Shalke 2-1 Inter (Agg 7-3) Champions league quarter final match report & reactions

That’s it the reigning champions are out of the competition after an embarrassing 7-3 agg defeat to Shalke, obviously the worst of the damage was done in the 1st leg but even after all the talk from the Inter camp about believing in being able to turn it around on the night only a handful of Inter players looked like they had the passion to win, yes we had the majority of possession and our passing was good but there was no creativity and there was a definite spark missing from our finishing our only goal of the game was more fluke than intention when Motta managed to get a touch that bounced into the net. The most impressive Inter player again for me was Yuto Nagatomo who never gave up and put 110% in to trying to create something for the Nerazzurri. So who’s to blame? …….

My opinion for what it’s worth is that Leonardo should be held responsible due to his inability to change his tactics to suit the game and yet again he put our best central striker out on the left, Eto’o spent most of the game chasing back for the ball and putting in crosses when he should have been in the box ready to finish crosses! As I’ve said to me there was only a handful of players that seemed to be trying and they were Eto’o, Nagatomo & Maicon though Ranocchia & Lucio put in some good defensive work though at times emotions were over running Lucio and a few times i thought he would get sent off. but what of our other players? Stankovic, Sneijder & Zanetti were well below there usual standards and the commentator on Sky sports was even asking why Zanetti was even on the field which as much as i respect our captain i had to agree with as he seemed to have no influence what so ever, maybe it’s time he passed on the captains armband and hung up his boots! Motta got our goal but apart from that all he did was commit some fouls which admittedly save our bacon a couple of times but he wasn’t good. Julio Cesar played OK too but he was a long way off the standard he was last season and looked clumsy far too often, then when Pandev came on he was just his usual bumbling self (why does Leo keep playing him when he quite clearly isn’t up to the job) which just leaves Milito who is the only player that has an excuse for being below par as he’s not had much match practise all season.

That’s my rant about the players over but i do believe that if Inter are to compete next season we really need to shake things up with the squad and get rid of that idiot Leonardo (so what if he’s a nice guy, what use is that if he can’t manage our team properly?)

Match Report

FIRST HALF –

To reach the semi-final Inter needed to win by a four-goal margin, and Sneijder, Milito and Eto’o were the attackers chosen for this particular task against Schalke. Leonardo selected Nagatomo as left-back, with Zanetti in midfield and Thiago Motta preferred to Cambiasso in front of the defence, in which Lucio could once again be found.
The first corner of the match was for the Germans, earned by Jurado and taken by Raul at the 3rd minute. However, the Nerazzurri were the first to have a shot on goal when Sneijder’s right-footed effort in the 5th minute was blocked by Neuer. An all-Japanese battle between Nagatomo and Uchida saw the Nerazzurri full-back get the upper hand in the 7th minute on an enterprising manoeuvre with Eto’o. Shortly afterwards Inter won their first corner kick, which was headed over the bar by Thiago Motta. Around the 17th minute Raul began to inspire the Schalke attack, first when he forced a diving save from Julio Cesar from Jurado’s cross, then again when he burst into the box, only to be expertly closed down by Nagatomo. In the 20th minute Edu took a free kick that was cleared from danger by Thiago Motta. In the 23rd minute Inter earned a series of corners but had nothing to show for it, other than a foul by Eto’o on Neuer. The German keeper was called upon in the 28th minute to block Nagatomo’s cross from the left with Milito lurking. The Argentine attacker then latched on to a long vertical pass from Lucio, but Howedes intervened to clear up the threat. Stankovic’s goal from the first leg was chosen by UEFA as the best of the quarter-finals, and it almost looked as if he was going to respond with another long-range gem this evening, but Neuer managed to palm away his vicious shot for a corner. In the 39th minute the Serb released Maicon with a forward ball that left the Brazilian one-on-one with the Schalke keeper, but the controlling touch wasn’t perfect and the ball finished wide of the post. Inter were now dominating at this point, but Schalke were the first get onto the scoreboard; Baumjohann touched a forward pass into space for Raul in the 45th minute and the Spaniard dribbled around Julio Cesar to deposit the ball into the empty net and make it 1-0.
One minute of injury time was added and then both sides entered the dressing rooms; Inter had the better of the possession, but the Germans had the goal.

SECOND HALF –

The situation was complicated, and so Leonardo sent on Pandev in place of Stankovic, thus fielding a 4-2-3-1. Inter’s equaliser arrived courtesy of Thiago Motta; Sneijder’s corner found the head of Lucio and was then sent on to the Italo-Brazilian who, from the middle of a scrum, put the ball in the net to bring the score to 1-1. In the 54th minute Julio Cesar dived to intercept Baumjohann’s dangerous cross. Five minutes later Howedes scored from Jurado’s cross (flicked on by Edu) but the goal was disallowed for offside. Inter did not give up, and in the 62nd minute Sneijder crossed for Eto’o, but the Cameroonian sent his header high over the crossbar. In the 68th minute Milito volleyed on the turn from Eto’s long pass only to see his shot sail wide, and then seven minutes later Sneijder’s free kick grazed the post. Schalke continued to advance; on a counterattack Raul lobbed a pass forward into space for a rampaging Howedes, and his crisp shot gave Julio Cesar no chance. 2-1. After a minute of injury time referee Skomina whistled to end the match. It was supposed to be an impossible task, and so it was. Yet it is also impossible to forget everything that the exiting European Champions gave us when they reconquered a trophy that had been awaited for so many years.

Schalke 04 2-1 Inter (HT: 1-0; AGG: 7-3)
Scorers: Raul 45, Thiago Motta 49, Howedes 81.
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia).
Booked: Lucio 30, Raul 43, Thiago Motta 58, Papadopoulos 66, Schmitz 87, Ranocchia 90.
Added time: 1 + 1 minutes.

Line ups
Schalke 04:
1 Neuer; 22 Uchida, 21 Metzelder, 4 Howedes, 2 Sarpei; 11 Baumjohann (31 Draxler, 73), 32 Matip, 14 Papadopoulos, 18 Jurado (13 Schmitz, 87); 7 Raul, 9 Edu (15 Charisteas, 77).
Unused subs: 33 Schober, 5 Plestan, 8 Hao, 16 Karimi.
Coach: Ralf Rangnick.

Inter:

1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 15 Ranocchia, 55 Nagatomo; 4 Zanetti, 8 Thiago Motta, 5 Stankovic (27 Pandev, 46); 10 Sneijder (29 Coutinho, 80), 22 Milito, 9 Eto’o.
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 2 Cordoba, 14 Kharja, 19 Cambiasso, 23 Materazzi, 29 Coutinho.
Coach: Leonardo.

Reactions

Leonardo

“We left ourselves open at the end, when it was hard to believe in the result we needed and it was too late to turn it around. In any case this tie was decided in the first leg, though we believed we could do it tonight and we showed that on the pitch. But the moment didn’t come for us, we needed something to spark it off.” That was Leonardo speaking after Inter’s elimination from the Champions League.

“We’re disappointed because we really believed it was possible. We’re disappointed to go out, but this team has given so much, even in difficult situations,” he continued. “Our overall condition as we came into this quarter-final wasn’t the best; we had used up so much energy and that penalised us, starting in the first leg of course. It’s not the same disappointment as after the first-leg, mind; that was a truly bizarre game.
“I had dreamt about us completing the comeback,” he added. “If we had got a goal at the beginning, if we had been as clinical as we wanted, it might have set us on our way, but it wasn’t to be. Certainly we could have done better but we weren’t able to. It’s a shame that Schalke scored from their only decent chance in the first half and that we weren’t incisive enough. They were struggling to cope with the situation but we couldn’t strike the blow that might have turned the tie.” Asked to give his team a mark, the Brazilian replied: “It’s not about giving marks, but this team has undoubtedly had a troubled season. I’ve asked a lot of them and it wasn’t easy with all the players that were returning from injuries. There’s no regret about anything because, as I said, this team has done so much and given me so much. I was and I am enthusiastic, and I wouldn’t regret things even if we lost every game. I’ll maintain my enthusiasm; you know I don’t think about the future but I work the same way as I did the first day. Now we have to make sure we overcome the moment with intelligence. We have to battle on in the league and in the Coppa Italia: we still have a lot to do.”

Javier Zanetti

“We did everything we could in this competition. Raul’s goal came from a mistake of ours when we were in control of the game, but the tie was already compromised in the first leg. Of course we’re all disappointed.” That was Javier Zanetti’s comment as he spoke to Rai at the end of the game. He continued: “Now we have to give it everything we’ve got until the end of the season, in the league and the Coppa Italia. We certainly believe we can win them.”

Wesley Sneijder

“We’ll move on now: we want to win the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia,” began Wesley Sneijder as he spoke to Inter Channel. “We thought we could do it tonight but we knew it would be very difficult: we created lots of chances but if you don’t stick them away it’s very hard. Schalke did well in San Siro and again today; we lost the tie at home more than here. The applause from the Nerazzurri fans? We thank every one of them because they are always behind us. Now we have to do our best for them in the league and in the cup. We’ll put this elimination behind us and focus on the targets we have left. We’ll look forward.”
Yuto Nagatomo

“I can’t hide the fact that I’m a little disappointed after this defeat, but we don’t have time to stop and worry about it now: we still have the league and we’ll concentrate on that and on the Coppa Italia, which are our targets from today.” Yuto Nagatomo commented on the defeat at the Veltins-Arena as he spoke to Inter Channel. There was also a match within the match, with Uchida and Nagatomo facing each other in Schalke 04 v Inter: “We lost,” confessed the Nerazzurri full-back, “but Uchida has won with Schalke and the Japanese part of me is a little bit happy because he will go on with his team.”

Andrea Ranocchia

“The first-leg result certainly influenced this game,” explained Andrea Ranocchia at the end of the match. “We came here and went for it. We put everything into it but unfortunately we just couldn’t get the early goal. A team like Inter can look forward now, though. We have the league and the cup and we want to be in them till the end,” the Nerazzurri defender concluded.

Massimo Moratti

The day after Inter’s exit from the 2010/11 Champions League, president Massimo Moratti wished to send out a public message to Inter and all the fans through the club’s official website.

“Today I would like to thank my team, all the players from recent years and the current side who have brought so much joy to all Inter fans, myself included. We are, and always will be, proud of their achievements.

I am sure that the team will dig deep and find the strength and quality that we know they are capable of, so that we can achieve the targets we are aiming for this season too. And I am sure that, with the fans’ support, the coach and the team will bring us yet further joy.”

Conclusion

So that’s it for our European dream this season but we’re still in the chase for the Scudetto & Coppa Italia so all is not lost yet, as a devoted Interista i am obviously disappointed with the result and the lack of emphusiasm shown by some players last night but i also believe in Inter and we will be back to recover our European title even stronger next season because as we all know the Nerazzurri never give up and our love for this great team makes everything possible as they showed the world last season.

I do think though it is time for Inter to evolve again to keep up with the other elite teams of the world, we need a fresh manager and a new approach and some of our older players will need to be sacrificed to acheive that!

Shalke v Inter Preview Champions league quarter final 2nd leg

Here we are just a few hours from the 2nd leg of the Champions league quarter finals against Shalke, (cue the Mission Impossible music) and already most people have written off our chances of progressing to the semis but is it really that impossible for Inter to pull off the comeback again in Germany?  Everyone at Inter and all us Nerazzurri faithful don’t seem to think so, i mean if they can score 5 against us in the 1st leg then why should it be so unlikely that we can get 4 tonight?  As long as Leonardo puts a bit of emphasis and pace in the defense like he did against Chievo last weekend there’s no reason why we can’t show the Germans the door, and as an extra boost for Inter Walter Samuel is in the squad for the first time since his injury in November, though i really think Leonardo shouldn’t play him in this match and risk him, that said i don’t see anything wrong with putting him on for the last 10 minutes just to get him some competitive match practice.

Squad

Leonardo has called up 22 Nerazzurri players for Schalke 04 v Inter, the return leg of the quarter-finals of the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League, to be played on Wednesday 13 April at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
Goalkeepers:
1 Julio Cesar, 12 Luca Castellazzi, 21 Paolo Orlandoni;

Defenders:
2 Ivan Cordoba, 4 Javier Zanetti, 6 Lucio, 13 Maicon, 15 Andrea Ranocchia, 23 Marco Materazzi, 25 Walter Samuel, 55 Yuto Nagatomo;

Midfielders:
5 Dejan Stankovic, 8 Thiago Motta, 10 Wesley Sneijder, 14 Houssine Kharja, 17 MacDonald Mariga, 19 Esteban Cambiasso, 20 Joel Obi, 29 Philippe Coutinho;

Forwards:
9 Samuel Eto’o, 22 Diego Milito, 27 Goran Pandev.

My Predicted Line up

I think Leonardo should go with a 4-3-1-2 formation with Julio Cesar in goal(Obviously!), Maicon, Lucio, Ranocchia & Nagatomo in defense then Kharja, Cambiasso & Zanetti in midfield with Sneijder sitting just behind Eto’o & Milito up front,  then during the game sub Kharja for Stankovic and in the last 10 mins give Samuel a run out in place of Ranocchia.

Press Conferences

Leonardo

”I knew Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick before the first leg. He came back here after a while away and that’s never easy, but he immediately got everyone motivated and has done well both in Europe and in the league. If he was inspired by Arrigo Sacchi, he has taken the example of one of football’s greatest,” explained Leonardo at the press conference the day before Schalke 04 v Inter, the UEFA Champions League quarter-final return leg that will be played at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen tonight (20:45 kick-off).

Leonardo was asked if he believes in miracles: “I don’t believe in miracles but in results that happen in sport, because what happened in the first leg was strange and now we have to come up with something special. We don’t only believe we can go through; we believe we can produce a fantastic performance. What’s important is that we get the balance right, even if we’re aiming for a big result. If you want a big result you need to turn in a big performance. It’s important that we have the whole squad available: Lucio is with us again, Chivu is suspended, but we’re almost at full strength.”

The Nerazzurri coach was then asked about the general condition of the team. “I think the players are clear-headed. They have all had their own comebacks, in football and in life. They are determind to prove that what happened in San Siro was a blip because we didn’t perform to our potential. They’re all in pretty good shape, overall fitness levels are good, but of course we’ll have to assess some minor problems that a few of the players have. We still have a day and a day at this level is a lot. How much is about tactics and how much psychology? Naturally the psychological aspect is important. It’s a game between two teams and we have to win while they have to make sure they don’t concede four goals. We’re aware of the difficulties but we have nothing to lose. Let’s not forget that in the first leg, in all the episodes that went their way we were also very unlucky. What am I going to say to the lads? I can’t tell you anything now: those things are born of the moment and can’t be prepared. We will plan the tactical side of things very carefully but what I say will come naturally when it comes to the time to speak to the players. If we think about it, in pragmatic terms, anything can happen in football and the team know that. It will be a very exciting game.”

Javier Zanetti

Javier Zanetti is the player chosen by Leonardo to accompany him in the press conference on the eve of Schalke 04 v Inter, the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg to be played at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen tomorrow (20:45 kick-off).

“I’ve been here twice before, in the old stadium, for the UEFA Cup,” said the Nerazzurri captain, “but tomorrow will be my first time in the new stadium. It’s a great stadium and we hope that it will also be a great evening for us tomorrow.”

Zanetti was asked if he thought the Germans would make any changes to their team. “We respect their whole squad so it doesn’t matter if they change things. Is Farfan’s suspension a bonus? I know him and have faced him many times with Argentina. He’s an important player but we’re only thinking about playing our own game and hoping that everything will work out for the best.”

Is the feat required tomorrow a possible or an impossible one? The skipper replied: “We’re aware of the fact that it will be difficult but we have 90 minutes to try and pull off an amazing result. Lots of things can happen in 90 minutes if you perform to the best of your ability. It’s crucial that we reduce our mistakes to the minimum and create lots of chances so we can score lots of goals. Would it be an injustice if we went out against Schalke? I have respect for Schalke; they proved in the first leg that they are an excellent side and if they’ve come this far it means they have certain qualities. Still, knowing that it will be tough, we want to put in a top performance to give us the best chance possible of qualifying. We are a very good team regardless of who plays. It happens sometimes that you mess up a game but that doesn’t take anything away from Inter’s worth. Tomorrow we still have a chance to go through and we want to give it our best shot, but don’t say that we didn’t respect them enough in the first leg; we never underestimated them. As I said, you mess up games sometimes but that takes nothing away from Inter’s worth and everything that Inter have won over the years.”

President Moratti

President Massimo Moratti answered the questions put to him by journalists outside the Saras offices yesterday
Here you can read the Inter president’s statements:

Inter have been described as a ‘crazy’ team before. Could that work to your advantage against Schalke on Wednesday?
“It’s about remaining fully focused and trying to pull off something that seems impossible, yet it’s precisely that impossibility that makes it such an intriguing match.”

After a long spell on the sidelines, Walter Samuel is now available again: could that give the team a psychological boost?
“I don’t think he’ll play or be in the squad but…”

He’s in the squad.
“Ah, good then. That way he can start getting involved with the group again. I doubt he’ll be able to play, though. Samuel is a sure-fire guarantee. We’ve all forgotten what might have happened this year if he had been playing. Maybe we would be sitting a little higher – he’s such an important figure.”

It’s a very particular moment for the whole team but perhaps even more so for Diego Milito…
“He’s looked good to me. In the two games he’s played, I thought he looked sharp and very fresh. That’s great and if he could give us a hand right now, he would be very handy indeed. But all the players seem really up for it. We know it’s going to be very difficult but, as I said, what makes this game so intriguing is precisely the fact that it seems impossible.”

Was Yuto Nagatomo Leonardo’s idea or had the club been tracking him since before Christmas?
“We’d been following him for a while. It was an opportunity: we did a swap that was good both for him and for Santon. For us, it meant bringing in a player with certain characteristics, and for the time being he seems to be doing very well.”

Do you think Inter have more chance of reaching the Champions League semi-finals or overtaking AC Milan in the league?
[He smiles] “We’re just taking it one day at a time and we’ll see where we end up.”

Conclusion

There is no doubt that tonight’s game will be a very tough one for Inter, but we have an extremely strong team and as Leonardo said anything is possible in football and anything can happen in the 90 minutes on the pitch so who knows in a couple of weeks we may still be lining up against Manchester United in the Semis and until the final whistle is blown tonight we have to keep the faith that it’s still a possibility, that said if we do get knocked out of the competition by Shalke we can still hold our heads high as Interista because Inter are still among the world’s elite and going out in the quarter finals isn’t something to be ashamed of and besides it’s like Zanetti said nothing can take away what Inter have achieved in the last 6 years.  So my prediction on the score has to be 4-0 to Inter as i truly believe we can achieve the impossible!

PAZZA INTER AMALA!!!

FORZA THE MIGHTY NERAZZURRI!!!!

Inter v Shalke match report & reactions

What can i say about last nights Champions league quarter final first leg tie against Shalke? Well let’s start with the positives, firstly Milito is back in the starting line up and scored for us and second is Stankovic’s wonder goal from 40 yards out in the first 25 seconds of the match (if you missed it see the video above) Unfortunately that was as good as it got for Inter as the two goals we got during the first half were cancelled out by two goals for Shalke before half time, after half time things went from bad to worse for the Nerazzurri and in a similar style to the derby defeat at the weekend, Shalke managed to make us look like complete amatuers instead of world champions and for the second game in a row Chivu saw a red card yet again weakening our already shaky backline, which was also suffered the blow of an own goal by Ranocchia. So after another terrible performance by Inter the game ended 2-5 to Shalke meaning that Inter need at least 4 goals on the return leg meaning the mighty Nerazzurri are effectively out of the running for making it through to the semi’s.

So who’s to blame? The official verdict from Inter’s camp is that the players are fatigued which i can understand after last years amazing run and the world cup followed by loads of injuries and the ridiculous amount of matches played in 2011 so far, but with the squad Inter has at it’s disposal that excuse only goes so far to explain this awful week. The true reason in my opinion is the management as we know the first half of the season was destroyed by Benitez who couldn’t organise a pub team let alone anything else then things looked better when Leonardo took over at Christmas but over the last month or so it is becoming more apparent that his tactics only favour an attacking mentality and he seems to give no thought to the defensive side of the team and considering how strong our defense was last season there is no excuse for this and as much as i hate to say it come the end of the season he has to go to be replaced with a manager that can balance the team properley.

Match Report
FIRST HALF –
The Champions League was back and the Meazza’s capacity crowd welcomed back Diego Milito, who flanked Eto’o in the attacking duo in front of Sneijder; Zanetti played left back and in midfield we had Stankovic, Motta and Cambiasso.

The Champions League match kicked off and Inter looked like Inter again, with a sizzling goal which Stankovic launched from the centre spot with a right-footed missile after only 25 seconds of play. It came from a ball which Neuer cleared with a header from just ouside his area following a long pass from Cambiasso and Milito’s pressing. A goal which will make the statistics books, and the Nerazzurri took the lead 1-0.
Schalke tried to reply in the 5th minute with a cross into the area for Raul whose dive just didn’t connect with the ball. He did connect a few minutes later though, meeting Farfan’s cross, but Julio Cesar was ready for him and saved in the centre of the goalmouth. Sneijder almost made it two in the 8th minute when he rose to meet Milito’s cross, but his header was wide and to the right. Schalke’s equaliser came in the 17th minute from a corner, when Julio Cesar pulled off a miraculous save from a Papadopoulos header, the ball broke to Matip who found a gap in the crowded six-yard box to make it 1-1.
Once again it was Julio Cesar who in the 19th minute blocked to avoid the Germans’ second goal from Jurado’s left-footed volley. A work of art created by Maicon and Eto’o, which the Cameroonian put into the back of the net with a superb back-heel, was ruled offside and the free-kick was taken by Neuer in the 20th minute. In the 23rd minute Milito was pulled up for offside as well, after Sneijder sent him away with a through ball from 25 metres: the TV replay showed that the Argentine was actually onside when the ball was passed. Stankovic wasn’t able to play on after a violent clash in the 12th minute with Baumjohann and had to be substituted. Kharja came on for him in the 24th minute.

A lot of suffering and a lot of hard work went into this part of the match but it was worth it when Milito, the Prince, put Inter into the lead again: Zanetti crossed from the right, Sneijder picked up and found Cambiasso whose headed assist was volleyed home by Milito past Neuer to make it 2-1. But Schalke didn’t take it sitting down and kept on working until, in the 40th minute, they equalised with Edu, 2-2: assist from Baumjohann, the Brazilian picked up the loose ball after Julio Cesar saved brilliantly, but couldn’t hold onto it, and scored from the right-hand side of the six-yard box. In the third minute of injury time Farfan fouled Zanetti to pick up a yellow card and he’ll miss the return leg. After 3 minutes of added time the teams were sent into the dressing rooms with the score at 2-2.
SECOND HALF –
The second half got underway with the same 22 who had started the match and a chance for Milito who, finding himself with only Neuer to beat, shot narrowly wide off his left instep in the 46th minute. Eto’o tried again a minute later, picking up a pass from Sneijder, dribbling and firing left-footed only to see the ball turned away superbly for a corner by Neuer. A foul on Farfan after 52 minutes resulted in Chivu’s first yellow card which meant he would miss the match in Gelsenkirchen. A cross from Farfan and all of Raul’s class fooled the Inter defence and he scored to put the Germans back in front after 53 minutes, but Inter lost control at this point as did Ranocchia in the 57th minute when, as he looked to beat Jurado to the ball, he sent it past Julio Cesar to make it 2-4.

It wasn’t over yet, though. A foul on Edu led to Chivu’s second yellow and he was given his marching orders, leaving Inter with 10 men on the pitch. Inter did manage to drum up a little bit of luck, but all it meant was Jurado’s 65th minute shot hit the woodwork. Milito and Sneijder kept pressing forward but the defence thwarted every through ball and it was Schalke who scored again with Edu on 75 minutes: Julio Cesar and the post seemed to have saved Inter’s neck but moments later the ball came to the Brazilian, who made it 2-5. The German goalmouth seemed bewitched when, after 93 minutes of play, Eto’o could only manage to send the ball wide as his shot cut across the box.
After three minutes of added time Atkinson blew the whistle to bring the match to a close. Wednesday 13 April is the second leg in Gelsenkirchen, where nothing is impossible.

Inter 2-5 Schalke 04 (HT: 2-2)
Scorers: Stankovic 1, Matip 17, Milito 33, Edu 40, Raul 53, Ranocchia 57, Edu 75.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (England).
Booked: Stankovic 13, Farfan 48, Chivu 8 and 62, Sarpei 60, Papadopoulos 66, Raul 84.
Sent off: Chivu 62.
Added time: 3 + 3 minutes.
Attendance: 72,770.

Lineups
Inter:
1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 15 Ranocchia, 26 Chivu, 4 Zanetti; 5 Stankovic (14 Kharja, 24 – 2 Cordoba, 63), 8 Thiago Motta (55 Nagatomo, 76), 19 Cambiasso; 10 Sneijder; 9 Eto’o, 22 Milito.
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 17 Mariga, 23 Materazzi, 27 Pandev.
Coach: Leonardo.

Schalke 04:
1 Neuer; 22 Uchida, 4 Howedes, 14 Papadoulos , 2 Sarpei; 17 Farfan, 32 Matip, 11 Baumjohann (13 Schmitz, 76), 18 Jurado (31 Draxler, 83); 7 Raul (16 Karimi, 87), 9 Edu.
Unused subs: 33 Schober, 3 Escudero, 5 Plestan, 8 Hao.
Coach: Ralf Ragnick.

Excuses! (Sorry i mean Reactions)

Leonardo

“It’s been a very difficult week, a terrible week,” croaked Leonardo after the game, with virtually no voice left. He continued: “The game couldn’t have started any better. We were playing well. Who could have imagined it would turn out like that? A crushing defeat. We paid the full price for a couple of episodes: Schalke had seven shots on target and scored five goals. Was the team unbalanced? There were lots of things – fatigue, the episodes during the game – when you lose like that it’s never down to a single reason. In the second half, after we’d had our chances, they got two goals which pointed the game in a certain direction. Lots of things went wrong. We had used up so much energy getting to this point, closing the gap in the league, where we had no option but to win: that mentality is something instilled within the team.
“Unfortunately the crucial stage of the season hasn’t come at the best time. It was very difficult to cope with certain situations during the game. It’s hard to analyse a match like that tactically. We changed things around compared to the derby but, I repeat, it’s a series of factors; in the Champions League it’s often the moment that decides things. We put more men in the middle of the park today and Stankovic even scored, then we lost our shape a bit in certain episodes. With tonight’s result it’s pretty unrealistic to think about what could happen in the return leg, to think about pulling off such an incredible comeback, but we have to play the return leg and we will play it. We were all so happy until not long ago and now, together, we’ll get through this moment as well; the team needs to respond, recover some energy, mentally too, and get going again. And that’s what we will do.”

Massimo Moratti

“The chat I had with Leonardo in the dressing room confirmed that he is a serious person; I’m glad we had it and I think he is too.” Massimo Moratti answered to questions from journalists waiting outside the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza after Inter’s defeat at the hands of Schalke 04 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. “Of course he wasn’t in the best of moods,” continued the president speaking about the Nerazzurri coach. “I think he’d forgotten what it was like to be in such situations in football.”Moratti then offered his analysis of the game: “The defeat can be explained by fatigue. The extent of the defeat did surprise me, but you could see how tired they were on Saturday and you can’t recover in just a few days. How do we start over? In football you always have to start over, even from situations worse than this; in two games we were supposed to achieve so much and yet in two games we’ve undermined nearly everything, though nothing is definitive. And it hasn’t changed the essence of the team or the coach. We’ll see what happens. What has changed? Well, the mood has changed and I think that can help push the team on even more. My estimation of Leonardo hasn’t changed, though something might have for him, because he found himself having to deal with two different situations. For me nothing has changed because I know how cruel football can be and you have to keep going without losing heart. I didn’t like arrogance and I don’t like helplessness. We’ll go on as we are and we’ll see what happens – we’ve won a lot playing like this and we will win more. What I liked least was the tiredness in the team, you could see the players were struggling; that’s not to blame them, but you could imagine that something like that might happen”

Estaban Cambiasso

“We lost a game that was really important to us, a strange game.” Speaking to Mediaset Premium, Esteban Cambiasso commented on the match that ended in a 2-5 defeat for Inter. If we analyse that match on the spot, we can say that we started well then found ourselves level, then we were back in control again before they equalised once more. After the break, Inter carried on playing well but after 10 or 15 minutes we conceded two goals, with a sending off in between, and that’s where it all went wrong. Now we must stay calm and start again, without hiding away, and get back to thinking about things with a clear head.”Asked whether Inter were drained, Cambiasso replied: “Mentally, you could have said we were if the game had ended something like 0-3, but as we scored after a few seconds I don’t think that was the case. Physically, we paid the price against AC Milan and today the some thing happened.”
So how will Inter travel to Gelsenkirchen? “We still have a chance to turn it around. Schalke came here and scored 5 goals, so we can do the same there. Of course, we have less chance, we can’t deny that. But this is football and there have been games that have taught us that you have to believe, always.”

Javier Zanetti

“We have to stay calm,” explained Inter captain Javier Zanetti to Inter Channel. “Calm so that we can understand what the problems were and then start again, as we have many times in the past. We’ll do it again this time. We certainly aren’t going to throw away the good things we’ve done so far because of these two defeats. Together we’ll look forward.”

My Conclusion

Can we claw it back and take the Scudetto and progress in the Champions league? You never know stranger things have happened for Inter but i do think we need another change of management come the end of the season, don’t get me wrong i don’t dislike Leonardo it’s just his flaws in organising the defensive side of the team are costing Inter dearly as in the last two games we have lost pretty much any chance we had of retaining our domestic and European titles and as manager the responsibility lies squarely on his shoulders. As they have all said Inter will bounce back and fight to the last minute but i can’t help thinking it’s too late now to save this season, but as a dedicated Interista no matter what happens i will still love Inter through thick and thin as i have since the mid 90′s.

Inter v Shalke Champions league quarter final preview

Well after the farce that was the derby on Saturday let’s hope that Inter pull themselves together and sort out their defensive strategy for their Champions league quarter final match tonight against Shalke, i’ve said it alot this season that Inter’s defense without Walter Samuel is dodgy at best. Our other defenders like Lucio & Ranocchia on paper should be more than capable of stopping most attackers but the all out attack mentality that Leonardo has brought to the Inter team means there isn’t sufficient cover at the back and small mistakes are becoming very costly.

As far as Shalke goes we have got a slight advantage that they have recently changed their manager though we still need to be careful as this is the Champions league quarter final and every team at this stage have proved they are worthy of being there, the biggest threat posed to Inter will be Shalke’s Raul who has got a huge amount of Champions league experience with his former team Real Madrid and everyone knows he is capable of scoring plenty of goals but if Inter can perform the way we know they can then this should be a fairly easy game for us.

Squad selection

Leonardo selected 21 Nerazzurri for the UEFA Champions League 2010/11 quarter-final first leg between Inter and Schalke 04, scheduled for Tuesday 5 April at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan’s San Siro district (20:45).

Goalkeepers:
1 Julio Cesar, 12 Luca Castellazzi, 21 Paolo Orlandoni;

Defenders:
2 Ivan Cordoba, 4 Javier Zanetti, 13 Maicon, 15 Andrea Ranocchia, 23 Marco Materazzi, 26 Cristian Chivu, 55 Yuto Nagatomo;

Midfielders:
5 Dejan Stankovic, 8 Thiago Motta, 10 Wesley Sneijder, 14 Houssine Kharja, 17 MacDonald Mariga, 19 Esteban Cambiasso, 20 Joel Obi, 29 Philippe Coutinho;

Forwards:
9 Samuel Eto’o, 22 Diego Milito, 27 Goran Pandev.

In my opinion Leonardo needs to be playing a 4-1-2-1-2 formation with Maicon, Lucio, Ranocchia & Nagatomo in defense, Cambiasso in the defensive midfield, Zanetti on the right & Kharja on the left, with Sneijder just behind Eto’o & Milito up front but if the last few games are anything to go by Leo will play a formation that will leave the back exposed.

Press conference

Leonardo

“Schalke 04 have reached the quarter-finals, and even if they aren’t doing so well in the league, we all know how enthusiastic they are and this will make them difficult to play against,” said Leonardo in the press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League 2010/11 quarter-final between Inter and Schalke 04, scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Stadio Meazza in Milan’s San Siro district, kicking off at 20:45.

Leonardo was then asked about Raul: “He’s a player with an incredible history and, judging by his decision to change, he’s taken up such a different challenge with so much enthusiasm. He’s one of the symbols of Schalke’s great cavalcade.
“Losing the derby? A defeat never comes about for one reason alone, just as, I don’t think, a tactical problem can lead to going a goal down after 47 seconds. I respect everyone’s opinion here, but there are many factors to be considered: for example in the first half we had three chances to their two, but the goal never came. There are always a lot of variables. If you’re losing and your team are geared to attack, you continue to attack. However there are a lot of aspects to be taken into consideration. And I don’t think it’s a question of temperament or psychological approach. And besides, I still think this is a team that can adapt itself to play in many different styles. What are my feelings after the defeat? There’s the bitter taste that comes with losing, but this team have always responded positively and I’m convinced they will do the same this time,” said the Nerazzurri coach, commenting on Saturday’s defeat.
A question on Diego Milito’s return to the team was inevitable: “Milito has spent a long time recovering from injury and he has reached the stage where he has to undergo further preparatory training, just like in summer. I think he’s at a good stage at the moment and is ready and able to put in a good performance.
“I’ve never won at home in the Champions League? These are different types of matches. Statistics don’t count for much here. I don’t analyse things like this because they have nothing to do with the games,” replied the coach.
“Schalke have changed coach but I don’t think their style of play will have changed much and they are playing well,” was what Leonardo had to say about their opponents tomorrow.
“Having qualified in the way we did certainly gives us a boost because we showed that we never give up and we want to keep on doing that,” added the coach recalling the victory against Bayern Munich.
“It’s not that I think we are in the running to win everything; we are still in the running for everything. Losing one match doesn’t change anything, otherwise we wouldn’t even have got this far. This team have pride and that pride says they are there, always there and will take this competion on, in the knowledge that each game is going to be tough, just like it was last year,” said Leonardo in conclusion.

Diego Milito

Diego Milito is the player selected by Leonardo for the press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League 2010/11 quarter-final between Inter and Schalke 04.
“Schalke 04 are a good team and we respect them. You don’t get to the quarter-finals by being lucky and they won’t be an easy team to play. But we want to play well tomorrow and win,” said the Nerazzurri forward at the beginning of the press conference.
“I’m well psychologically and physically, too,” added Milito. “I’ve got my fitness back, all that I’m missing now is match practice. But I’m eager and am glad to be back. The derby? We’ve put that behind us. We are only concentrating on tomorrow. We’ll try to dictate play, as we always do, especially after losing a match. The team really want to play well this time. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone. We’ve been in control up to now and we want to continue like that. What’s the atmosphere like? It’s good, we are geared up for this match and we know we can get through to the next round. We are inspired by our motivation and our tranquillity.”
“It’s been a difficult season for me and I’ve been plagued by injuries, but there are two months left to play and I hope to convert my anger into positive energy to score and to play well. Will I be scoring on the road to Wembley? What’s important is to get there, that Inter get there, not that I do it with my goals,” concludes Milito.

My Prediction

As always i’m going to predict the result and Inter’s scorers for tonights game and i’m going to go for a 2-0 win for us with Milito & Eto’o scoring the goals

Inter’s reactions to Champions League draw

Following Inter’s draw with Shalke, the team considered to be the weakest in the last 8 of this years competition, we can consider ourselves fortunate we didn’t get one of the big teams and hopefully qualifying for the semis should be a walk in the park for us as long as the players don’t get complacent. See what various representatives of Inter had to say on the draw…..

Luis Figo

“I think that all the so-called big teams would have liked to play Schalke. I’m certainly happy with the draw but at this level in football you can’t really prefer one opponent over another because each game has to be won on the pitch. Schalke are a quality side, they have a very good group of players and they knocked out Valencia, who are an excellent team. But as I said, considering all the teams we could have been drawn against, we were lucky.” That was Luis Figo commenting to Sky Sport Italia on the UEFA Champions League 2010/11 quarter-final draw in Nyon.

Asked if he thought the win over Bayern Munich had renewed Inter’s belief in their ability to win the Champions League again, Figo replied: “I think the team have shown they have plenty of hunger and ambition left after going through a difficult period. It’s confirmation of the quality of the players and the coach, and of how determined we are to go all the way in this year’s competition.”
President Moratti and José Mourinho both hoped that Inter and Real Madrid wouldn’t be paired at this stage. “From a sentimental point of view I’d agree that playing Real at the moment wouldn’t have been the best thing, but I’ve always said that if you want to win this competition you have to go out on the pitch ready to beat anyone. If we could choose, it would be better of course, but you can’t so Inter always have to go out there with a winning mentality.”
Inter will play the first leg at the Meazza, just like last year: “At least we have some experience of playing at home first, although I would always prefer to play the return leg at our own ground. In any case, fortunately we’ve always done well so I don’t think we’ll have any problems concentrating.” Finally, another comment on Schalke: “They’re a good team who have had their ups and downs this year, but they still have players who can be decisive.”

Ernesto Paolillo

“Happy? No, but maybe a little bit more relaxed. We’ll only be really happy after we’ve beaten Schalke 04 over two legs. Naturally we are a little less worried because certain more dangerous teams, at least on paper, have been avoided for now.” Inter chief executive Ernesto Paolillo was speaking to Sky Sport Italia about the outcome of the draw in Nyon. Yet he was also keen to point out that “We mustn’t be too relaxed; we have to be very careful because games like these, which might seem easier on paper, have lots of hidden pitfalls. You have to remember that all the sides that have come this far are very good.”
After the win over Bayern Munich, Inter seem to have acquired the self-belief necessary to win the Champions League again this year. “We can feel the weight, albeit a positive one, of being the reigning European champions but naturally we want to go as far as we can and all the way if possible. We were apprehensive about the Bayern match, regardless of the first-leg result, because as the holders you feel you should at least reach the quarter-finals. Bayern was a tough hurdle but we’re over it now. And every further hurdle we clear will spur us on even more.”
The Nerazzurri chief executive later spoke to Inter Channel over the phone: “We mustn’t underestimate Schalke. We always think that avoiding Barcelona or Real Madrid means avoiding problems but it’s not like that. When you relax, unexpected factors come into play. We certainly feel Schalke are beatable but that doesn’t mean it will be simple. The semi-final? Whether it’s Chelsea or Manchester United, we’ll have to go and play at a very difficult ground.”

Javier Zanetti

“We have to show respect for Schalke because it will be a tough game like all the others. We must be careful because nobody reaches the quarter-finals through luck.” Javier Zanetti fired out a warning and called on everyone to maintain maximum concentration when he was interviewed by Inter Channel about the Champions League draw in Nyon today.
Inter faced Schalke 04 in the two-legged 1996/97 UEFA Cup final, which they lost on penalties: “I can look back on it with a smile today. Unfortunately we lost that final but now we have a great chance to get our revenge and reach the semi-finals.”
Reaching the semi-finals would mean a trip to England: “Let’s first concentrate on getting through the quarter-finals. It’s a huge fixture for us and we really want to go all the way.”

Goran Pandev

The hero of that night in Munich, Goran Pandev, whose goal put Inter into today’s draw for the quarter- and semi-finals, gave his view of the outcome: “We must only think about Schalke. It will be a difficult game because in the quarter-finals you only get good teams, but we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
Lots of observers have said that going on in the Champions League could harm Inter’s chances of overtaking AC Milan in the Serie A race, but Pandev doesn’t agree: “Last year’s experience teaches us that we you can’t treat anyone as an ‘easier’ teams. First we’ll concentrate on Lecce and then we’ll think about the Champions. We know Schalke won’t be rolled over easily, and it’s a very tough ground to go to.”

Massimo Moratti

Upon leaving his offices this afternoon journalists questioned the Inter president on the Champions league draw and other topics…
Was this the most favourable draw you could have hoped for?
“In football you only find out if there was something favourable after you’ve played the game. It’s good that we don’t have to tackle a bigger, more in-form side straightaway, but Schalke have a good tradition and they are another German team so they’re never going to lie down for us. We absolutely must not underestimate this fixture; we would get it all wrong if we did.”

Do you still believe in the treble dream, perhaps completed after beating José Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the final?
“If we win the treble so be it; if we don’t, it will mean that we did everything possible to achieve it. It’s not easy though. If you look back at last year we won the treble in our last three games – three finals – so we’ll have to be ready physically too.”

Would you say Barcelona are the best team around at the moment?
“Barcelona look very strong every year but we managed to beat them so they can lose too.”

What memories do you have of Schalke, of that two-legged UEFA Cup final and West’s goal?
“I remember that we should have won that final, but then things went the way they did and we were unlucky on penalties. So if we want to consider our next meeting as a sort of revenge match, let’s do that.”

Does the fact that you will play Schalke three days before the derby make things a bit easier for the AC Milan game, also knowing that you won’t have to take on a massive team three days after you play Milan?
“These players are used to playing difficult games one after another, so I don’t think they are really conditioned by that sort of thing. They know they will have to give everything in both fixtures, without saving themselves in one or the other.”

How do you see the derby against AC Milan going?
“At the moment we’re talking about Schalke; there’s time for the derby.”

How much would you really like to meet José Mourinho and Real Madrid in the final?
“I wouldn’t mind reaching the final and if Mourinho is there too, then great.”

Isn’t there a risk that you may be hampered a bit in the league having to worry about the Champions League as well?
“We’ll try not to let that happen and do well in all three competitions.”

Did you see what Mario Balotelli got up to in the Europa League match between Manchester City and Dynamo Kyiv?
“No, I didn’t see it and I’m not going to judge him, also because I’m sorry about it.”

Would you bring Andrea Pirlo back to Inter?
“Lots of years have passed since then but he’s still a great player – everyone knows that.”
So it appears to be unanimous with everyone at Inter that we got a very lucky draw but even so it won’t be easy progressing to the semis and it’s only going to get harder as no matter who we get in the semis or the final it’s going to be a very strong team and Inter need to be right on their best game for the rest of the season and who knows in a couple of months time we may yet again be celebrating a treble!

Champions League Quarter Finals & Semi Final Draw

So the Champions league quarter finals have been drawn and decided, Inter have drawn Shalke 04 in the Quarter finals with the winner facing Celsea or Man Utd in the Semis. What do you think of the draw? Are you going to watch your favourite team? Get all your Champions League match tickets by following the link above. See below for the full draws & my predictions.

Full Quarter Final Draw

Real Madrid (Spain)	v	Tottenham Hotspur (England)
Chelsea (England)	v	Manchester United (England)
Barcelona (Spain)	v	Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Inter Milan (Italy)	v	Schalke 04 (Germany)

The first legs will be played on April 5/6 and the returns on April 12/13.

The semi-final draw:

Inter Milan or Schalke v Chelsea or Manchester United
Real Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur against Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk

My Predictions

Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have been fantastic in Europe this season but i really can’t see them having what it takes to beat Mourinho & Real Madrid, that said though i think they will make the Spaniards work for the victory with the final score after both legs being 3-2

Chelsea v Manchester UnitedThis one will be a tricky one to call as both teams haven’t had the best form this season but both are capable of scoring at any point in a game. I think Utd will edge this one with a final score after both legs of 2-2 with Utd taking the away goal rule.

Barcelona v Shakhtar DonetskThis is an easy one to predict and i’m going to go for a Barcelona inspired bloodbath with the final score being 5-0

Inter Milan v Schalke

Then last but not least the most important game of the draw, in my opinion this should be a walk over for the Nerazzurri as long as they don’t do anything stupid with the final score being 3-1 to Inter.

So if my predictions are correct we’ll be looking at an exciting semi final line up of Barcelona v Real Madrid & Inter v Man Utd then i’m going to put my neck on the line and say the final will be Inter v Barcelona.