Cagliari-Inter

By: Jeremy | September 18th, 2009

Its back to the friendly confines of the St. Elia this weekend as we entertain Serie A’s best team, Inter. After last weeks loss to Fiorentina following a hugely disappointing home opener loss to Siena, we get to see another hammer come down on us and pushing us further into the relegation zone. The Siena loss is going to put huge pressure on us unless we can pull off a win or two here soon. That being said we cant be in crisis after 4 weeks with two games being against two of the top teams.

While conventional wisdom has Inter killing us, remember that we were the only team in Serie A not to lose to Inter last year. We pulled off a draw away in a game we should have won and then beat them at home the week after they clinched the Scudetto so take that stat with a grain of salt.

This year is a new year and the scenario leading up to the game is quite different. Gone is Acquafresca and the momentum from last year for Cagliari and with Inter massively improved, things do not look good. In the realm of big teams, I much prefer Milan over Inter and Juve etc, but Inter deserves massive credit for revamping some key areas of their team and whether its Mourinho or Moratti who pushed to change things, someone deserves some real credit for the offseason adjustments that in my opinion will take this team from Scudetto winner and Champions League washout to continued success in Serie A and a real European contender and a team I see atleast in the CL final.

Ibra is a great player but to trade him to Barca for Etoo and 40 mil is an absolute steal. Gone is the methodical predictable power up front and its place is Etoo, simply one of the scariest finishers in the game. With Barcas speed and pace but overall lack of intimidation and strength, I see why they made the deal as well but this deal helps Inter close the gap. Add the stealing of Wesley Schneider from Madrid and this is a much better team. Gone is the boring aged look of a slow but skilled squad replaced by a team that can squash you with strength, speed, and a little bit of attitude. Props to them but its just sad to see two of my favorite players end up on this team.

Cagliari is the same old story. In come a bunch of new players as the talented ones leave for bigger pastures. Gone is Acquafresca, our main goal scoring threat and in comes Nene, a player that costs a lot with our budget, but is not good enough to get the big teams overly interested. Our kind of player, but as of yet he has not seen much of the field so we have huge problems up front as evidenced by Larrivey playing and no goal scoring.

Cagliari has increased its depth and overall talent, but as of yet, we have not shown that we are putting a better 11 on the field then we did last year. Barone is a nice pick up and Dessena should soon make a difference. Marzoratti is seeing some time with the injuries in the back and looks to be decent, but something is missing. Obviously that would be help for Jeda. If Nene does not soon take over as our missing goal scorer, to think this team wont be relegated is pure fantasy. With the overall improvement in the league, without some goals and a constant threat of them, we will continue to come up just slightly short most weeks.

With the team looking to satisfy the fans and the real potential David Suazo could play for Inter this weekend due to Mancinis injury, this could be a great game to watch with a little action rather then the boring 0-0 we all pray for. I still dont understand the desire to be at a big club when you dont play but lets hope Suazo does not get a chance this weekend to play because if he does, money says he will make the most of it.

While Inter will face a tougher task in the league this year, they are still much improved and built for european success. As they adapt to each other, they will stumble a bit more often and this game could be one of them. However, with Cagliari not being able to find the net, even after a mid week game with Barca, Inter simply has too much. I think the game will be exciting for the fans and I see Suazo on the field doing a lot but for the wrong team.

Prediction

Cagliari 1-3 Inter

Prediction record to date: 1-2