Derby della Madonnina, even better up close

Sunday was reportedly set to be a rainy day so we weren’t sure what to expect in terms of the game.  The reports of thundershowers didn’t hamper the 42,000+ fans from tailgating to Gillette Stadium and swarming into the stadium.  The stands were mixed evenly with both Inter and Milan fans, but I could still make out the odd Barca, Palermo, Fiorentina and national team jerseys in the crowd.   Fans brought posters and flags of all shape and size including some funny ones like “Dove Antonio Cassano?”.  Glad to see the fine spirits of the fans picking up as the teams entered the field.

Inter were on the field first and immediately started their warm up, sprinting and passing exercises.  They waved to the fans and shook some hands but I got the sense that they wanted to prepare as much as they could for the game.  The goalie coaches were taking shots at Julio Caesar with such power I oo’d and ahh’d at every one he saved.

Milan took to the field next and similarly many players waved and shook hands with the crowd.  Their pre-game warm up consisted primarily of stretches and passing exercises, but I felt that they were yet again not being as technical in their preparation as Inter was.  Ronaldinho took time to sign some autographs for the fans and then threw red promotional balls into the crowd (picture on right).

First Half:

The game started with Inter almost running circles around Milan’s defense.  Milan looked sluggish and it took merely 4 minutes for Inter to score a goal via Diego Milito.  He single handedly out maneuvered Onyewu amd Zambrotta on the left flank before hammering the ball in the 2 foot gap between Kalac and the post.  It was beautiful.  Milan responded with Ronaldinho feeding the ball to Pato on the wing but he kept getting held up by Inter’s defense time and time again, it was as if no matter where Pirlo or Ronaldinho fed the ball there was always a midfielder or a defender of Inter to block the pass/shot.

The funniest part of the first half was at the 35th minute when Ronaldinho drew a yellow card for a rough foul on Lucio but the referee pulled out his red card instead of the yellow.  The whole crowd could be heard screaming “WHAT WAS THAT?”  Luckily the referee realized his mistake, smiled & apologised and drew the yellow instead.

Second Half:

Milan wanted to get back on top this half but were yet again falling into the same old traps and routines as in the first half, they looked tired on top if it and seemed to be ever frustrated with failed attempt after failed attempt.  Pato made a couple of decent attempts but Julio Caesar was always there to scoop the balls up.  Inter’s second goal came at the 75th minute yet again by a superb strike by Milito fed by Viera.   Gattuso’s frustration was evident as he was diving everywhere and throwing himself on every loose ball that came his way.  A beast of a header by substitute Materazzi off of Boriello’s cross was just what the crowd asked for as I could hear the collective “wow!” coming from the mouths of thousands of fans.

The game ended Inter up 2-0 and Milan were left to think about what steps to take next.  I don’t believe Leonardo is to blame because he was part of the staff that brought Kaka to Milan in 2005 and Pato to Milan in 2007.  I see Milan as being in some kind of monetary trouble due to the fact that of the 65 million euro transfer fee payed to Milan by Real Madrid, very little has been spent in filling the hole he left.  What adds to my suspicion is the failed transfer of Cissokho from Porto due to bad teeth (of all the lousy excuses…), Luis Fabiano and Edin Dzeko due to Milan not wanting to pay their high transfer fees.

Milan are acting like a cheap date, one that we wish would either step up and pay for dessert or stop trying to pretend it’s still hot shit.  There’s still a month left in the transfer market, we’ll see what happens next!

[Show as slideshow]

1234►

Photos taken by Franco Reale, Samy Sood, Arturo Saltarelli & Rick Di Corpo

World Football Challenge – Milan Practice

We continue our coverage of the World Football Challenge with AC Milan’s practice.  Milan spent Saturday afternoon signing autographs for fans at a soccer store outside of Gillette Stadium while Inter were practicing.  One minor thing of note while we waited to see the players of Milan’s autograph session was that while everyone left the team bus wearing their Milan tracksuits, Ronaldinho exited wearing a white polo and black shorts.  Ronaldinho also left the autograph session on his own means and didn’t arrive to the practice with the rest of the team, he showed up using his own method of transportation.  I also received reports from the staff of Gillette stadium that Ronaldinho had food flown in from Milano, Italy that was specially cooked for him.  On their own these little tidbits might just be minor events not worth a second glance, but coupled with his early exit at the practice session makes me wonder how much control young coach Leonardo has over his star player.

On the pitch half of the players including Pirlo, Pato, Ronaldinho, Zambrotta, Flamini and Nesta chose to simply do stretching excercises in preparation for Sunday’s game.  The rest of the players such as new acquisition Onyewu, new captain Ambrosini, Odo, and Gattuso played practice drills and a friendly scrimage.  I kept my eye on Onyewu to see how his physical presence was interacting with the other European players, and to my surprise he was holding his own and completing his passes.  Gattuso is another player I was watching as his poor form in the Confederations Cup from his year long absence due to the knee injury he suffered last season.  Rinho’s fiery spirit and passion was something that shone through throughout the practice, he was one of the first on the field and the last one off the field as he made the tour of the stadium signing autographs and waving to the hundreds of fans who showed up to the practice session.

The vice-captain’s rage in an earlier WFC match versus Club America

I got the feeling that Milan was taking this practice session as more of a publicity deal than a serious game.  Compared to Inter’s practice session I felt that Milan just wasn’t taking it seriously except for select players.  We asked Milan’s newest acquisition Oguchi Onyewu how he felt wearing the Milan jersey; he joked: “[I feel] the same like you wearing your t-shirt.”

I hope for Milan fans everywhere that these players start taking their pre-season training more seriously otherwise there won’t be so many smiling fans waiting for them in Milano.

[Show as slideshow]

12►

Photos taken by Franco Reale, Samy Sood, Arturo Saltarelli & Rick Di Corpo

World Football Challenge – Inter Practice

my514.com had the exclusive pleasure of being Montreal’s only World Football Challenge representatives at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on July 26th.  Our trip on the field in both teams’ practice sessions & game gave us a close look at what exactly Serie A giants Inter Milan & AC Milan had in store this upcoming season.

Today I give an in depth look at Inter Milan’s practice session on Saturday, July 25th.

The practice started with simple passing and shooting drills and then progressed to a pickup calcetto game.  Under Mourinho’s reign, Inter has seen a more disciplined and tactical squad emerge.  The whole team practiced in unison and moved quickly and efficiently to cover their respective men, cut off passing angles and create chances for members of their side.  The players worked themselves vigorously but did not over-extend themselves as it was only a friendly.  It was really interesting to watch Inter’s new Milito-Motta duo in action, their solid chemistry transferred over from Genoa and I could see them feed each other the ball as if they were telepathic.  Once finished with their practice the players and coaching staff took time to autograph jerseys and balls of the hundreds of fans who came early to watch their favorite players in action.

Inter fans all over are reeling over the loss of Ibrahimovic to Barcelona this week so I wanted to get some answers on what the players and coach Jose Mourinho thought about their chances at not only winning the Scudetto this season but also the Champion’s League trophy.  I caught up with Mr. Mourinho on the sidelines of Gillette Stadium as he observed AC Milan practicing and asked him specifically what his thoughts were on the aforementioned question.  His response was: “We’re going to win without [Ibrahimovic], don’t you worry”.  Many of the players including Maicon, Quaresma and Julio Caesar echoed similar remarks but how would the likes of recently acquired Genoa stars Thiago Motta and Diego Milito add to Inter’s mix to give them the winning edge?  Mario Balotelli had a short practice and retired to the sidelines before any questions could be asked on his recent FIFA U-21 championship participation.

Check out our pictures and be sure to stay tuned as my514.com brings you in-depth access to World Football Challenge’s Derby Della Madonnina.

[Show as slideshow]

123►

Photos taken by Franco Reale, Samy Sood, Arturo Saltarelli and Rick Di Corpo.