New Delhi: What: Champions League Group B, Matchday 5
Who: Internazionale (1st, 8pts) vs Panathinaikos (3rd, 4pts)
When: Wednesday 26 November 2008, Kick-off 20:45 CET
Where: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
Inter Milan on the brink of qualification
Italian champions Inter Milan welcome Panathinaikos to the San Siro Stadium on Wednesday knowing that a victory would seal their qualification to the last 16 as Group B winners, while a draw would ensure at least second place.
However, with the Greek side having breathed new life into their European campaign with an amazing 3-0 victory away to Werder Bremen on Matchday 4, they will not exactly be facing oponents without an agenda of their own.
Jose Mourinho’s side will be heading into this game bursting with confidence following last weekend’s 1-0 win against Juventus in the much-anticipated Derby d’Italia.
The Nerazzurri dominated the match, creating several chances, especially through Zlatan Ibrahimovic, before Sulley Muntari’s scrappy Champions Leagueose-range finish decided the match in the 72nd minute.
A perfect weekend for Inter was completed when Milan dropped two more points away to Torino on Sunday night, allowing the Beneamata to extend their lead at the top to three points, while Juve are now six points off the pace.
It seems Mourinho has finally found the right tactics and something resembling a first-choice eleven after his first two months of Italian football.
He started out with his favored 4-3-3 formation, which had paid dividends at Chelsea, but with both Amantino Mancini and Ricardo Quaresma disappointing time and time again, he had to review his ideas.
He then dabbled briefly with a hyper-offensive 4-2-4, but after shipping in five goals in two games against Reggina and Anorthosis Famagusta, he has settled for a more traditional 4-4-2.
Since the 3-3 draw against Anorthosis in their most recent Champions League match, Inter have not conceded a goal and have earned three consecutive victories in Serie A against solid opposition in Udinese, Palermo, and Juventus.
The match against Palermo marked the change in system, and Inter’s early season stutters now seem to be a thing of the past. Ibrahimovic has been a constant threat throughout the season, but in their last few games Inter have looked more and more like a team with Champions Leagueear ideas, not a bunch of individuals - as they had sometimes been in the past.
Inter have tasted all kinds of success in Italy over the past few years. They no longer have any ‘bogey’ teams, having beaten every opponent both home and away over the last few seasons, and they have also captured three league titles, not to mention two Coppa Italias and three Italian Supercups.
European success is therefore the next obligatory step for Inter to be truly considered a superpower of world football alongside the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, and bitter city rivals Milan.
Against Panathinaikos, they will want to show that they have no mental problems playing in Europe and that they are able to take their impressive domestic form effortlessly to the international stage.
The Greek side are an experienced Champions League side, and considering their situation in this group, they will certainly make it a very competitive and difficult match for Inter.
Panathinaikos out to surprise again
After beating German heavyweights Werder Bremen 3-0 in their last Champions League match, Panathinaikos will fancy their chances of getting another positive result at San Siro, even if they are facing an in-form Inter side. If they manage to do that, it would leave Group B wide open going into the final matchday.
Things aren’t going great in the Greek league for Henk Ten Cate’s outfit, who are currently in fourth place with seven points behind leaders Olympiakos, who have won every Greek championship since 2004, when ‘Pana’ last won the title.
That’s why the last two group games take on an added significance for the Greens, who started their Champions League campaign woefully with two defeats but have bounced back nicely since then.
In their first match against Inter, they gave a decent performance and were unlucky on a number of occasions as the Nerazzurri were still looking to hit their stride, but their individual Champions Leagueass shone through in the end as they won thanks to goals by Amantino Mancini (27’) and Adriano (85’).
Panathinaikos next travelled to face Cypriot minnows Anorthosis Famagusta, who earned another shock result after holding Werder Bremen away from home, as they romped to a deserved 3-1 victory.
Things went better for the Greek side in the double header against Werder. Although they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the German outfit, they earned a massive 3-0 victory at the Weserstadium to give themselves a real chance of going through. It is especially this most recent result that should be seen as a warning sign by Inter.
The current situation in Group B sees Inter on top with 8 points, surprise package Anorhosis second with 5, Panathinaikos third with 4, and Werder bottom with 3. Although it would take something of a miraChampions Leaguee for Inter to get eliminated, for the other three teams anything could still happen.
Form guide
Inter
22/11 (Serie A): Inter-Juventus 1-0
15/11 (Serie A): Palermo-Inter 0-2
09/11 (Serie A): Inter-Udinese 1-0
04/11 (Champions League): Anorthosis Famagusta-Inter 3-3
01/11 (Serie A): Reggina-Inter 2-3
Panathinaikos
22/11 (Greek league): Panathinaikos-Thrasivoulos Fili 3-0
15/11 (Greek league): Larisa-Panathinaikos 1-1
12/11 (Greek Cup): Kavala-Panathinaikos 0-3
09/11 (Greek league): Panathinaikos-Olympiakos 0-0
04/11 (Champions League): Werder Bremen-Panathinaikos 0-3
Team news
Inter
The only players out injured for Mourinho are midfielders Luis Jimenez and Patrick Vieira, and defenders Christian Chivu and Nelson Rivas.
Possible formation (4-4-2): Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Materazzi, Maxwell; Zanetti, Muntari, Cambiasso, Stankovic; Ibrahimovic, Adriano.
Panathinaikos
Bryce Moon, the full back who was possibly the man of the match in the first game against Inter, is out injured, as are midfielder Champions Leagueeyton and striker Evangelos Mantzios.
Possible formation (4-3-2-1): Galinovic, Spyropoulos, Sarriegi, Vyntra, Nilsson; Silva, Simao, Tziolis; Gabriel, Karagounis; Salpingidis.
Players to watch
Adriano (Inter)
After being kept out of the squad for five straight games by Mourinho because of disciplinary reasons (he had come late for training after a night out), the Emperor made his comeback against Juventus last weekend, and surprisingly played from the start.
Although he didn’t find the net, he still showed good form and continued where he had left off before being frozen out of the team. He’s still not the same player he was in 2004 and 2005, but at least this season he has managed to play with some regularity and he’s already found the net three times, twice in the Champions League and once in Serie A.
The Brazilian has a special feeling for the Champions League, as he showed most evidently in the 2004-05 season, in which he became Inter’s all-time top scorer in a single season with 10 goals.
Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos)
The Greek international played for Inter between 2003 and 2005, although he made just 21 appearances without scoring once. Still, he showed he was a skilful and sometimes dangerous player who easily won the respect of the Inter fans.
The 31-year-old, who scored the opening goal of Euro 2004 for Greece, is in his third stint with Panathinaikos. He graduated from their youth system in 1996 and moved to Apollon Smyrnis that year, before making his return in 1998 and staying for five years.
After his Inter period, he moved to Benfica for another two seasons, which were more prolific for him as he made 64 appearances and scored 4 goals. In the summer of 2007, he returned to ‘Pana’ again, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he ends his career with the green-Champions Leaguead side.
Prediction
With Panathinaikos’ most dangerous player from the teams’ first meeting, Bryce Moon, missing, and Inter having a practically fully fit squad available, anything but an Inter win would be a big surprise.
Inter-Panathinaikos 2-0
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