Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
Sports => Football => Topic started by: sammy on May 15, 2008, 07:19:15 PM
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MILAN, Italy (AP) - Inter Milan fans squirm at the mere mention of May 5, 2002, the date of the club's biggest collapse in recent memory.
They're hoping May 18, 2008, won't be remembered the same way.
That is when Inter will have its third and final chance to wrap up this year's Serie A title - which seemed to already be in the bag months ago. But its 11-point lead from February has now shrunk to a one-point advantage, and Inter must beat relegation-threatened Parma on Sunday to secure its third straight league title - or hope that AS Roma fails to win at Catania.
It could have been crowned champions two weeks ago, but lost 2-1 to rival AC Milan and then only managed a 2-2 draw at home against Siena last Sunday after Marco Materazzi missed a 78-the minute penalty.
Going into the last game of the season, Inter has 82 points and Roma 81. If both teams end up with 82, Inter would win the championship because of a better head-to-head record.
Inter was undefeated in Serie A up until three months ago, and seemed to be cruising toward the title until its first loss to Napoli was followed by a string of injuries.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been out since the end of March with a knee injury, and played for at least a month before that at less than full strength. Ibrahimovic is likely to be available against Parma, although his physical form after the six-week absence is uncertain.
While this would be Niter's third title in a row, many Serie A observers see this one as necessary to validate the other two.
Inter won the league in 2006 after officials stripped it from Juventus for the team's role in a match-fixing scandal. Officials also docked second-place Milan 15 points, giving the title to third-place Inter. It won the following year when Juventus played in Serie B as punishment and Milan started the Serie A season with an eight-point penalty in the standings.
Before 2006, Inter had not won the league since 1989, despite coming close several times - including in 2002. On that May 5, Inter led the league by one point going into the last game of the season and lost to Lazio while Juventus and Roma both won, pushing the Nerazzurri down to third place.
Inter plays a Parma that must win and hope Catania loses to Roma in order to avoid relegation.
Parma and Inter are the only two teams to never have been relegated from Serie A. Parma earned promotion to the highest division 18 years ago for the first time and has remained there ever since.
Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi on Monday fired coach Hector Cuper, who had been brought on two months ago to save the team from relegation, replacing him with Andrea Manzo who was coaching Parma's youth squad.
"I tried to give a final jolt to the team," Ghirardi said. "If Parma is relegated I will face extraordinary damage to my finances and image. It's only normal that I do everything possible to avoid that happening."
Inter will be without midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, who hurt his ankle in last week's loss to Siena, but midfielder Dejan Stankovic is available after being out since the end of April.
The Roma-Catania game will be a rematch of the recent Italian Cup semifinals, where Roma advanced 2-1 on aggregate to set up the final against Inter.
The last spot in next year's Champions League is also at stake Sunday, with Fiorentina entering the last game with a two point advantage over AC Milan. To snatch fourth place and the coveted spot in the tournament, Milan must beat Udinese at home and Fiorentina has to lose on the road against Torino.
On Saturday, Sampdoria faces Juventus, which is already assured of finishing in third place.
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8117528/Inter,-Roma-chase-title-in-final-round-of-season#
Come on Roma and Come on Parma :wavetowel: :wavetowel: :wavetowel:
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y isnt anyone trying to teef vucinic from roma?
that man is dangerous
bpl is the only league of the big 3 that doesnt use the head to head as a tie breaker
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Lets see if they manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in typical inter fashion. :devil:
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Forza Inter!
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y isnt anyone trying to teef vucinic from roma?
that man is dangerous
bpl is the only league of the big 3 that doesnt use the head to head as a tie breaker
BPL were also the first to implement the 3pts system that everyone uses now...for the same reason they use goals as a tie-breaker instead of head to head: TO ENCOURAGE TEAM TO ATTACK AND TRY TO SCORE.
U rather be entertained or watch everybody play like Chelsea?
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inter go mash up parma and win
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If Inter doesn't win this they in a mess.
They have to be the least heralded two-time defending champion in history.
One title they get awarded after the fact, justifiably so but it still has an asterisk in the eyes of many and the next title they had no competition because the major challengers get penalised.
Now they finally have a chance to win a title against Juve and Milan without any off the pitch factors and they trying to bottle it.
BPL were also the first to implement the 3pts system that everyone uses now...for the same reason they use goals as a tie-breaker instead of head to head: TO ENCOURAGE TEAM TO ATTACK AND TRY TO SCORE.
U rather be entertained or watch everybody play like Chelsea?
Also the first to consider using "professional foul" rules to protect attackers.
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As if on cue, Inter finds a way to implode. In Feb Inter had it in the bag, not another team in sight for miles and now Roma's on their tail.
How do they manage to 4k everything up I will never know.
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And they coulda wrap it up against Siena last week..
They get a penalty in the 78th minute..
Cruz is de man does normally take the penalties..
That goat Materazzi rush in wild to huff Cruz and miss de penalty and they end up drawing the game.
Parma will not be an easy game because they fighting relegation but I hoping Inter pull it off.
Forza Inter!
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Forza Inter!!!
Serie A Roundup, May 18
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8152158/Serie-A-Roundup,-May-18-
Updated: May 18, 2008, 10:22 AM EST 30 comments
ROME (AP) - Inter Milan won its third straight Italian league title Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned from a six-week injury layoff and scored twice in a 2-0 win over Parma in the final round of the season.
Inter finished with 85 points, three more than AS Roma, which drew 1-1 at Catania.
Also, Fiorentina beat Torino 1-0 to secure fourth place and Italy's final Champions League berth. AC Milan finished fifth despite a 4-1 win over Udinese, and will miss out on the top European competition next season.
Empoli, Parma and Livorno were relegated.
Ibrahimovic was out injured when Inter wasted chances to clinch the past two weekends, first with a loss against Milan in the city derby and then last week with a home draw against Siena.
The Sweden striker came on in the 51st minute under driving rain at Parma's Ennio Tardini stadium and scored one goal with each foot. In the 62nd, he used his right foot to connect on a low shot from beyond the area. He then volleyed in a cross from Maicon with his left foot in the 79th.
Roma needed to win and hope for help from Parma. It looked good for the Giallorossi when Mirko Vucinic scored in the eighth minute, but Roma let up after news of Ibrahimovic's goals reached Catania and Jorge Andres Martinez equalized for the Sicilians in the 85th.
Argentine forward Pablo Osvaldo scored with a bicycle kick in the 76th minute for Fiorentina at Torino, which had a goal by Aimo Diana disallowed for offside in the 60th.
Udinese led Milan when Giandomenico Mesto scored in the 32nd, but the Rossoneri responded with goals from Alexandre Pato, Filippo Inzaghi, Cafu and Clarence Seedorf.
Juventus finished third with 72 points and was followed by Fiorentina with 66 and Milan 64.
Alessandro Del Piero finished as the league scoring leader, notching two goals in Juventus' 3-3 draw with Sampdoria on Saturday. Del Piero finished with 21 goals, teammate David Trezeguet had 20 and Genoa's Marco Borriello ended with 19 after his club was shut out 2-0 by Atalanta.
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No implosion this time around!!! ;D :wavetowel:
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ibrahimovic is a boss, near the end that man hold off four men near the center circle. skill for days. also in years to come that balotelli youth will be pressure.
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Well done Inter, you finally proved me wrong.
Men fight down the last two Scudettos saying one was handed to them and the other was played against weaker opposition but they cyah take this one away.
I was nervous in the first half, a couple shot on goal but nothing really dangerous. Cambiasso was definitely missed in the midfield.
Inter has one for the future in Balotelli...........
Balotelli was born in Palermo and is the son of Brescia-based Ghanaian immigrants, Thomas and Rose Barwuah. In 1993, at the age of three, Mario was entrusted to the Balotelli family by the Court of Brescia. They resided in Concesio, a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. However, he is currently ineligible to obtain Italian citizenship, as his adoption was never made definitive.
edit: he black like the ace of spades and is likely to make Italy's side once he sort out he papers.