Inter v Man Utd – Champions League Blog Banter

By: Wayne Farry | February 24th, 2009

A few days ago I contacted Johonna over at the Inter Milan Offside with the idea of doing a Man Utd/Inter Offside crossover. Basically, we asked each other questions and are posting each other’s answers on our blogs. Here are the gruelling (not really) questions that I asked Johonna, and the answers to those questions..

Wayne: So here we are, on the eve of the big match. It’s the Serie A champions against the European, World and Premier League champions. Do you think that this is the tie of the round?
Johonna: Well, it certainly is for me. To tell you the truth, though, whichever team Inter were paired with would be the tie of the round for me. I do think that it is interesting that both teams are at the top of their respective leagues and both were tipped as potential winners before the beginning of the league, but I do not think this tie will be any less or more exciting than any of the others.

W: Do you think it’s an advantage for your team to have the first tie at home, or would you rather have the first tie away?
J: I would rather have the away first. That way, you can try to get some precious away goals the first time out. I know it is nice to have home-field advantage, but I hate playing catch-up.

W: Man United are having some major injury problems ahead of the game in terms of the defence, how do you think Jose Mourinho will go about trying to capitalise on this?
J: I think Mourinho has his game plan and his team, and he has for some time. Looking at the call-up list, I cannot think of who he would change. I think we are going to play compact, possession ball in the midfield, the wingbacks will press, and Zlatan and Adri will try to muscle through the defense. On our side, we are without our defender Walter Samuel. He has been in great form recently and his injury is a blow for us.

W: Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson have had a very healthy rivalry in previous years, in the CL and the EPL, do you think this will have any bearing on the match?
J: Actually, I think it does. When you read interviews with team members, one thing they say is that Mourinho knows Manchester United and Ferguson and that this gives them confidence in front of the match. I dont think it would be quite the same if Inter were to play Lyon or something. I think, though, that both managers play to win so would be just as ferocious no matter who the opponent is.

W: Where do you think Inter need to dominate if they’re going to win the first leg?
J: First and foremost, we cannot allow any goals. Away goals are the devil in a tournament like this. Still, we also have to score a goal (or two). I think if we can control the midfield (like we did against Juventus), the rest of the game will fall into place.

W: Who do you think is the biggest threat on the United team for this first leg?
J: Edwin Van der Sar. He has an amazing record and will be very difficult to beat. Ronaldo, but only because he has tricky feet that draw fouls and has the potential to be very dangerous in dead-ball situations.

W: What area do you think is Inter’s weakest on the pitch and do you think this will effect the game at all?
J: I think our weakest link is also our strongest. If Ibra is not playing up to his potential then we will suffer. If he is playing like he can, we will be golden. Another big question mark is Davide Santon. He has recently been promoted from our youth team, and while he has been playing well, he has only played 7 games with the first team. If he plays, this will be his first Champions League match. That is a little scary.

So there we go, some interesting answers from Johonna. Head over to the Inter Offside if you want to check out my answers and even to answer the questions yourself. If the answers are not up yet, I’m sure they soon will be.

Let us know either here at the Man Utd Offside or over with Johonna at the Inter Offside what you think of this feature. Cheers folks.

Some Related Man United Posts:

Category: Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, English Premier League, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson

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ACHOOL CHIDERA

I LIKE TO PLAY CAUSE AM A GOOD WINGER PLAY GOOD
Wayne Farry

I can't promise that I won't pray our players hurt your players.

Only joking...
Johonna

And in the spirit of good sportsmanship - good luck

(and please dont hurt any of our players!)
Johonna

The mistake above is from having too many tabs open in my browser. Dangerous, that is!
Wayne Farry

Cross-posting is good, miele! Don't discourage it. Anyway, I can't fucking wait for this match! Woo!

That is all....
Johonna

What can I say, I am grasping to understand.

He is a pretty good center back though...

But ya, pretty far fetched.
miele

Johonna, you've got me intrigued with ur cross-postings, heading over there now.
Wayne Farry

I love the thought of that Jo. Fergie in a false sense of security and then, BAM! Here comes a........centre-back! Hmmmmm.....
Johonna

All I can think of is that there is some sort of injury or something. Either that, or it is to lure Ferguson into a false sense of security then BAM, in comes Cordoba! or something.

It is just horrific.
Mat

if that's true then that must've pissed Roo off :) ..but its better than playing him out of position like Barcelona or Roma last year
Wayne Farry

Strange that Roo isn't there. But like miele I gotta trust in the higher power...
miele

vds
oshea rio evans evra
park carrick giggs fletcher ronaldo
berbatov

Supposedly the official lineup, got that from some redrants.com

wtf no Rooney? In Lord Ferg we trust.
Wayne Farry

Actually glad you told us, I feel even more confident now..Haha! But seriously, why would he start Rivas? I never thought he was that good...
Johonna

Holy crap, I just posted that on the wrong blog.

Boy, that was stupid. Please disregard!
Johonna

I really thought that Cordoba would start over Rivas. RIVAS? C'mon, he has played TWO WHOLE GAMES this season.

Bla.

I am listing to the Inter live radio. It sounds like the San Siro is rocking!
Taylor

Agree with Miele... I can't wait for this one...
miele

Johonna, you may get to see a few of our reserves (Fabio?), albeit in the defense department. Okay?

Really great idea, that crossover question thingy. Brings things interestingly to a boil, for both sides. It's 2.30 am here, u got me so pumped for this match I cant even catch a nap. Pat urself on the back,Wayne.
Johonna

Thats right..... Be confident.

In fact, I am pretty sure you guys could beat Inter with one striker tied behind your back. Dont you have any reserve players you would like to trot out? Now would be the perfect time! They could get pitch experience during a big game. Rooney? You should definitely rest him... oh, and also that Berbatov character.

I mean, c'mon, how hard could it be? Inter plays in Italy after all!

:-P
Wayne Farry

I think you're right Taylor! Even one of my mates in college kept bringing up the AC Milan match today. The two matches couldn't be more different.

I agree with Jo too. Our attack is so good that it'd be pointless to bring it up. And Jo, of course it's possible that Inter could win. That's why I'm looking to it, dunno what's going to happen.

I'm quietly confident about this one though. But then again, I always am...
Johonna

For me, I guess it is because everyone already knows that Man United's attack is crazy good. It is not news. Besides, why torture yourself with the monster under the bed? I much prefer that Jose talk about exploiting any weakness ManU may have instead of hashing over your strengths.

We (Inter) know that we are going into this as underdogs, but we have years of experience in that role. Now, I am not saying that Inter will win tonight, only that it is possible. And that is half the battle.
Taylor Rockwell

Two more pre-match points:
1) The offical for tonight's match is Spanish...
2) With all the fuss about United's defense and Inter's attack, I find it interesting that no one is really discussing the fact that Inter will have a tough time dealing with any combination of Rooney/Tevez/Berba/Him. People keep comparing this to our tie with AC Milan two years ago, when it's completely the opposite. In that tie, we had little/no firepower and relied solely on our defense. Our attack is as solid as ever... why aren't we hearing more from Jose about that? I think United WILL play defensive, but we certainly have the talents to take it to them... The closer this game gets, the more I think we could pull off a result...