. He had no such kind words for Mario. That boy is gone, solid gone.

You dont suppose…. I mean… The club isn’t thinking of keeping Nico, are they? Oh please no.

In other market news, there isn’t any. Well, in a round about sort of way there is. It seems Roma made 1.5 million of the sale of Guberti so may now finally have the cash for Nico.

In the “Where are they now” file, we find Jimenez in a really bad place. He has left Ternana’s training camp and is taking his family back to Chile. He says he is suffering psychologically and is going to sue Ternana because they will not work with him to find another buyer. Jimi’s agent says there have been offers from other clubs but Ternana’s president wont even return the agent’s calls. They were like this before – with Inter. It is all around a bad situation. I sincerely hope this works out in some positive way for him. The poor guy. I still want to know where the heck a C1 team came up with over 3 million euro in the first place.

Oh, and we have our opponent for the Club World Cup: Sport Club Internacional of Brazil. Yep. Inter will be playing… Inter. Classic.

Alrighty then, that’s about it. The boys are on their way back Italy and will resume training on Wednesday.

FORZA INTER

Ooooo. Julio Cesar is still looking good, I see.

The Dark Art (Muahahahahaha) is defending, which you would have known if you were unfortunate enough to watch the FSC televised game or fortunate enough to join us in an awesome liveblog hosted by the evergreen (hah, two in one!) Johonna.

So let this be a lesson to you, if you have a choice between cutting a lecture at school or watching a preseason friendly – go for the lecture. Trust me in this.

More… less really, if we are talking about actual, usable, quality content after the break.

But first, a Trapper Keeper, to organize and keep track of which forward gets to play as the lone striker on various days:

At the risk of more squicking, Diego Milito’s training vid with spanish subtitles.

¡Yo!

Okay, next will be actual video footage of the game “highlights” and I use that term loosely. Check out the del Piero-like dive (review “highlights” from las… any season, really, for reference if you need it) that gave Dallas the Juventus-like call. With that call they managed a draw in Milan-like manner, through a penalty.

Thoughts on this game:

-The forwards look good and by forwards I mean Milito and Eto’o. Eto’o, who apparently is only slightly more popular on this blog than refried slugs and roasted bunnies (YUM), scored again this preseason from a wonderful shot 30 meters out. Milito continued his trend of tapping in timely scores, although amazingly this time he used his forehead to knock in the goal.

- The “starting” defense did not look good. The quotes are for Maicon, since presumably he won’t be starting for us this season coming up. But he’s part of what I think of as the starting group still. And frankly, they didn’t look good in the World Cup either. I have a worrying tick that we are waiting one season too long to revamp the defense. Reinforcements are coming next season, but we might need them sooner than that.

- Mariga continues to impress. I get that he’s young, a full year 3 years or so younger than Mascherano. And I get that he has a much smaller CV. But man, it would be crime not to reward his hard work this off-season with some time on the field. If Maicon leaves, I suggest that we use his silky smooth running style and crunching tackles as a fullback, even though he really doesn’t have the technical skill to work on the sidelines. Yeah, it’s a bit of a man crush…

- Good to see Santon on the field. He looks rusty but the aggression is still there. He pushes up and gets fouls. His defence needs relearning.

- Some people last night asked what was missing from the team. It’s Wesley. We are missing Sneijder and it shows because we can’t hold onto the ball in the attacking third and we are lacking a final pass. One could also say that we are lacking the passing styles of Thiago Motta in the middle who has been conspicuous with his absence. We really looked very good when we were able to use Motta and Cambiasso behind Sneijder last season. We need him healthy, but that may be a pipe dream.

- We need someone to step up and play. It could be Biabiany. It could be Coutinho. It could be Obinna. Could it be Pandev who makes a bigger step from last season? But we need someone to show a spark and reinforce the team from inside the organization.

- We looked like we were tired, sore and not in shape yet. We were outplayed quite a bit. They, FC Dallas, looked like they could run all day and were in the middle of season fitness… and they still needed a bullshit penalty to beat us. Should I be happy about that or should I bemoan our lack of cohesion in our 2nd week of training… I don’t know. I guess I’ll figure it out next week though.

Transfer Market

There is nothing new to report. Real Madrid, Manchester City and Roma still haven’t figured out that we don’t have to sell, nor do we necessarily want to – it was they who came to us with offers. It’s ridiculous, and only in the world of International football – and its supporters, I might add – can someone pester you for a sale and then blame you for not letting them cheat you on the price of your players. The price is the price. I don’t think that Moratti wants to sell Maicon, but will for the right price. If Madrid is too fucking stupid, I bet they are btw, to figure that out then Maicon will come back for another season. I think that Manchester will pay, but they look like fools asking for a discount. Why should we give them one? Selling Mario is their idea. They don’t want him for the price we are asking then go buy Torres or something. What do we care? As far as Roma goes, why would we cheat ourselves to a bunch of people who have gone out of their way to slander us? I still bet that if Burdisso moves, it’ll be almost September.

We are still in talks with Liverpool for Mascherano. There are rumors circulating that we are in the market for a winger/withdrawn striker type. I wish there were rumors circulating that we were in the defender/fullback market and that Marco was retiring, but that will have to be next season, it looks like.

Other News

And for the record, Totti still hasn’t been suspended any games, as far as I can tell, for his comments. The same type of comment earned a suspension for a member of our organization. I guess that answers the question of who is protected, doesn’t it?

FORZA INTER