^ there is no way Mourinho can take the blame for the complete incompetency of individual players ...
I mean what the f*ck was Burdisso thinking? the first goal was just utter idiocy ... and on the third goal: have some balls man, you're a defender! the shamefulness of it!
firstly, let's look at the weekend match:
the score at Reggio Calabria was very flattering to Reggina ...
Mourinho's change in formation to 4-4-2 worked well ... Quaresma put in an impressive performance (not just relative to his pale form this season) and was unlucky not have gotten a goal to go with his excellent assist ...
when the team surged into a 0-2 lead, they took their foot off the pedal -- and instead of going into cruise control, they slackened, allowing Reggina to gain an unlikely 2 goals ... it was such an uncharacteristic loss in concentration by the defence, whose two cleansheets going into the match actually hinted at the possibility that, with no injuries casualties at the back, the backline was settling into a nice groove ...
and then, to seriously compound the problems, Cristi Chivu was taken off injured (and is going to be out for a while) ...
a deserved winner was claimed, though from an unlikely source ... 3-2 was not an accurate reflection on the match, but the lapse in concentration needed to be learned from ...
now for the Anorthosis match:
with Chivu out injured, there was always going to be a forced change in defence ... but Córdoba must have been nursing a minor injury too, for I can think of no other reason for why he wasn't used ... so rather than throwing Samuel into a European game for his first appearance since returning from injury, Burdisso and Matrix were given the start ...
once you see those two names in the lineup you know that, if they played as per their usual standards, a f*ck up or a sending off was likely ... but this was Anorthosis, which presented an excellent chance for them to prove their worth (as Toldo had done in the previous encounter) ... but no one could have imagined the level of f*ck up produced by Burdisso ... one could argue that Júlio César should share the blame, but the sheer lack of awareness is what makes me pin it on Burdisso -- his second half howler only served to vindicate my opinion ...
while the first and third goals were down to farcical defending, the second was just pure luck for the Cypriots ... a header rebounding off the back of your head and going in is going to happen once in a blue moon (if that) ...
Cambiasso nearly made up for his "error" by getting a goal: his header looked like it had crossed the line ...
in attack, Balotelli had a good game: a goal and two assists (all three from set pieces) summed up a very good performance by him, though he wasn't so impressive in open play (I remember more than one woefully weak pass that gave possession away) ...
Zlatan continues to miss the easy ones, yet make the difficult look naturally easy -- in the opening minutes, he hit the keeper from less than six yards out when he had the goal at his mercy, and then late in the match he fluffed his shot when in front of an open net, albeit from a tight angle ... but then it was his blistering freekick from 35 yards that was so hot to handle that it pretty much set the first goal on a platter for Balotelli ... I know that the team relies too heavily on him, but he can certainly do better ... I'm sure he'll produced more matchwinning performances ... anyway, I'd rather he reserve those for the big teams in the big games, when the world is watching a lot closer than they would have been against Anorthosis ...
moving on to the rest of the attack:
Quaresma looked lively in the first half, but faded as match went on ...
Mancini didn't do too much ...
with Crespo not registered and Adriano left out, Julio Cruz got a shot at redeeming himself ... and he duly obliged by coming off the bench to get the equalizer and restore his chances of a first team spot ... that said, he didn't combine too well with Zlatan: once he somehow got himself in the way of a cross that was meant for Zlatan, and that would have been far easier for Zlatan to put away; then, the tables were turned and another case of a lack of communication meant that Zlatan got in his way of a late chance ...
there's work to do in all departments ... and the best XI is still not apparent, with players suffering injuries, sudden bouts of inability to follow instruction, or random and inexplicable losses in form ... Mourinho's not in an easy situation ... but, like I said before, there will surely be a couple of changes to the squad in December ... quite a few players have shamed themselves into being put on the 'get the f*ck out' list ...
but it will come together soon enough -- there is enough talent both on the field and on the bench to ensure that happens ... these issues are teething problems ... the real Inter has only been seen in glimpses ... and it can only be a good thing if Europe underestimates the capability of this team ...
