After the mid-week disaster against the first of the Genoan teams, Mourinho’s Inter Milan picked things up against the second Saturday, defeating Genoa 2-0 and consolidating their lead atop Serie A standings.
It was a welcome win too for the Nerazzurri, who after their 3-3 draw to Roma and 3-0 loss to Sampdoria can now prepare their visit to Old Trafford with more tranquillity (injuries of Materazzi & Burdisso excepted). Of course, no Inter win this year would be complete without the traditional controversy, and Saturday’s encounter didn’t fail to provide one. Indeed, serious doubts remain on the validity of Balotelli’s 2-0 tally: fully over the line or not?
As far as neutral spectators go and taking the match in itself, Sunday’s Inter vs. Roma had everything you could wish for in a football encounter: tons of action, goals aplenty, and even a dramatic come-back 10 minutes from time. In the global picture however, even neutrals secretly wished for Roma to take this one.
Indeed, by maintaining their lead over 2nd-ranked Juventus to +7, the Nerazzurri have further decreased the chance for us to see a close race to the finish in May, and once again have sent a very clear message to their Scudetto rivals: “no matter how hard you try, you can’t take us down”.
No, that’s not the title of the latest Nintendo Wii game; it’s who Inter have to thank for their three points against Bologna Saturday.
Two protagonists: an expected one (it would be useless to point out that right this moment, Julio Cesar is the best goalkeeper on Earth) and a very unlikely one. And I say unlikely because given all the drama taking place in these last few months, it looked as if Mourinho was ready to keep him on mothballs until kingdom come. Instead, Mario Balotelli came, saw, and conquered, albeit with (a little) luck and a (minor) contribution by Antonioli (and by little and minor I mean big and major). Which should surely prompt the Serie A press now to hail José with yet another “miracle renewal”, just like the Portuguese manager did with Adriano. Pff… how predictable.
Regardless, these were another vital three points for the Nerazzurri (their lead is +12 with Juve playing later at 20:30 CET) who can now give their impending encounter with Manchester United their full attention. With a serene mind. At least until the Red Devils come through the door.
After their 0-0 draw in Ancona, the Azzurrini needed an exploit… and they delivered. Casiraghi can really be proud of his boys tonight, as Italy’s U-21 team travelled to Tel-Aviv and defeated Israel U-21 with a score of 3-1, courtesy of a Balotelli double and a cherry on the cake by Abate. A really wonderful performance, in which the outcome of the game was never in doubt for a single second, thanks to the immediate “we’re in charge” attitude of the boys in blue (wearing white for the occasion).
And speaking of Balotelli, how ironic that in a day when the Azzurrini were missing important pieces like Dessena, Giovinco, Marchisio and Andreolli, the missing link turned out to a player who, not longer than two months ago, was not even considered eligible. A beast and the indiscussed leader of the Italian team tonight, TurboMario took the Azzurrini by hand and unleashed his goalscoring power, as indeed there is no better word to describe Balotelli’s executions landing into the back of the Israeli net.
Sixteen years after their 1992 triumph, which proclaimed Italy U-21 European Champions for the very first time, the Azzurrini will be returning to Sweden trying to emulate the performance of Cesare Maldini’s boys. Hallå Sverige!
18 years… Super Mario’s wait was a long one, but it was worth it: not even a month after receiving his official Italian citizenship papers, Balotelli has already conquered Italian hearts. His goal vs. Greece’s U-21 team today was magnificent, but alas was not enough for the Azzurrini to get an automatic bye to the next round. Indeed, Italy’s U-21 will have to wat a few more weeks to earn a ticket to the Euro 2009 finals.
(From Gazzetta): Mario Balotelli’s Azzurr(ini) first (including the proud singing of “L’Inno di Mameli” -Italy’s national anthem) coincided with another important novelty in the Azzurrini: a brand new striking partnership up top, namely TurboMario supported by Sebastian Giovinco and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Giuseppe Rossi and Robert Acquafresca were injured and unavailable). Much to the contrast of the midfield (Dessena, Cigarini, Marchisio) and defensive (Motta, Bocchetti, Andreolli, Criscito) lines, who had been tested, re-tested, and tested again many times over before. As a result it wasn’t completely a baptism of fire for Pierluigi Casiraghi, although it certainly was for our young Italo-Ghanaian striker.
And speaking of Mario, Balotelli immediately got into the heart of the action very early on: 4 minutes into the game, a good run by Domenico Criscito down the left wing resulted in a good cross to the center, on which Inter’s nº45 applied a confident on-target finish (parried away by the Greek keeper). It was the first glimpse of things to come later on, but alas an isolated glimpse in the Azzurini’s offensive front for much of the first half.
Indeed, the Greek Under-21s had built a fairly solid dam in central midfield, which in turn allowed them to move fairly freely on the sides. The contributing factor was that unlike their Greek opponents, Italy did not establish a firm presence on the wings, in addition to suffering from a severe lack of movement and excess showboating. Casiraghi did his best in trying to reshuffle his cards, constantly asking the 3 forwards to switch positions with one another, but with little results. Greece were defending solidly, and hitting Italy on the counter. In minute 13, the Greeks could have actually capitalized on one of them, but fortunately for the Azzurri Marinos’s shot was wide of the mark.
After eventually managing to get their first shot on target (minute 24, a central effort by Marco Motta easily parried by Kasmeridis), it was finally Mario Balotelli that came to the Azzurrini’s rescue (with some help of the unprepared Greek defense, it must be said). Exploiting an insisted run of Osvaldo on the right wing (and the associated cross), Inter Milan’s forward picked up a poorly headed defensive clearance, waiting for the ball to drop before slamming a powerful right-foot volley into the top corner. Booyah. 1-0 Italy, a score that remained unchanged till the half-time.
Unfortunately in the second half, and much like they had done for large parts of the first, the Azzurrini allowed their opponents to get control of the ball back. Giovinco’s fitness limitations became far too evident (although after a non-stop season like his, Olympics included, that was understandable), and Osvaldo’s selfishness in final third wasn’t helping too much either (on a good number of chances, the Fiorentina striker preferred going for a difficult dribble instead of passing it to a wide-open Balotelli). Eventually Greece’s ball possession paid dividends, when a 54th-minute run by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (following yet another counter-attack) was finalized by the Greek midfielder with mid-range blast just inside Andrea Consigli’s right post. 1-1.
Casiraghi decided to bring on Morosini and Lanzafame for Cigarini and Osvaldo, but it just wasn’t the Azzurrini’s night. Cruelly lacking ideas, the Italian attacks continually hit against an organized hellenic defense, and even Mario Balotelli’s touches of class (such as his 83rd minute narrowly-wide bicycle kick, after a good Motta cross) could not upset the balance of the game. Italy’s U-21 team remains first in the qualifying group, but will have to wait a little longer before earning their definitive ticket for the Euro 2009 finals.
After eventually managing to get their first shot on target (minute 24, a central effort by 
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