La Bella Vita: Inter shut down Roma

All over bar the shouting: Vieira does not go quietly into the night against Roma.




If the Serie A season unfolds as predicted on this website a few weeks ago, the two teams to watch are Inter and Roma. This would represent a departure from the normal hierarchy of Juventus and Milan, both of whom were hit with point deductions (and in the case of the former, relegation, too) in the Moggigate scandal that shook the Boot this summer. On Wednesday night in Rome, Serie A fans got the first taste of what could be their two new powerhouses. The showdown did not disappoint.

Not a club accustomed to easy success or quiet off-seasons, Inter went out and signed a boatload of top-notch players, including Hernan Crespo, Patrick Vieira, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Grosso, Olivier Dacourt, and Maicon. All six were included in the starting 11 that travelled down to Roma to face the Giallorossi. Roberto Mancini, under fire at the San Siro since a Champions League loss to Sporting Lisbon and a home draw against Sampdoria, sprung a few surprises with his lineup. For starters, Luis Figo and Adriano were not. Javi Zanetti moved from right-back to a position on the center-left of midfield to replace the injured Cambiasso and let Maicon occupy the right-back spot. To the right of Zanetti was Dacourt and on his right was Vieira, playing a wider role than normal. As opposed to last year's 4-4-2, Mancini appears to have adopted a 4-3-1-2 approach. Figo usually plays in the hole behind the strikers, but Dejan Stankovic got the nod instead. Up front, Ibra and Crespo continued their fearsome partnership. It was an unusual lineup for sure, especially with two midfielders (Zanetti and Vieira) playing out of position and to superstars (Figo and Adriano) riding the pine.

Across the pitch, Luciano Spalletti fielded a Roma side near full-strength, save for the injured Taddei. As Roma is opt to do, Spalletti didn't field any true strikers. Any offensive firepower would have to come from Totti, Pizarro, Aquilani, and Mancini (no relation). It wasn't until Mancini hobbled off hurt that Spalletti had to field a true #9: Montella.

Despite the poor form of Inter and Roma's home-field advantage in front of a 65,000 crowd at the Olympic Stadium, the Giallorossi were dominated from start to finish. Inter looked fantastic, with Dacourt putting in an assured performance at defensive mid against his former team and Zanetti and Vieira always active on the flanks. Up front, Crespo and Ibra were as good as advertised. Around the 25-minute mark, Crespo made a run into the box from the left wing, faked a move to his right, and then cut back towards the end-line leaving De Rossi for dead. The Argentinian elected to cut the ball back across the face of goal, but no one could get on the other end of it to finish it. About 20 minutes later, it was deja vu all over again for the Nerazzurri. Crespo burst in from the left and this time his victim would be Mexes, normally an excellent defender. Crespo made the exact same Ronaldinho-style move, faking to the right but then almost toe-poking the ball back to the left. This time, he elected to shoot, blasting the ball through Doni's legs for a 1-0 Inter lead. It was as good a goal as Crespo has scored since last year's opening day strike for Chelsea against Wigan.

On the other side of halftime, the onslaught continued. Ibra won a penalty after Mexes hauled him down, the latest incident in a rough outing for the young Frenchman. Fortunately for him, Ibra's weak effort was saved by Doni. Still, one never got the feeling that Roma could really steal the points in this one. A Totti free-kick in the first half, saved by Julio Cesar, was their best chance. Mancini bolstered the defense by subbing in Walter Samuel, another former Roma man, but he need not have worried.

It was all over bar the shouting and by that I mean the diatribe that Vieira let loose at the referee after earning a well-deserved second yellow card. It was the second red card for Vieira after his expulsion in the loss to Sporting; to make matters worse, he was later hit with a three-match ban by the Italian federation for using abusive language. Without Vieira and Cambiasso, Mancini will really need to call on the depth of his massive Inter squad in the coming month. Still, that's why we picked them to win it all. And, on the heels of such an impressive display in Rome, preceeded by another huge away win on opening day against Fiorentina, no one should be hitting the panic button at the San Siro anytime soon.