Inter-ness: Not That Interested in the Coppa
(Crespo: The Scudetto is shinier.)
Professional footballers or not, final or not, getting themselves mentally ready to play another match after the euphoria and exhaustion of last weekend was always going to be a struggle for Inter, and it showed in the first half of this one. Roma were all over them in the first 10 minutes or so, and even after Inter settled down, Roma had the great majority of the first half chances, and the 1-0 lead going into half was the least they deserved.
In the second half, though, Inter were a lot better, and dominated long stretches. Shockingly, the central defense actually played well for once (a little late, that), with both Chivu and Nico making crucial tackles in the box. (The offside trap didn't go that well, though, which is how Roma went up 2-0.) Then, with about half an hour left, Pele pulled out his Olimpico special, and scored with another rocket from 30 yards, which really woke the game up. The last 30 minutes were all kinds of intense but, though Nico hit the post with a gorgeous header right after Pele's goal, Inter could never get that second goal, and Roma got the trophy.
You could tell Inter weren't overly broken-hearted about it by all the gracious post-match statements -- the Scudetto makes it really easy not to be too bothered.
Roma 2 - 1 Inter (For some reason C4 think that Nico and Vucinic were sent off. As far as I know, they weren't.)
Mexes 35 (R), Perrotta 53 (R), Pele 59 (I)
Roma: Doni; Casetti, Juan, Mexes, Tonetto; De Rossi, Pizarro; Giuly (Cicinho 70), Aquilani (Panucci 91), Perrotta (Brighi 74); Vucinic
Inter: Toldo; Maicon, Burdisso, Chivu, Maxwell; Zanetti (Crespo 89); Balotelli, Vieira, Cesar (Jimenez 61), Stankovic (Pele 46); Suazo
Diddy was in the hizzy to watch ... Roma. Though he probably talked to Matrix. Maybe.
(And there was much rejoicing.)
Mancio was chillin before the match, though by the end he was plenty wound up. (Why was he ever there, though? He was sent off in the semi, I thought we were going to get some Coach!Sinisa action? DISAPPOINTED.)
Look at the collared shirt! All dressed up.
Please notice that a)he has a ticket just like everyone else (I hope they asked for ID when he went in), and b)he seems to have a new tat on his right upper arm. I shudder to think what it could be.
(That word on the inside of his arm is old, right?)
Right, the match.
Starters. Toldone! &hearts
Deki was seriously awful. It was like he'd never played football before -- just settling the ball was a huge task for him. (And I am NOT being mean, Conny, I'm only speaking the truth!)
Mancio yanked him at half, and if Mancio plays Deki any less than 90 minutes, you know he's been just SHOCKING.
There was this, though. At least we (and he) got to enjoy something.
Cesar was also pretty bad, but there are no pictures of him at all, so Deki gets all the negative attention. Sorry, Deki.
This guy, oddly, was pretty good.
He knocked the ball down when Perrotta was all alone in the box and totally saved a goal.
His partner Nico was very nearly great -- he had this header which kept Vucinic from being in alone, hit the (Roma) bar with a header, and made an inch-perfect tackle in the box to save a breakaway after some awful defensive fucking around when it was already 2-0. I bet he wishes the season was still going on, if he's going to play like that.
MAX!!!!
Homeboy was awesome, easily Inter's best player in the first half.
He defended well and was the only one who could really create anything offensively until Pele came on.
He stung Doni's palms, as they say, with Inter's only shot on target in the first half, and was maybe slightly unlucky not to score.
Unusually for this season, Maicon was probably the least impressive of the defenders.
And, even more unusually, it was not because he was bad, but rather because the rest of them were awfully good.
(Muppet.)
Though in my humble opinion Javi and his thighs were almost as bad as Deki, at least in the first half, the papers were pretty nice to him, so I will defer to them.
(Thiiiiiigh.)
Even playing less than wonderfully, though, he's still Capitano, and still made of win. &hearts (Hai Paddy.)
Ok, there's going to be a lot of Paddy here, but it's the photographers' fault, not mine! I don't wanna hear it.
(These pictures are all of him and DDR, but he and Philou actually spent a lot of time kicking one another. It was Frenchie toughlove.)
He wasn't a magical genius or anything, but he was still pretty good.
He made some great tackles, won a lot of balls in the midfield, and distributed the ball pretty well. What more do you want from the man?
Also, he didn't foul anyone ever. Just so we're clear.
Mario started out wide, so he did a whole lot of running.
Roma actually defended him well, but he still was pretty lively, especially in the first half.
And he's also still growing up -- the stupid tackles are mostly gone, and he's way, way better with his temper.
*pats him* Not bad for a SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD. (Also, he's about 3x as tall as Pizarro. *snicker*)
Suazo started out all alone up top, and basically did nothing.
("Oh my nose!")
He ran his legs off, but didn't have much service, and when he got service, this happened.
It can never be said the man doesn't work, it's just that nothing much comes of it, sometimes.
It must be said that the Roma defense was playing really well, but still.
And then there was the debacle of Roma's first goal.
Yes, the ball was great and Mexes' finish was fantastic.
But Mexes was all alone only because, when he made his near-post run, Suazo didn't even MOVE: He just stood and looked at him. (Toldo was a little pissed.)
Apart from that he got to be captain for the last five minutes (&hearts), it wasn't a happy day for Toldone.
On the second goal there was a quick counter while Inter were bitching about a foul, and he had to come out on Vucinic.
Who touched it to Perrotta, all alone in the middle.
The hobo was totally coming to help, but it was a little late.
Look at the old man, already half up and trying to get back. *pats him*
After that, though, Inter actually made some good things happen.
And by "Inter," I mean "Pele."
He hit the ball so hard Doni literally didn't move, he just sort of turned his head, like "Yeah. I can't do anything about that.)
Boy absolutely loves the Olimpico -- in two matches, he's got two spectacular goals and two MOTM performances. (If Claudio Lotito knows what's good for him, he's sweet-talking Moratti about the boy as we speak.)
They were still down a goal so there wasn't time for much squeeing, but he got a bit of aggro out nonetheless.
"Hugs? Paddy?"
"Paddy's too busy to hug right now, son."
Cesar, however, was definitely NOT busy with playing, and had loads of time to hug.
There was a lot of excitement after that, but no more scoring.
So it was left only to be gracious.
And to shake hands with this old dude, who is apparently the Italian president. (I didn't even know Italy HAD a president. Does Berlusconi work with him, or does this guy hang out by himself?)
Now they're all off to vacation or to training camps, while we sit there and twitch, waiting for pictures news.