Champions League Tuesday: The Anticipated Final

By Dominic Vieira

Inter Milan vs Barcelona, 19:45 GMT, Semi-Final 1st leg

Tomorrow night, two of Europe’s strongest teams will battle out the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the San Siro Stadium in Milan. Mourinho’s Inter Milan host Guardiola’s Barcelona in an encounter which captures all the greatness of a final.

The tie is a repeat of the earlier group stages matches as the two clubs were in Group F. Barcelona won the home match 2-0 and tied 0-0 in Milan.

Barcelona are travelling to Milan by bus due to the volcanic ash cloud which has vandalized European skies. Yesterday, the Catalan club travelled 634 kilometres to Cannes where they stayed over night. Today they will cover the remaining 351 kilometres to Italy and train at the stadium tonight.

Sergio Busquets was positive about the long bus ride as he told the club’s website: “Maybe spending so long together on a coach will bring us closer together and help us focus on beating Inter. It’s a long time on the road and we’re not really used to that, but with music and a film or two, I’m sure the trip won’t seem so long.”

Inter Milan are heading into this game with a high morale after a strong home 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Juventus on Friday. The win is the boost Nerazzurri needed especially as they have been under-performing in the Serie A recently. Mourinho’s men have to be considered favourites as they are playing on home soil and have an unstoppable defence. Barcelona are, for once, the underdogs and hopefully their weekend tie against city rivals Espanyol will not affect their approach and style.

Beauty vs The Brain

The biggest battle is not between Eto'o or Ibrahimovic, Zanetti vs Messi, or Sneijder vs Busquets. But, without a doubt, the greatest battle takes place out of the four lines and is between José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. They are two completely different managers, but share one similarity; they are both natural champions.

The pair of managers are the probably the most talented contemporary football managers. Both are tactical geniuses, but their approach and style are contrasting. Mourinho focuses on a defence, which has been key to all of the teams he has built and links the defence to midfield with an anchor man; at Inter he uses Cambiasso who is a vital component. “The Special One” aims to completely close down the opponent on all sectors, not allowing them to play their game. He uses his offensive channels intelligently which are crucial when Inter utilise the counter attack. Furthermore, he likes his side working in triangles and controlling the game in the middle. Efficiency, possession, and fitness are key in Mourinho’s side.

Guardiola views things slightly different, he organizes the team perfectly and pays attention to every movement. Barcelona operate as a unit, they attack as a team and defend as a team. Furthermore, they win (or lose) as a team. The unity he has created between the players is genuine and teamwork has been the key to success. Many forget that Guardiola is a tactical mastermind, and the positioning and movement in his typical 4-3-3 is the success behind Barcelona. If every player could mould and adapt to his formation, they would be successful. Guardiola plays a free-flowing game where control is they objective; they dominate the match by playing with 2 to 3 touches and completing many short passes. They aim to outclass the opponent and create many chances. But Guardiola also plays with an efficient, strong defence.

Both José and Guardiola have won this competition before and will know how to prepare for this match. The psychological battle is more important than the physical one and both managers will certainly motivate their players for the most important match of the season.

Let the battle begin!

Team News

Inter will have a full strength squad for the battle, the only key absence is the Romanian utility player, Christian Chivu. As the side played on Friday, they have had sufficient time to rest and prepare for the semi-final. Maybe Mourinho learnt from Mauricio Pochettino on the weekend as his Espanyol brilliantly stopped Barcelona.

Hopefully the long bus travel will not effect Barcelona’s fitness and fatigue. The team is blessed with the returns of Abidal and Ibrahimovic. The French left back will start on the bench and Zlatan with be upfront aiming to score and produce magic against his former club. It is unsure whether Iniesta is match fit tomorrow. If not, Keita is more than ready to step up for the challenge. The young, commanding Pique will miss the match, Gabriel Milito will be filling in his shoes.

Potential Line-Ups

Inter Milan(4-3-3): Julio Cesar, Maicon, Samuel, Chivu, Zanetti ©; Cambiasso, Stankovic, Sneijder; Pandev, Diego Milito, Eto'o

Prediction: Inter 1 -1 Barcelona. Despite being a huge admirer of Barcelona’s football, I can’t see them beating a strong, efficient, and intelligent Inter side. It won’t be a match with many goals, but football will be played at its highest level; there is no room for mistakes. Inter Milan will know how to close down the Catalan side, blocking Iniesta and Xavi out of the game is crucial. But, Barcelona have the Messi factor; can Inter stop him?

Who do you think will win the match?