Now that we are half way through the season I thought it’ll be a good time to reflect on what we’ve seen so far. The pre-season brought us a lot of change. Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Cruz, and Crespo were the main people to leave. In came Eto’o, Milito, Motta, Arnautovic, and Sneijder. Recently we welcomed in Goran Pendev, and bid farewell to Viera. We gave up a few too many youngsters in the Milito and Motta trade for my liking (Bonucci!!!!). However this might go down as one of our best transfer seasons in history, at least in the Massimo Moratti era.
Many people thought we would be doomed once we lost Zlatan and our domination would be over. Yet people forgot that we have the deepest squad in Seria A and have one of the best coaches in world football.
The team as a whole leads the league in goals (41) that’s nine more than the nearest rival. Inter is tied for the best defense (17). We lead our league by eight points and we’ve qualified for the knock out rounds of the Champions league.
The Grades:
A
Free Kick Hero
Wesley Sneijder: If ever anyone deserves to be the MVP of the half way point it has to be him. The guy gets told by Real Madrid to f*** off after their crazy summer campaign. Joins us with a major point to prove and has fit in perfectly. The guy does not know what it means to lose and the stats back him up. In all the games he’s played we haven’t lost; 12 wins, 4 draws. Without him five wins, two draws, and four defeats. Wesley has changed the way we play and his leadership is crucial.
Diego Milito: The anti-Ibra. He works hard and never complains. 23 appearances and 12 goals. He plays better with a second striker, but he hustles when asked to play alone.
Walter Samuel: The Wall is having one of his best seasons for sure. A big reason why we have the best defense in the league. Oh and he scores goals to boot.
Samuel Eto’o: I’ll give him an A minus for now just because we all know he can do better. I want to see more away goals to push him up to an A. Still not complaining though, he has scored 10 goals.
B
Mario Balotelli: It’s incredible that Mario is 19 years old with all he’s achieved so far. If it was anyone else he’d definitely be in the A group, but because I have visions of what he can become I will put him here for now. It’s a shame he gets a rough ride where ever he plays, and that the media puts too much pressure on him. This guy is a future Golden Ball winner without a doubt in my mind. He scores important goals and changes games. Six goals and five assists for a teenager are magnificent.
Lucio: I have mixed feelings about Lucio since his Bayer Leverkusen days. He gives me heart attacks every single week. He does have a major benefit that’s for sure; cutting out attacks before they start and his distribution is excellent. His mistakes are costly though and that’s what bothers me the most.
Esteban Cambiasso: He hasn’t been the same since picking up that injury in pre-season. He is very important to us though. His form was coming back before the break and I’m hoping he recovers quickly from this latest setback. His tactical intelligence is extremely high, and he is the coach on the pitch. One of my favorites of this team.
Dejan Stankovic: He is also another one who isn’t the same this year. He spoiled us last season with his excellent performance. He is still extremely important to us, and when he’s on we are so much better.
Javier Zanetti: Consistent!
Ivan Cordoba: Sits on the bench without a complaint. Samuel gets injured and slots in perfectly and we don’t skip a beat. Loves the club.
Douglas Maicon: It looks like a dip in form has hit him recently. He is a major cog in our team and bails us out plenty of times. Defense, offence, and tons of energy.
C
I’m not going to go into great detail for the C group. Motta is up and down. When he is up the football is beautiful. I just wish he could do it more often. I’m not a fan of Muntari as I think he gives the ball away way too much. I liked him in the left back role he played twice. Chivu in my opinion is a central defender. He works hard at left back but doesn’t attack as much. Ironically he had his best offensive game this season at Chievo, and then he unfortunately got injured. Julio Cesar by his own admission hasn’t been the same due to contract negotiations. Well Julio that contract has been signed for a while now. I expect the best goalkeeper in the world back!
D
Heres to you making it on that trip
Quaresma has played one decent game since we got him. I’m still waiting for something from this guy. Mancini? Remind me why we bought him? Santon needs to take this opportunity if he really wants to go to South Africa. He has a great chance to prove to Inter they don’t need Kolarov. The rest haven’t played enough to get a grade.
I’m really looking forward to the second half of the season and the Champions League matches. Let me know what you think about the grading system.
Forza Inter Siempre
Congratulations to my beloved Inter for winning their fourth league in a row. The 17th in their history!
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