RazielSR
20-02-2007, 09:59:AM
http://es.uefa.com/ml/images/logos/70x70/50138.gif - http://es.uefa.com/ml/images/logos/70x70/52268.gif
WEDNESDAY 21 - 20:45 HRS.
Old rivals renew acquaintances
As FC Internazionale Milano and Valencia CF prepare to meet for the fourth time in six seasons, it is doubtful they have any secrets from each other. The Spanish side showed the better form in the group stage and emerged as winners of their section but Inter have had the upper hand in matches between the sides. Valencia also have one particularly unhappy memory of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium as they lost the 2001 final there on penalties to FC Bayern München.
• Last Thursday, UEFA announced the match would take place in Milan following consultations between the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs in the wake of recent spectator incidents in Italy. The permitted capacity will be 36,000. The FIGC told UEFA that the stadium was already in conformity with some of the measures provided for by Italian law, and that additional work had been undertaken to fully comply with new measures that have come into force.
• Inter eliminated Valencia in the quarter-finals of both the 2001/02 UEFA Cup and 2002/03 UEFA Champions League. Two seasons after the second of those meetings, Inter recorded a remarkable 5-1 group-stage win at Mestalla and now face the same opponents as they pursue a place in the last eight for the fourth time in five seasons.
• The sides first met in UEFA club competition in the last eight of the UEFA Cup five seasons ago, with Inter held 1-1 at home before triumphing 1-0 in Spain thanks to Nicola Ventola's early strike.
• Inter and Valencia were reunited in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League the following season, when Christian Vieri's 32nd-minute effort proved enough for Inter - whose coach Héctor Cúper had recently joined from Valencia - to win the home leg. The same player scored again five minutes into the return and that proved crucial as the Italian side advanced on away goals despite goals from Pablo Aimar and Rubén Baraja for Valencia.
• In the 2004/05 group stage it was even worse for Valencia as they conceded five goals at home to Roberto Mancini's men for whom Dejan Stanković, Adriano and Julio Cruz were all on the scoresheet. They regained some respect with a scoreless draw in Italy but Inter went on to win the group with Valencia finishing third.
• Inter's first home game this season ended in a 2-0 defeat by Bayern but FC Spartak Moskva (2-1) and Sporting Clube de Portugal (1-0) were then defeated, helping the Italian outfit take second place in Group B. Inter managed only five goals in their six games, three of them scored by Cruz in only 174 minutes of action.
• The Nerazzurri were successful at this stage 12 months ago, recovering from AFC Ajax's storming start to draw 2-2 in the away game as Stanković and Cruz scored second-half goals. Stanković then sealed a 1-0 win in the return.
• Inter were European Champion Clubs' Cup winners in 1963/64 and again the following year and that first triumph, a 3-1 victory in Vienna, came at the expense of Spanish opposition in the shape of Real Madrid CF. At home Inter have lost just once to Spanish visitors, 2-0 to Deportivo Alavés in the fourth round of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. Of the other 14 games they have won eight with six draws.
• Valencia won four of their six group fixtures to finish top of Group D with 13 points and with five goals, Fernando Morientes is the joint leading scorer in the competition. In three of their four previous UEFA Champions League campaigns the Spanish side reached at least the quarter-finals.
• Valencia's final game in this year's group stage took them to Italy and an encounter with AS Roma. A 1-0 defeat meant the Mestalla club have won just once in nine matches on Italian soil – against Roma in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League second group stage – with six defeats. The second leg is on 6 March.
What do you think about the match?
WEDNESDAY 21 - 20:45 HRS.
Old rivals renew acquaintances
As FC Internazionale Milano and Valencia CF prepare to meet for the fourth time in six seasons, it is doubtful they have any secrets from each other. The Spanish side showed the better form in the group stage and emerged as winners of their section but Inter have had the upper hand in matches between the sides. Valencia also have one particularly unhappy memory of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium as they lost the 2001 final there on penalties to FC Bayern München.
• Last Thursday, UEFA announced the match would take place in Milan following consultations between the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs in the wake of recent spectator incidents in Italy. The permitted capacity will be 36,000. The FIGC told UEFA that the stadium was already in conformity with some of the measures provided for by Italian law, and that additional work had been undertaken to fully comply with new measures that have come into force.
• Inter eliminated Valencia in the quarter-finals of both the 2001/02 UEFA Cup and 2002/03 UEFA Champions League. Two seasons after the second of those meetings, Inter recorded a remarkable 5-1 group-stage win at Mestalla and now face the same opponents as they pursue a place in the last eight for the fourth time in five seasons.
• The sides first met in UEFA club competition in the last eight of the UEFA Cup five seasons ago, with Inter held 1-1 at home before triumphing 1-0 in Spain thanks to Nicola Ventola's early strike.
• Inter and Valencia were reunited in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League the following season, when Christian Vieri's 32nd-minute effort proved enough for Inter - whose coach Héctor Cúper had recently joined from Valencia - to win the home leg. The same player scored again five minutes into the return and that proved crucial as the Italian side advanced on away goals despite goals from Pablo Aimar and Rubén Baraja for Valencia.
• In the 2004/05 group stage it was even worse for Valencia as they conceded five goals at home to Roberto Mancini's men for whom Dejan Stanković, Adriano and Julio Cruz were all on the scoresheet. They regained some respect with a scoreless draw in Italy but Inter went on to win the group with Valencia finishing third.
• Inter's first home game this season ended in a 2-0 defeat by Bayern but FC Spartak Moskva (2-1) and Sporting Clube de Portugal (1-0) were then defeated, helping the Italian outfit take second place in Group B. Inter managed only five goals in their six games, three of them scored by Cruz in only 174 minutes of action.
• The Nerazzurri were successful at this stage 12 months ago, recovering from AFC Ajax's storming start to draw 2-2 in the away game as Stanković and Cruz scored second-half goals. Stanković then sealed a 1-0 win in the return.
• Inter were European Champion Clubs' Cup winners in 1963/64 and again the following year and that first triumph, a 3-1 victory in Vienna, came at the expense of Spanish opposition in the shape of Real Madrid CF. At home Inter have lost just once to Spanish visitors, 2-0 to Deportivo Alavés in the fourth round of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. Of the other 14 games they have won eight with six draws.
• Valencia won four of their six group fixtures to finish top of Group D with 13 points and with five goals, Fernando Morientes is the joint leading scorer in the competition. In three of their four previous UEFA Champions League campaigns the Spanish side reached at least the quarter-finals.
• Valencia's final game in this year's group stage took them to Italy and an encounter with AS Roma. A 1-0 defeat meant the Mestalla club have won just once in nine matches on Italian soil – against Roma in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League second group stage – with six defeats. The second leg is on 6 March.
What do you think about the match?