Coppa
Italia Preview: Inter-Bologna
Inter and Bologna will kick off their Coppa Italia campaigns on
Sunday night, in a match especially important for Inter, who will
try to find a victory they havent
tasted since they beat Valencia 5-1 in Spain.
BACKGROUND
After that miraculous result in the Champions League, they have
typically failed to continue a good run and confirm they were a
team in form. Instead, they racked up an incredibly long series of
draws that isnt showing any signs of stopping. They either play
terrible first halves and come back strongly in the last twenty
minutes or so, like against Cagliari and Fiorentina, or seem to
dominate their opponents and cruise to comfortable wins before
unexpectedly conceding goals from corners or long-range blasts,
like against Lecce, Roma, and, most recently, tonights opponents
Bologna. Under-fire Inter coach Roberto Mancinis hilarious
reaction to Carlo Mazzones boys equaliser in the dying minutes of
that Serie A match, banging his hand against the roof of the cabin
he was standing in (he was suspended), was a perfect illustration
of the desperation for a win and helplessness Inter fans are
feeling about their teams recent results.
Bologna, meanwhile, are possibly one of the most stable teams in
the league, since they have a knack for finding themselves almost
always in midtable, pretty much safe from the relegation zone but
also far from a more ambitious placing, i.e. a UEFA cup spot. They
are certainly not a team you can take for granted atany time, as
Inter learned 10 days ago when veteran coach Mazzone fielded an
depleted side full of reserves because of numerous injuries, and
still pulled off a hard-fought, if, fortunate, 2-2 draw. Lets also
remember they beat, nay, thrashed Roma at home and won away to
Parma, some highly respectable results to say the least.
Playing to Inters advantage, though, is the fact that teams like
the Rossoblu are much more concerned with maintaining a safe
position in the Serie A standings and their coaches will field
sides filled with reserves and players from the Primavera, the
youngsters, much as Arsenal do quite successfully in the Carling
Cup, for example. Inter, meanwhile, will not approach this
competition with any complacency considering the Scudetto race is
already strongly compromised because of all those draws. To be
extremely harsh despite it only being November, this Coppa Italia,
which in Italy has much less meaning than, say, the FA Cup in
England, and the Champions League represent the Nerazzurris only
realistic chance of silverware this season. Much will also depend
on the result they will achieve against Juventus Sunday next week,
but that is of later concern.