Thanks to you.
Vieira was a really young footballer in that Milan that year, and the funny thing is that in Italy journalists and Milan as well went blundering in (I don't know if it's the correct expression, but I want to mean was considered an inadeguate player, we use some italian slangs like "scarpone"). He made history of this sport later :)
This was our nature, and I say it with bitterness I think that poetry ended forever. We are not able anymore to produce old style defenders, we distorted our nature in the defensive phase chasing playing out of the back instead of, first of all, the basics of ball recovery, I meant italian football in the overall. And if you think at our national team, we are in a hurry in finding not only good defenders, but ... defenders! Talking about CB, there is Bastoni, but he is clumsy in a four-line defense (when he tried with Italy he proved himself a disaster), there is Acerbi, but he's too much old, then there are unreliable players such as Mancini and Romagnoli, or young promises like Scalvini or Gatti who came to the fore lately ... but neither of them are at the level not only of Costacurta or Minotti, so to allude to your Milan-Parma, but neither of Sergio Brivio. I gave the name of this player of the past, because despite being really capable, incredibly, had never had the opportunity of playing with Italy, neither an exhibition match. So to underline that we were too much plenty of good defenders. We won Euro 2020 with Bonucci and Chiellini but, in their career weren't at the level of the defenders of the times gone, in spite of all the titles won, and I don't say it with envy because I am an Inter fan and every Inter fan "hates" Juventus. However, I often think that this problem affects also many other countries.
I think Inzaghi will put Dzeko at the beginning, he always uses Lukaku as a substitute. There is a reason: Lukaku had the most important injury of his career (his words) before Inter-Cremonese, at the end of August. Then he had a relapse when he was still out before the WC. He stayed out until he played few minutes for Belgium at WC in November, then again, without playing a single match with Inter, had another injury. His physical size determines a long rehab, so he gradually started to train again, and gradually started to play. Also, he is a kind of a player that needs many matches to return in a optimal form, also psychologically speaking. But at the beginning of this year, he only played garbage times, the last 15-20 minutes of some matches and that was not sufficient, then 30 minutes and so on and meanwhile time passed away. They probably were afraid of other eventual injuries. Since April, he started to alternate with Dzeko (and rarely Lautaro) in the line-up but Inzaghi has always chosen Dzeko in the key-matches, besides Inter-Lazio. For what concerns my opinion, I would always prefer Lukaku-Lautaro, even because now Lukaku seems to be at his top in this season, but I think Inzaghi supposes this match will have extra-time and penalty kicks. And in that case, employing Lukaku for the rest of the match is the best solution also because he has always had very high rate at PK. But it's a big risk or ... it's a very big risk! I think Lukaku's injuries changed plans Inzaghi intended to have at the beginning of this season. Dzeko worked a lot, too much for the age he is, and normally, after January, he gets completely weary, it happened also when he used to play with Roma.
Inzaghi always plays with 3-5-2, he never changes. During a match, he never applies temporary modifications. Conte did the same, in Italy we say they both are "talebans" of this formation :) The positive thing is that has been put to test deeply :)
If Brozovic plays, he will certainly do it as a deep-line playmaker, the role that Spalletti some years ago decided for him, because before he was "anarchic" in terms of the roles. Chalanoglu had this role this year for the most part of the season (because of Brozovic injury). The croatian will always accompany the start of the offensive action, lowering himself at the line of Onana. I hope Chalanoglu will play as the left "mezzala", so he can have more chances to shoot or doing key-passes, but it depends on Mkhitaryan physical conditions. I think the armenian won't play since the start, it's a risk.
About our fullbacks they prefer to play offensively, but in this case all depends on what Guardiola will require to his men. I think Dimarco, who has much more technique and precision than Dumfries, will try to play as a wide-midfielder when he has the occasion to do it, and sometimes Bastoni will follow him. On the other side, despite Dumfries is famous for his assists or goals with his Holland, I think he will receive orders to be stationed lower. Darmian could advance as well, also Skriniar did it last year with Inzaghi, and I hope Acerbi, who is the central CB will follow Haaland as Gentile followed Maradona long time ago, because Acerbi has the bad habit to do central incursions as Lucio did in 2010. On the corner kicks, we won't have De Vrij and Skriniar weapons but Dimarco or also Chalanoglu are able to easily find the head of the foot of the right men. I am curious of knowing what tactics the trainers will employ during corner-kick. For example, when Dzeko scored the goal against Milan one month ago, he did because, if I remember well, Dumfries with a movement brought with himself Tomori and left Calabria totally alone with Dzeko.
Our defensive line will be tendentially high and this could be partially an issue, in this season Inzaghi has done many times the mistake you all watched yesterday with Fiorentina-West Ham, even if Italiano should have told his guys to detain the ball passively at the end of the match, to wait the extra-time. This Inter has determined players, they are fighters on every ball, they have great ability to anticipate their opponents, and are gifted with good ball skills, distribution and vision, but playing as seen at Camp Nou in 2010 is not in his wheelhouse. I don't think Inzaghi will play as Ancelotti, waiting and doing counterattacks (that, in truth, Real Madrid incredibly never did), because if he does it Inter without doubts will succumb. I think Inzaghi will contest Citizens midfield actively, all the three guys inside have good feet to do it, and Dimarco and Lautaro and Lukaku will create density behind.
Lautaro during the WC had an injury at his knee. He distributes the amount of his scoring badly during a season, but he has always been a protagonist, at least with us, in those matches when there was a lot of pressure on. With Dzeko lined up, he will sacrifice between Barella and Chalanoglu.
We don't have target forwards, neither Dzeko plays in a static way, despite not being in his youth, so they are always moving. If this last will play he will predictably leave space behind him for onrushing midfielders. In the last four seasons we haven't had wingers or outside forwards: also Perisic, who stayed very high as Politano/Candreva on the other side during Spalletti's times, became a fullback under Conte.
This is why yesterday I talked about chess. Who will commit more mistakes in the central part of the field, will lose. What will be important, according to me, is having a good plan in organizing the defensive plan, for is the only one weapon which let you attack better later.
Both the defenses are not strong in terms of individual qualities, not at the degree we talked about in our respective posts when referring to some decades ago, but this is an irreversible problem of modern football, because the way of conceving the skills of a defender is transformed, not necessarily evolved for the best. What kind of playing there'll be in the midfield will decide our destinies.
@Manchester33 thanks, I try my best. I am thinking of remaining on this forum also after the final, to continue to at least to read, so to improve my english, because I lack almost totally things like idioms or slang or the way an englishman talks and write in everyday life. Also us italians have a sort of a literary italian or academic one, and the one more informal when we talk or write in a colloquial way. Having never been in England I had to upgrade my english only on books, and that had had its own limits.
For example, yesterday I've read for the first time the nice expression Rag or Dipper fan, and didn't know what it was: also here in Italy some Inter fans (interisti) refers to teams against which there is a rivarly with funny terms. Juventus, the most hated, becomes "Rubentus", because "rubare" means "to steal, to rob"; or Milan became "Bilan", because Inter has never been in the an inferior league (Serie B is the equal of your Championship), and Milan was relegated a couple of times. So
interisti want to flaunt themselves of never being outside Serie A.
I don't know where emoticons are in this panel, but I would have wanted to send the emoticons who have the beers clashing against each other ))
