Moratti was very thankful for the win against Twente. It even brought out the Catholic in him.
For the first time in like forever, Inter does not have a mid-week game. Good for the guys, not so much for us. Anyway, just because they aren't playing doesn't mean there isn't stuff going on. Super cool, super interesting stuff. Promise.
First of all, despite his injury, our Philippe Coutinho has been called up for the Brazil U-20 Olympic Qualifiers. He is to present himself in Teresòpolis, Brazil, on December 13th. Which is sort of strange because he is injured and not expected to be recovered until January some time. What's more, the qualifiers (in Peru) will be the whole month of January. Which means Coutinho will be unavailable, one way or another, until February. Well, I guess if Thiago Motta is fixed (fingers crossed, throwing salt), maybe this isn't such a bad thing. If he is up for it, Philippe gets some great international experience. If he isn't, he at least gets to hang out with the other Brazilian internationals. Just so long as they dont rush him back before he is fully recovered.
A little beach time goes a long way with Sneijder.
Wesley Sneijder gave a little interview to France Football recently in which he claimed that he would kill or die for Jose Mourinho. And what made him so ready to do anything for Mou? A simple trip to the beach. Remember last season when he mysteriously had that time off? Well, Mou decided that Wes looked a little tired so told him to spend a few days at the beach with his wife and son. Wes says that when he came back from Ibiza, he was "willing to kill and die for him." I say Rafa needs to take a note: give Wes a few days off and let him find himself again. You know, there are great beaches in Abu Dhabi... (hint hint)
There is a new biography of Samuel Eto'o out in bookstores today. It is called "I Piedi in Italia, il cuore in Africa" (Feet in Italy, Heart in Africa) and was written by the journalist Pierluigi Pardo. Eto'o doesn't explain his goal celebration with Materazzi (it is still a secret between them), but he does reveal Marco sent him a text message urging him to join the club ("Come with us and we will win everything"). Oh, and he also reveals a little of how he gets on with his teammates:
"Julio Cesar is my buddy, Lucio speaks less than Maicon and Samuel speaks less than Lucio, Zanetti is the club, with Thiago we have an interwoven life, Stankovic is another little brother, Sneijder as well, Marco is a special person. And Moratti: to have met him is one of the greatest fortunes of my life."
Of course, considering that Moratti wrote the forward to the book, Eto'o had to throw a little sugar his way.
The players have decided to strike after all. They wont play on the weekend of December 11th and 12th. Which doesn't affect Inter at all because the team will be at the World Club Cup by then (our first game is December 15th). Well, I guess it means that when they come back, they will have one less game in hand, but that is about it. At least, I think it is. Everything I have read says that the Association of Italian Football Players has decided to strike in the Championship. It doesn't say anything about other tournaments.
And one last little piece of news: Guess what!?! Rafa Benitez still loves Liverpool. And he follows the club's goings on in the press. Really, he has been so cagey about this, we never would have known (do you all detect the note of sarcasm in my voice?). Rafa, you are not making it easy for us to bond with you when all you do is talk about Liverpool. And then to get that one last "I am just a coach, not a manager" dig in... again. Well, read the interview yourself - it is in English. Maybe I am just being overly sensitive again. But come on, dude, I need to feel like you are living in the now, with Inter, not in the past, with Liverpool.
Alright, so next up is Lazio on Friday then Werder Bremen on Tuesday.
Until then,
FORZA INTER
You know, that Parma game got me all nostalgic for Crespo.