Inter Preview
Aug 7, 2006
Author: Gav Stone

The reigning Serie A champions pay a visit to Vicarage Road, as Internazionale continue their pre-season preparations. Granted, Inter are only champions by default thanks to the match and referee-fixing scandal that engulfed the nation and saw Juventus and Milan lose the top two placings, but there is a sense of wanting to win it in the proper manner this time around. As a result, this match will see an Inter side looking to put on a good performance as they prepare for the forthcoming Italian Super Cup at the end of August.

Even though the nerazzurri will not be bringing their strongest squad to Watford, coach Roberto Mancini has some of his big-name players in England, where they arrived from Amsterdam on Sunday morning following the Amsterdam Tournament over the weekend. Anyone who saw their 3-2 win over Porto on Saturday evening may have been impressed by the finishing of Obafemi Martins, a recent target for Newcastle and Tottenham. This was a shock for Inter supporters though, who are used to the Nigerian missing from the most blatantly obvious scoring positions. His form during the tail end of last season was a major disappointment and although he is seen as a major young talent, he could see himself fall down the pecking order at the club as talk of a new striker signing continues to dominate the headlines. He is one of four strikers in the squad, with Brazilian Adriano being the major name you should get to see in action at some point. His form, as you would no doubt have noticed during the World Cup, has not been anything to shout about either. The word from the club is that he is a lot more settled than he was over the second half of last season though and an upturn in form is expected. The other two forwards – the two who are likely to start or at least feature in a big way – are Lamphros Choutos, a Greek who has been plagued by injuries for the best part of the last four years, and Goran Slavkovski, a tall seventeen year old who is yet to make up his mind where his national team allegiances lie – Macedonia, Sweden or Croatia. Again, he is seen as a major talent for the future although don’t expect great things here.

Dejan Stankovic and Esteban Cambiasso have been the pick of the midfielders over the past couple of seasons at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and both will feature in this match at some point. Cambiasso is renowned for being the finisher of that wonderful Argentina goal in the World Cup and despite his role being as a midfield enforcer, he does have a knack of being in the right place at the right time. An appearance by former Leeds bruiser Oliver Dacourt alongside him should allow Cambiasso more opportunities to break forward. Santiago Solari and Cesar are playing for places in the side, although with recent acquisitions they are likely to spend the season as reserves. Solari may yet move to an English club and if pre-season form is anything to go by, he would be a useful signing.

Defensively, the nerazzurri have brought the iconic Javier Zanetti and he will be welcomed warmly by the smattering of Inter fans present. Ivan Cordoba and Walter Samuel are also in the squad and both formed their solid central defensive pairing last season. Along with them are a handful of youngsters, who may have to spend most of this season farmed out on loan. Francesco Toldo is expected to play in goal and for him this pre-season is vital as he looks to regain the regular starting spot over Brazilian Julio Cesar.

Elsewhere, Luis Figo, Julio Cruz, Alvaro Recoba and Nicolas Burdisso are all back in Italy training, while the same is the case for Fabio Grosso, Maxwell and Patrick Vieira. With league action delayed until September 10th here in Milan due to the on-going court action brought by Juventus, coach Mancini wanted to maximise the time all of his grandiose squad has in preparation, hence the team-splitting tours. Pre-empting the thoughts of any coach is difficult in a friendly such as this, but with more time to prepare for the start of the season than Adrian Boothroyd, Mancini is likely to give a few reserves the start. Still, it will be a good test for Watford and one they will do well to get something out of.

Probable Starting XI: Toldo; J. Zanetti, Cordoba, Marino, Fautario; Solari, Cambiasso, Dacourt, Cesar; Choutos, Slavkovski.

Substitutes: Gk: Julio Cesar, Carini; De: Andreolli, Bonucci, Maicon, Samuel; Mi: Belaid, Pizarro, Stankovic; Fo: Adriano, Martins.

Gav Stone
gavstone@gmail.com