Mourinho's iron grip fails to grab the Nerazzurri faithful
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Mourinho's iron grip fails to grab the Nerazzurri faithful
Two consecutives 0-0 draws have undermined the Inter manager's standing in Milan
Jose Mourinho walks from the touchline after seeing his Inter side draw 0-0 with Fiorentina.
On the face of it last night's goalless draw at Fiorentina was hardly a disaster for Inter. The Viola, who had won each of their previous four league matches, have developed into a potent Serie A force under Cesare Prandelli, and both sides can reasonably claim to be suffering from tiredness following a schedule of four matches in 10 days.
After nine matches Jose Mourinho's side remain two points behind the early frontrunners Udinese and Napoli and there is still plenty of mileage left in this refreshingly open title-race.
The problem for Jose Mourinho, though, is that over the last three years Inter supporters have got used to winning. This time last year the Nerazzurri were unbeaten in the league, top of Serie A and three points better off than they are at present. Unlike this year, they had not lost the Milan derby and neither, at any stage in the campaign, would they come close to falling behind their city rivals who, with their 2-1 win over Siena last night, moved ahead of Inter in the league for the first time in three years.
Mourinho's arrival was expected to hail a new all-conquering era in which a fourth consecutive league title would be a cakewalk, and the Champions League the cherry on top. Of course, to continue the gastronomical analogy, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but last night's result will not have pleased the powers that be at Via Durini, particularly as it has been five years since Inter last endured two consecutive 0-0 draws.
President Massimo Moratti didn't part with £48m on Ricardo Quaresma, Sulley Muntari and Mancini, not to mention £7m a year on Mourinho, to see the sort of flat displays that have produced stalemates with 10-man Genoa and a Fiorentina side missing their two best players, Alberto Gilardino and Adrian Mutu.
"The league standings in October don't interest me," said Mourinho, following the match at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which saw Mancini hit the bar after just five minutes and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Victor Obinna miss half-chances. However the home side, who were denied a clear penalty when Giampaolo Pazzini was fouled by Nicolas Burdisso, improved to finish the stronger of the two sides. Given the size of his squad Mourinho's words ring hollow.
As Alberto Cerrutti writes in the Gazzetta dello Sport: "Dear Mourinho, this won't do. If this is your Inter, first place will only slip further away because you can't expect to win the Scudetto with 0-0 draws. There is still time to recover but the lack of character and the tactical confusion with which Inter approached Fiorentina is a worry. It's true that Prandelli's side had won four matches in a row but their key absences should have been better exploited by someone who can afford to leave Adriano and [Julio] Cruz at home.
Mourinho decided to get tough this week, matching his actions - a new no-nonsense crewcut was in evidence - with deeds by dropping Cruz for failing to respect his defensive responsibilities against Genoa. Adriano, meanwhile, was frozen out for turning up to training late for the second time in the space of 10 days after a soirée spent sampling the delights of Corso Como with compatriot and fellow hell-raiser Ronaldinho. Adriano had reputedly threatened to sulk his way all the way back to Brazil, where he spent six months on loan at Sao Paolo last year after similar shenanigans and a falling out with Roberto Mancini, but he has since been advised otherwise by his agent. "His will be a very long road back, that's for sure," said Mourinho.
An iron rule reaps rewards so long as results are favourable but neither his decision to get tough on players guilty of "insubordination" nor his opting for a 4-2-3-1 rather than his customary 4-3-3 have acquired the desired results. Admittedly, injuries to Patrick Vieira, who made a second-half substitute's appearance last night, Esteban Cambiasso, Muntari, Luis Figo, Olivier Dacourt, and Luis Antonio Jiménez have left the Nerazzurri short of numbers in midfield of late but the lack of creativity and spark is more symptomatic of Mourinho's cautious approach than any missing personnel.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most unpredictably gifted players of his generation but appears evermore isolated among Inter's 'US Mourines' - as la Gazzetta referred to them this week - while at £25m Quaresma, even at this early stage, is fast becoming the most expensive flop since Juan Sebastian Veron. Much has been made of his so-called 'trivela', but isn't it just a toe-punt by a one-footed player?
While Inter were slipping to fourth place, Kaka scored the winning goal for the second match running to help Milan leapfrog Inter into third place, and move to within a point of the joint leaders. Filippo Inzaghi marked his return to the side with the opening goal, which was cancelled out by Simone Vergassola's equaliser before Kaka struck from the penalty spot.
Injury-ravaged Juventus's revival continued as they followed wins over Real Madrid and Torino with a 2-1 success at Bologna courtesy of two Pavel Nedved strikes, but Napoli and Udinese continue to set the pace at the top. The Azzurri continued their remarkable start to the season as German Denis fired a hat-trick in the 3-0 defeat of Reggina, while Udinese's 2-0 victory at Catania was even more impressive. Without the injured Antonio Di Natale, the Friulani became the first away side to score at the Stadio Massimino and end the 100% home record of Walter Zenga's obdurate side.
Results: Fiorentina 0-0 Inter, Chievo 1-2 Lazio, Genoa 2-1 Cagliari, Bologna 1-2 Juventus, Catania 0-2 Udinese, Lecce 1-1 Palermo, Milan 2-1 Siena, Napoli 3-0 Reggina, Torino 2-1 Atalanta
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but they still top right? lame la fans these days
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lol. different country different pattern liao lah.
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Originally posted by Jacksngthepilot:
but they still top right? lame la fans these days
Nope... Their great rival Milan is top currently. Thats what makes it more worse for the Inter fans. -
that the kind of backfire he did expected from the media by claiming the " great one" or best manager than so and so.
he has to acknowledge that at chelsea he inherited a good team from ranieri. that definitely make his job easier .