http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6465/32799745.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7163/18874305.jpg


Striking rivals out to steal a march
Match preview

http://www.uefa.com/multimediafiles/photo/competitions/ucl/88/72/91/887291_mediumsquare.jpg

As FC Barcelona start the defence of their UEFA Champions League title at FC Internazionale Milano all talk focused on Zlatan Ibrahimović and Samuel Eto'o as they prepare to come up against their former clubs. The forwards traded places in the summer, Ibrahimović swapping San Siro for Catalonia and Eto'o making the opposite journey two months after scoring the opener in Barça's 2-0 final triumph over Manchester United FC in Rome.

José Mourinho, Inter coach
It's just the first game. I don't want to think Barça are the favourites. We have started to play in a different way and we want to become a team with our own characteristics that work for both Italian and European football. Eto'o is always motivated, and he was born to win. He loves playing football and when he's on the pitch he becomes another person. He left Barcelona, but I'm sure it's still in his heart. I don't think this match will be something extraordinary for him, he will play like he always does. He doesn't have to prove anything, we all know his qualities. Guardiola is happy with Ibra, I'm happy with Eto'o and Eto'o is happy here. We are playing against Barcelona, not against Ibra. Anyway, it is always a pleasure to come up against the best players. I will tell you the starting eleven and then leave: Júlio César, Maicon, Samuel, Lucio and Chivu, Stanković or Muntari, Zanetti, Thiago Motta, Sneijder, Milito and Eto'o.

Josep Guardiola, Barcelona coach
This game won't determine who wins the group. This is a very tough group, with four national champions. It's a pleasure to be in Italy. Last season we didn't face a single Italian opponent. Personally it's an honour for me to face a coach as great as Mourinho who has won trophies in three different countries. Inter have won four Scudetti in a row, with different players and coaches, which proves their strength. We have to play great to win. They're a strong team. Mourinho may have revealed his starting eleven but I won't do it, I never do it. I wanted Ibrahimović because we knew him and his winning mentality well. He's adapting very quickly and we wait for him to be 100 per cent. I hope I get the chance to say hi to Eto'o tomorrow. I want to thank him for the five wonderful years he spent in Barcelona. He is a champion and it won't be easy.

Key stats

• Barcelona are aiming to become the first team to defend the European crown since AC Milan in 1989/90. Inter are seeking a first European Champion Clubs' Cup since back-to-back wins in 1964 and 1965.

• The sides have met in the UEFA Champions League before. Barcelona were convincing 3-0 home winners in their second group-stage encounter on 18 February 2002 before the teams played out a goalless draw the following week.

• Inter's Javier Zanetti and Barcelona pair Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández played in both matches, with Andrés Iniesta an unused substitute at San Siro.

• Inter have lost just one of 15 home matches against Spanish clubs. The Nerazzurri achieved the first of their two European Cup successes by defeating Real Madrid CF 3-1 in the 1964 final in Vienna.

Team news
• Inter
Out: Esteban Cambiasso (knee), Marco Materazzi (thigh)
Doubtful: Dejan Stanković (flu)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

• Barcelona
Out: Bojan Krkić (thigh), Rafael Márquez
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Weekend results
13/09/09 Inter 2-0 Parma FC
(Eto'o 71, Milito 88)

12/09/09 Getafe CF 0-2 Barcelona
(Ibrahimović 66, Messi 80)

Did you know?
Mourinho served as an assistant to the late Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona from 1996-2000.

I hope we win ... but I don't see it happening tbh.
Barca are just so much better.

If Sneijder has a good game, and our midfield is strong enough, we might be able to push a draw.
But IMO Inter 1-3 Barca.

eto'o scores, barça win.

It's gonna end 0-0.

(H)

for Barca

Can't read a scoreline properly can you, Ulysses?

I hope we win ... but I don't see it happening tbh.
Barca are just so much better.

If Sneijder has a good game, and our midfield is strong enough, we might be able to push a draw.
But IMO Inter 1-3 Barca.

Dude, where's the faith on your team?? Are you not the same team that Demolished milan a few weeks back??

You have the squad to beat them.

Can't read a scoreline properly can you, Ulysses?


when matches end nil nil away team wins by default.... fact

when matches end nil nil away team wins by default.... fact

Uh huh, and what kind of breed of cannabis have you been smoking today?

Uh huh, and what kind of breed of cannabis have you been smoking today?

haven't slept properly in the last 2 days :(

Dude, where's the faith on your team?? Are you not the same team that Demolished milan a few weeks back??

You have the squad to beat them.

milan? even your mandril can trash such crappy team.

I'm going to have to go with an Inter win. :read:

milan? even your mandril can trash such crappy team.

I guess is not the best example at the moment... but they still have a strong squad.

Eto'o to score a goal, I say. :munch:

I just hope it's gonna be an entertaining game. So, I hope Inter don't close down.

And sure 3 points would be very welcomed, but still it's just the first game and we got 15 more points to play for.

Anyway, I predict this result: Inter - Barça 1:2 (Eto'o (H) - Ibra (H), Messi).

Visca el Barça!

Eto'o to score a goal, I say. :munch:

indeed he will.

I hope Inter don't close down.

they aren't fools and mourinho is his coach, you can't expect an offensive match by inter :(.

so it's ended 0-0. Great game thread game Anthony! (H) Don't know why i missed it :D

It's gonna end 0-0.

(H)

(H)

Wasn't bad at all but it could have been much better game.

We controlled it from the beginning till the end. We had much more chances than Inter. Ibra showed himself, while Eto'o was far from Eto'o I have seen while he was wearing blaugrana. I just think that we deserved at least a goal from all those chances that we had. Anyway, it isn't bad for us at all. They come to our stadium so there we will gain those 3 points that we missed tonight.

I really gotta stick with the believe that these games in the group stage are not gonna live up to the hype. :(

you better pray to face a team with a keper like zurich one. :)

you better pray to face a team with a keper like zurich one. :)

haha :D

http://www.bangitout.com/uploads/22blind-man.jpg

you better pray to face a team with a keper like zurich one. :)

I will...








But you think we will face Barca that easily after the group stage??



:(

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/gif/20090916/sal.jpg

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/gif/20090916/intbar%20%286%29.jpg

But you think we will face Barca that easily after the group stage??

A keeper who concedes 6 goals for one match is weak; not a keeper who doesn't concede a single goal for more than 6 matches now. :P (Y)

I don't know what your talking about..............



:$

Barca should've destroyed us with the amount of chances they had!
Keita missed an absolute sitter!

But we too could have scored through Milito a few times.

Anyways, I'm happy with the result!

r9FXCa9zzzM

1:33. Guardiola shakes Eto'o's hand. Pep smiled while Eto'o didn't look happy at all.


btw, there was a clear penalty on the second half (1:20). Stankovic played clearly with hand. From other angles would look much clear. Classic penalty!

What a crappy game. I wasted over 2 hours of my life.:(

Quite boast but lack of roast. Felt that Inter is happy about Barcelona's chance missing. Seems better than Chelsea v Barca one but not that exciting. Zlatan and Eto'o both were **** at this match.

Inter was better than before.

r9FXCa9zzzM

btw, there was a clear penalty on the second half (1:20). Stankovic played clearly with hand. From other angles would look much clear. Classic penalty!

Kind of like the classic penalties that Chelsea didn't get in the semi final against Barcelona last season.

We discussed those thousands of times.

Anyway, I'm not complaining on this one. I just mentioned it.

Ibra showed himself, while Eto'o was far from Eto'o I have seen while he was wearing blaugrana.

Really?! For me Ibra wasn't on thepitch yesterday. He looked like the invisible-man. Same for Eto'o...

And about the penalty... At the hand-ball cases, the refs care about intention. And the FIFA refereeing rules say that if the defender gets his hand to the ball,it's considered intention. But if the defender gets his hand from the ball to his body it'sconsidered no intention. But I can'tsaymy opinion about this because Stankovic gets his hand in the back of his body showing no intention bt in the same time he takes his body to the ball.

Oh, sorry for my formulation in English! :rolleyes:

Really?! For me Ibra wasn't on thepitch yesterday. He looked like the invisible-man. Same for Eto'o...

And about the penalty... At the hand-ball cases, the refs care about intention. And the FIFA refereeing rules say that if the defender gets his hand to the ball,it's considered intention. But if the defender gets his hand from the ball to his body it'sconsidered no intention. But I can'tsaymy opinion about this because Stankovic gets his hand in the back of his body showing no intention bt in the same time he takes his body to the ball.

Oh, sorry for my formulation in English! :rolleyes:

I can't call an invisible man one who has like 2-3 awesome chances for goal. Also, imo he was very active.

Invisible-man for me was Henry; Especially on the first half.

Well, if that is what FIFA says, then that's penalty. Stankovic first jumps on the right side with an intention to block that shoot and he couldn't do it with his leg, he did it with his hand and after he touched the ball, he tried to take the his hand back again. That's a penalty imo, but anyway, I wouldn't comment it anymore since people will think that I'm complaining. I'm satisfied with the result. We had other chances to score; the penalty wasn't the only one.

Really?! For me Ibra wasn't on thepitch yesterday. He looked like the invisible-man. Same for Eto'o...

And about the penalty... At the hand-ball cases, the refs care about intention. And the FIFA refereeing rules say that if the defender gets his hand to the ball,it's considered intention. But if the defender gets his hand from the ball to his body it'sconsidered no intention. But I can'tsaymy opinion about this because Stankovic gets his hand in the back of his body showing no intention bt in the same time he takes his body to the ball.

Oh, sorry for my formulation in English! :rolleyes:

lol. just checked Sport.es:

http://www.sport.es/vivo/recursos/fotos/foto_388/foto_388919_CAS.jpg

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/gif/20090916/sal.jpg

mmm nice