UEFA Champions League – Match Preview: FC Twente versus Inter Milan
Inter Milan will be working hard to begin their defence of the UEFA Champions League against the Swiss champions FC Twente. Inter, who are in group A of the UEFA Champions League amongst teams such as Werder Bremen from Germany and Tottenham from England, will be bidding to become the first team in the era of the UEFA Champions League to successfully defend their crown.
It may be difficult for the Italian champions to reach the heights they obtained last season as under Jose Mourinho, Inter went onto win a memorable treble of trophies. In the 2009/2010 season, Inter Milan won the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League. It was the first time in their history that they had achieved such a feat. However, little has gone right for the Italian champions since then.
In the summer of 2010, Inter parted ways with their enigmatic manager Jose Mourinho, who had been in charge at the Italian club since the past three years. Under Mourinho, Inter won every possible trophy that was available to them. Mourinho left his job at Inter Milan to take over at Real Madrid in Spain and Inter Milan have replaced the Portuguese national with Rafael Benitez, who left his job at Liverpool in the earlier part of the summer.
Benitez has come in and is surely hard pressed to compete against the legacy that has been left at the club by Jose. It is safe to say that Benitez might never take Inter to the feats that Jose did but nonetheless, his capability as a manager is not to be doubted. At Liverpool, Rafael Benitez had several disappointing domestic English Premier League campaigns but during his time there, Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League in 2005 after embarking on a remarkable comeback in the final match of the tournament against A.C Milan.
They made it to another final in the 2006/2007 season but finished as runners up on that occasion to the Rossoneri. Benitez is bound to bring some defensive stability to an already fantastic Inter Milan defence, therefore it is expected that during the 2010-2011 season, Inter will be one of the strongest sides as far as defensive football is concerned.
In last season’s UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan defeated Bayern Munich in the final match of the tournament at Santiago Bernabeu by two goals to nil. Both their goals were scored by Diego Milito, a man who still is performing for the club. On their route to the final, Inter Milan knocked out Barcelona in the semi-finals of the tournament after showcasing a fine display if disciplined football. In the quarter finals, Inter bested CSKA Moscow and in the round of sixteen they defeated Chelsea after winning at Stamford Bridge.
Inter’s main player in this year’s UEFA Champions League campaign will be Wesley Sneijder. Last year, Wesley was instrumental for the Italian giants and it is expected that this year he will be striving towards helping Inter in retaining their European Cup crown. Inter’s opponents, FC Twente have been on fire in the 2010-2011 club football season so far, they have been unbeaten in their last five matches out of which they have won three and drawn two.
Alternatively, Inter have won three, lost two and drawn one of their last five matches. Twente lost their last Swiss league match against VVV Venlo F.C whereas Inter Milan won their last match in the Serie A against Udinese Calcio by two goals to one. Inter Milan are favourites to win the match but given their patchy form this season it is quite possible that F.C Twente will steal away an unlikely draw as the match is taking place on their home ground.
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