Inter Milan vs Barcelona – Back in the group stage, first leg
Both clubs met in the group stage of the Champions League this season, and coincidently, the first leg of that particular encounter happened at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Sadly for Barcelona, despite having several chances to destroy the hosts, former Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had one of his worse days, and hence, the defending champions could only settle for a 0-0 draw.
In that game, French striker Thierry Henry seemed in an extremely weak physical condition, but still, Manager Pep Guardiola agreed to add the former Arsenal striker to his starting line-up. Lionel Messi was not at his best, and as he was unable to do anything special for the visitors, he was incapable of breaking the deadlock.
Inter Milan looked negative, and they appeared to possess the perfect back players to frustrate the Barcelona attackers. Samuel Eto’o was nonetheless out of form, and eventually, supporters of both clubs could only go home with a disappointing result overall.
Inter Milan vs Barcelona – The Importance
This semifinal clash is extremely significant for both sides. From the prospect of Inter Milan as the home side, one of their main wish will be to prevent Barcelona from stealing a single away goal; so as to have a more comfortable game at the Camp Nou next week. Milan will also be striving to get a home advantage, and study the Catalans’ strategies for the return leg.
In the case of the title holders, their target will be to destroy the Inter Milan defense and register as much goals as possible, evidently. But, trying to be decent in order not to have their players missing, just as it happened in the quarterfinals for Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique against Arsenal, will also be one of their prime tasks.
A defeat for FC Barcelona might cause an eruption within the Catalan empire as their hopes of retaining their Champions League title would become a doubt. Nevertheless, this is surely not something Coach Guardiola would like to have in front of his eyes.
A victory for Inter Milan could brighten Jose Mourinho’s destiny as he could be on the right path to winning his first Champions League trophy since he last led Portuguese club FC Porto to European glory back in 2004. Beating Barcelona at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will also mean a lot for Coach Jose Mourinho who has been criticized by Italian supporters and news publishers for giving the Champions League too much esteem compared with the Serie A.
Jose Mourinho vs Lionel Messi
The Inter Milan manager doesn’t seem to have any affection toward the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Messi is presently enjoying maximum exposure in the newspapers following his wonderful displays in recent weeks, but Mourinho has declared that he was ready to put an end to the Argentine’s exaggerated praises.
Mourinho has revealed that he was prepared to stop Lionel Messi at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Tuesday, having confirmed that he had drafted several plans on hard copy related to his strategies against the 2009 Ballon d’Or winner. Plans designed by the Inter Milan manager are said to be registered on paper, and even on DVDs–and this shows how much the Portuguese coach is determined to fight the FIFA Player of the Year.
No one can consequently deny the fact that the Mourinho vs Messi clash is one of the top issues which will make the Inter Milan vs Barcelona match even more interesting; but it will be exciting to see how Coach Pep Guardiola and all the Barcelona players will help Messi to jump over the traps of the Special One.
Inter Milan vs Barcelona - Team News
Inter Milan
Inter Milan definitely have a strong squad ahead of this game, and Jose Mourinho has named a squad consisting of 3 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 5 midfielders, and 4 strikers. Below is the likely starting line-up for Inter Milan.
Possible line-up: Julio Cesar, Walter Samuel, Cristian Chivu, Maicon, Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Sulley Muntari, Wesley Sneijder, Dejan Stanković, Diego Milito, Samuel Eto’o.
.jpg)
Barcelona
Swede striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is anticipated to return to the Barcelona squad against Milan on Tuesday as he makes his come back from an injury he received days ago. Andres Iniesta is unfortunately said to miss this match, while French forward Thierry Henry could be left on the bench along with Bojan Krkić as a result of their lack of presence in recent games for the Blaugrana.
Unfortunately, fatigue might turn out to be a challenge for Barcelona players, seeing that their condition during their travel will not be comfortable due to the climatic consequences which emerged from the volcanic eruption in Iceland some days ago.
Coach Pep Guardiola has selected 20 players to travel with him to Milan, and his list surprisingly includes two Barca Atletic players: keeper Ruben Mino, and defender Andreu Fontas. Guardiola has stated that these two players could feature in the first team against Milan, although nothing is confirmed at this point in time.
Possible Line-up: Victor Valdes, Carlos Puyol, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal, Dani Alves, Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquet, Maxwell, Pedro Rodriguez, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Inter Milan vs Barcelona: Quotes from the two clubs
Inter Milan President Massimo Moratti: “We are prepared against Barcelona. We have the right tension, a full-strength squad and it will be a big clash against a very strong team. Yet we are very strong too. I also believe that Coach Jose Mourinho will prepare a good performance."
Inter Milan forward Samuel Eto’o: “We have to prepare in a calm manner, and we have to try to anticipate what the game will be like in order to feel it inside our heads. Matches like that are played more with the head than the feet.”
Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquet: "We know Inter Milan will make it tough for us, however we have been having a lot of big games and it's not the ideal way to travel to Milan (because of the consequences of the volcano in Iceland), but there can be no excuses.
Inter Milan vs Barcelona – Last Meetings
Inter Milan and FC Barcelona have met four times in all, but the Italians have never been able to score against the Spanish giants. Below are the dates and results of the previous meetings between the Nerazzurri and the Blaugrana.
Feb 17, 2003: Barcelona 3-0 Inter Milan
Feb 25, 2003: Inter Milan 0-0 Barcelona
Sep 16, 2009: Inter Milan 0-0 Barcelona
Nov 24, 2009: Barcelona 2-0 Inter Mila
Jose Mourinho could thus get the Italians’ first goal against Barcelona ever, as he was also unable to break this curse when he met Pep Guardiola in the group stages of the Champions League this season. Obviously, this goes without saying that his strikers Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito will have to be efficient in front of goal to at least ensure that their best was given.
