Inter(0)-Napoli(1)
Disclaimer: Due to some damn unknown, retarded, useless, bullshit, crap, rule that Napoil has, I couldn't watch the game. Neither could the most of you. Seems like the Neopolitans like to keep to their soccer and garbage all to themselves. (I apologize in advance to anyone from Napoli. But I do have the evidence. Here.) I had to follow this game via the inter.it live match radio (even though I don't speak Italian), and a mixture of espnsoccernet/inter.it match centre live text. Too bad neither of those idiots who update can stay within 10 minutes of the current match. So yeah, in a nutshell, it sucked. So don't expect the usual, detailed review. Deal with it. Or just complain to the Neopolitans. And while you're at it, tell them to clean up a bit. I did it again. Get over it.
It started off shit, and ended up shit. There, is that enough match detail for you? Didn't think so. Fine. 3 minutes in (3 minutes!!!!!!!), JC found himself in no mans land. (Why was he there?) Supposedly suspended (Eh, but what do I know?) Zalayeta, lobbed the ball over JC's head from about the top of the box. 1-0 Napoli, just like that. The Partenopei had complete control of the match after this, and in the 17th minute, a shot from Contini went just wide. Inter's ONLY shot on goal for the half would come 2 minutes later. When Suazo found himself in the box, took a shot, but it was saved by Gianello. JC made up for his blunder in the 29th minute, when he made a great save from a Cannavaro header. Then in the 44th minute, Matrix almost scored, on us. He miss kicked the ball, but yet again, JC saved our ass.
The fucking injury bug must of followed us to Naples, because in the 46th minute Chivu went down with a shoulder injury. This shit is bad news, knowing the history this dude has had with his shoulder. Yet another defender down. Crespo came on, moving Il Capitano to left back. The Napoli attack just didn't stop coming. In the 53rd minute, a shot from Hamsik was saved (again) by JC. In the 73rd minute, Napoli were given a chance to bury the Nerazzurri once and for all. JC took down Gargano inside the box, and the Neopolitans were awarded a penalty. However, replays showed that JC got the ball first, THEN made contact with the man. The mistake didn't matter, because JC saved it anyway. The ending of the second half found more chances for Napoli, and basically none for us.
I didn't see the game in person, so I can't comment on the teams "body language". But, from the description of the game, I bet it was terrible. Napoli was better today. That's all there is to it.
The dumb ass goal.
Goal Scorers:
Napoli:
Marcelo Zalayeta (3)
Cartellino:
Inter:
Cristian Chivu (16)(Y)
JC (74)(Y)
Nelson Rivas (90)(Y)
Atleast we didn't get a red. That's a positive. Right?
Napoli:
Fabiano Santacroce (53)(Y)
Manuele Blasi (66)(Y)
Daniele Mannini (80)(Y)
Matteo Contini (86)(Y)
Substitutions:
Inter:
Il Capitano for Maniche (45)
Hernán Crespo for Cristian Chivu (52)
Luis Jimenez for Luis Figo (79)
Wow. Manico must have been DYING. He had to wait till' the 79th minute to finish up the subs!!! Damn.
Napoli:
Gianluca Grava for Daniele Mannini (82)
Mariano Bogliacino for Marek Hamsik (90)
La Formazione:
Inter:(4-3-3)
JC;
Maicon, Rivas, Matrix, Chivu;
Vieira, Pelè, Maniche; Figo,
Balotelli, Suazo
Napoli:(3-5-2)
Gianello;
Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini;
Mannini, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik, Savini;
Lavezzi, Zalayeta
Player Ratings:
Didn't watch the game, didn't see the players .(Rocket science, I know.) So I'll have to leave you with the terrific (Sarcasm, by the way.) ratings from goal.com. Sorry. Good luck.
Analysis:
Losing sucks a whole lot of famiglia jewels. As it does for every other team, in every other sport, in every other league, in the world. (And outer space for that matter. If you believe in that shit.) Roma won, and now their 6 points back. That's the real news. With their win, and our loss, things just got a lot more interesting. That's even more real news. This loss was on the verge for a while now, dating all the way back to the Parma game. We've been playing the calcio version of Russian Roulette.
A loss isn't enough, add another defensive injury while you're at it. Chivu looks to have a dislocated left shoulder. Fuck. I don't have my PhD, but I think that's bad. I'm not sure of the amount of time Chivu may miss, if his shoulder is actually dislocated. So, if anyone has a timetable for this, or knows from personal experience, please let us know.
On the positve side of things, we're still 6 points up. The game has officially begun, again. But it is good to know that we have a head start. This is good news for Serie A. A race for the finish, which makes every game a playoff game. But it's not as much fun for Nerazzurri fans. Until we hoist that trophy up, there's no more relaxing matches, we must be on the edge of our seat for every minute of every game.
So, I advise you, buckle up for the ride. (A maybe reserve some medication/personal doctor on call for the impending bowl movements/heart attacks that will occur.) Ciao.
MOTM: I don't give this out in a loss. Bitches.
P.S.: To add insult to injury, my man Talentino had a complete meltdown today, and his Euro bid seems to be in question. Could it get any worse?