Champions League Preview: Inter Milan Vs Man Utd

In less than two months time the football world will once again turn their eyes to the most exciting club tournement in Europe. This is of course the UEFA Champions League. Gone are the group stages and now we await the opening of the knock out stages. The fixture computer did not disappoint as it presented viewers with awesome mouth watering matchups for the February opening. Liverpool VS Real Madrid, Chelsea VS Juventus, Arsenal VS Roma to name a few. All these matches show promise being the epitomy of an exhilerating performance, but only one tie has brought on mass speculation and anticipation. This tie is between the Italian Champions Inter Milan and England's football juggaurnaut Manchester Utd. It will be a battle on all forces. The techinical prowess of Inter's coach Jose Mourinho against the wit and experience of Utd's Sir Alex Ferguson. The winner of this match will move on in the competition and prove to the World that they are true contenders to the cup.

Former Chelsea manager Mourinho and Ferguson have quite a history. Mourinho managed the winning FC Porto team that knocked out Utd to go on to win the Champions League some years back. He then moved to England to take up the post of manager of Chelsea and became one of Sir Alex most competitive rivals. During Jose tenure Chelsea finally broke the glass ceiling that was held by Man Utd and Arsenal in the Premiership. Mourinho upped the tempo and level of the Premiership to the relentess battle it is seen as today. Both managers are known for their off the pitch tactics of making comments that ruffle their opponents feathers. Mourinho has already stirred the pot by disregarding the quality of his fellow countryman and FIFA player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho mentioned that his star striker Ibrahimovic is a much better player than Ronaldo. The outcome of this tie will rely much on the tactics decided by the managers as well as the players on the pitch.

Looking on the pitch most eyes will be turned to the two players that are mentioned above, Man Utd's Ronaldo and Inter's Ibrahimovic. Ronaldo, last season seemed to have perfected the art of attacking football. He seemed to score goals at will using either his feet or head. He hit long range shots, free kicks, heel shots and graceful headers that took his tally to 41 goals last season. What is even more impressive is that he did all this as a midfielder. His brilliant display played an integral role in Man Utd have a successful Premiership and Champions League run that earned them the title kings of Europe. Imbrahimovic was not as prolific last season. Due a number of injuries that kept him on the sidelines he managed to score 22 goals for the season. This is still an impressive tally for a top striker. This season so far both attacking players are almost level on goals. Ibrahimovic has 11 and Ronaldo 10. Both players are capable of awe inspiring moves that could change the face of the game at any moment. Ronaldo will be expected to use his speed and dribbling techniques to move pass defenders and take shots, while Ibrahimovic will be more reliant on service from the midfield, as soon as the ball touches his feet anything short of magic can happen. He is known to create incredible moves and strikes that leave his audience in amazement, creating goals by manuveuring into impossible angles.

These two players will not the only players to watch. Both teams are packed with talent on and off the bench. Utd will also be reliant on a number of experienced and talented players. Some of the players that are expected to be included in the starting line up are Berbatov, Rooney, Carrick, Ferdinand, Evra and Van De Sar. 30 Million dollar summer signing Dimatar Berbatov will be expected to service his fellow attackers with magical passes that could open up Inter's defense. Defenders will also be aware that Berbatov is also capable of carving defenders up with fluent dribbles and has a marksman precision in front of goal. Defenders will have to keep an eye on the Bulgarian and not make his languid movements fool them into thinking he is less of a threat than his team mate Ronaldo. English striker Wayne Rooney is also extremely deadly and should not be taking lightly. His work rate is almost second to none and his shots on goal usually tend to make goal keepers experience difficulty grasping the ball, leaving them vulnerble to simple tap ins that Man Utd has perfected under Sir Alex regime. In the middle of the pitch English man Michael Carrick will be expected to control the tempo of the game, limiting the movements of Inter's players. Carrick is also deadly when he moves forward to take strikers on goal just outside the box.

Evra will push forward along the left wing providing crosses into the box, he will also be expected to clean up any attacks coming forward from Inter's wingmen. One point of concern for Utd supporters will be their CB position. First team player Vidic is expected to miss the tie due to European suspension recieved during the FIFA Club World Cup and will not be partnered with Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand is rated as one of the top defenders in the World and will be most likely partnered with you CB Evans. Evans has proven this season that he has the potential to make Vidic spot his own permanently in the future, however he will have to be up to the difficult task of keeping a close watch on Inter's attacking players, Ibrahimovic in particular who can be more than a handful infront of goal. Goal keeper Edwin Van de Sar will have to be at his best if Man Utd hope to gain success over Inter. He will be given the task of stopping proven goal scorers such as Figo, Muntari, Adriano, Ibrahimovic and Maicon to name a few from piercing his net with the ball.

When we focus on Inter speculating who will be chosen by Mourinho the task becomes difficult. Jose has a large squad of players to choose from. If he feels to play an attacking minded game he may put on the like of Ricardo Quaresma and Brazilian Mancini. However if he feels to play a more techical slower game he will place his trust in players such as Ghanan midfielder Muntari and Italian power house Mario Balotelli. I am of the opinion that Mourinho will be more cautious in his selections and be conservative in his selections leaving out Mancini and Quaresnma out of his starting lineup. I expect that he will utilize the likes of Muntari, Vieira, Maicon and Cambiasso. Muntari was one of Mourinho's first signings since he became manager at Inter. The talented Ghanan midfielder is flexible and can play in a wing position but is capable of maintaining defensive duties when opponents are on the attack. Muntari is also able to provide strikers with service as well as taking shots or tapping in crosses. He has already scored two goals for Inter and has contributed to the teams success this season.

Central midfielder Vieira should also be included if he is not injured. Vieira is Arsenal's former captain and is used to heated battles against Utd. Mourinho I believe will exploit Vieira's knowledge and experience of Sir Alex's teams to create a barrier in midfield to foil any Utd attack. Another defensive midfielder that will most likely be utilized is Argentine Cambiasso, this experienced defensive midfielder will also have to be on his top game against the attacking movements of Berbatov, Rooney and Ronaldo. He will have to be the first barrier that holds before Utd reaches Inter's defensive back line. The final key player I have included is the Brazilian wing back Maicon. Maicon can push forward down the wing to serve the strikers with crosses or use his speed and skills to press into the box and take shots on goal. He has already scored a number of goals this season.

This matchup looks to be a classic in the making. Not only are we expected to see exciting performances from the players above, but we can also look forward for surprises from other players who may take part such as Utd's young Brazilian wing back Rafael, Portuguese wing Nani and experienced players such as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scoles. Inter on the other hand could bring on former Chelsea star Crespo, Portuguese magician Figo or Brazilian forward Adriano. All this makes up for an impressive 180 minutes of football. At the moment I am not able to call the winner of the tie, however based on the recent form of Ibrahimovic I am tempted to think that Inter will be the victor. The World will just have to wait until February to see who will continue onwards to Rome.

To Milan?...or to England?..Where to Ronnie?

Samba boy Ronnie seems to be on his way out of Barcalona as the La Liga season comes to an end and I am not surprised. Ronaldinho is one of the greatest footballers to ever grace the planet. He has achieved almost everything a player can achieve in football. He has won the World Cup, FIFA Player of the year award, Golden Ball Award, La Liga Titles and the ever elusive Champions League Trophy. He won most of these awards playing for Barcalona. It now seems that he has lost the drive to achieve anything further at the club. As a fan of football this is very disappointing news. I can remember Ronaldinho entertaining me with his crazy footwork and fantastic goals always having a boyish smile on his face. One, only has to watch replays of El Classico matches against rivals Real Madrid to see the artist at his best. I used to tell my bestfriend that he seems to take the game in jest and imagine when he decides to take it seriously how much more entertainment he will give.

The last couple seasons I have no longer seen the smile on his face and I wish to see it once more. Internal problems last season between Ronaldinho and Samuel Etoo led to speculations that one of the two was close to leaving. This did not happen and a new season started and as it played out, it became evident that Ronaldinho clearly does not want to remain in Barcalona. Everyone is expecting him to now set his eyes on either Italy or England to face new challenges. In Italy rumour has it that his brother and agent is trying to work out a transfer deal that will bring the Brazilian magician to AC Milan. AC Milan however have not come to an agreement with Barcalona on the transfer fee and thier rivals Inter Milan now feel fit to also attract Ronnie to thier side of the San Siro. In England there is talks about Manchester City or Tottenham looking to use his services.

Lets look at Italy first. If I had a choice in the matter I would love to see Ronnie in an AC Milan shirt. To see an attacking force consisting of a Brazilian trio consisting of Ronaldinho, Kaka and young Pato would be an awe to watch on the club level (We should see this on the International level very soon). It would be like Samba in Milan and a club like Milan that is known for its good reputation with its players should be able to bring out the best in the Brazilian. He would have a new challenge first of winning either the CL or UEFA Cup. He would also play a significant role in bringing the Seria A title back to AC Milan's side of town. Option number two would be to join Inter Milan, a club that seems to scout the best players from top teams and attract them to their grounds to bring in success. Ronnie would follow the footsteps of Viera, Figo and Crespo who made similar moves. Inter has had a couple of successful seasons as leaders of the Seria A and would automatically grant Ronnie placement in the Champions League. My only concern is I dont believe that Inter Milan would suit Ronaldinho's playing style and he may have make adjustments in his game and even position to fit into the squad.

The other two rumoured teams are based in England. Ronnie has already expressed he has no interest in the English game, but one can never tell in where players end up when the transfer window opens. The first team that might acquire his services is Manchester City. A team that has a new owner, a new manager, new players, new finances and new expectations. The team is owned by a former politician from Thailand that is worth billions. The manager is the former manager of the English national team Sven Eriksson. Eriksson over the pass season has spent funds bringing in players such as Elano, Petrov and Castello in hope to create a fast paced team that will compete in the top flight of the Premiereship and win a place in Europe. He was recently in the process of bringing a young Brazilian striker Jo to Manchester in a deal that will be the largest in Man City history. His next target is to bring Ronaldinho to England to bring the team much needed marketability and success in European hopes. If Ronaldinho joins Manchester City I can expect to see him fitting into team contributing precision passes, spot kicks and entertainment. Finally another team rumoured to be interested in the Brazilian is Tottenham.

Tottenham like Manchester City also have great expectations and have brought in a qualified Spanish manager Juande Ramos. Ramos has already won the UEFA Cup twice in Spain with Sevilla. I have no idea if Ronaldinho goes to Tottenham how he will fit in. This is because Ramos is expected to do an extreme house cleaning of the current players in the club and bring in alot of new faces. Ronaldinho will be one of at least 8 players expected to come in. One thing is certain though if Ronaldinho does join Tottenham he will be under the close scrutiny of Ramos. Ramos is already famous in London for his strict "No pies" diet and work out plan. This would not go well with a party boy like Ronnie I would think. It would surely put him in shape to tackle the pace and physical pressure of the BPL. My pick is AC Milan, however where ever the destination is I will be watching.