Inter coach Simone Inzaghi revealed that Piotr Zielinski and Denzel Dumfries would start in tomorrow’s Champions League game against Crvena Zvezda but refused to reply to a question about the arrests of several Nerazzurri ultras.
Inter will make their home 2024-25 Champions League debut tomorrow, hosting Serbia league leaders Crvena Zvezda.
The Nerazzurri secured a 3-2 win over Udinese on Saturday, but they look much more vulnerable than last season, having already collected seven Serie A goals in six games.
“It’s hard to win, but winning again is even harder,” Inzaghi said at a press conference on Monday.
“The lads are working very well; we lack the consistency we had last season, so we must train for it. All teams have had issues. There have been six different table leaders in six games. Everyone is trying to improve, as we are doing.
“The lads put in an excellent performance on Saturday. We analysed the goals we conceded this morning because we must always try to improve. But we’ve got to talk about the entire team, not only the defenders. We are working, and I am confident.”
What does he think about the two goals conceded against Udinese last weekend?
“On the first goal, Thuram ran forward and the whole team should have followed him,” said the coach.
“There shouldn’t have been a cross and we should have been in a better position. On the second goal, there were multiple errors. I’ve read about Bisseck, Darmian, Acerbi and De Vrij, but you can’t say that only one single player was at fault. They all made a mistake. All Inter players made a mistake. Everyone must improve and this is what we analysed.
“Focus is a key element. We have our principles, but there are moments when the team must be more united. We must be more consistent and concede as little as possible.”
Inter held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw on their 2024-25 Champions League debut two weeks ago. What’s the biggest difference between the old and the new format?
“This format is more exciting and more difficult. The schedule isn’t easy, but we must focus on one game at a time.
“We’ve always passed the group comfortably, but it’s more difficult to make calculations this season. We must pay attention tomorrow because we face a well-coached team with great players. It will be a tricky game.”
Nicolò Barella is injured, while Joaquin Correa and Tomas Palacios are not part of Inter’s Champions League list. Inzaghi confirmed that he’d rotate tomorrow and even revealed two starters.
“I must decide on the strikers. They all have good chances of being involved, but I must choose yet in which way. I need all the players, especially now that there are so many games. Zielinski will surely start; I will then choose the other two [central midfielders].”
Denzel Dumfries will start as well after agreeing to a contract extension.
“I think it hasn’t been announced yet, but I am happy with the news,” argued Inzaghi.
“Denzel is an important player, and I can say he will start tomorrow, just like Zielinski.”
Lastly, Inzaghi didn’t reply to a question about a group of leading Inter and Milan ultras arrested for alleged Mafia links and other crimes this morning.
“The club said there is an ongoing investigation and asked not to comment on what happened,” he concluded.
What is the 2024-2025 Champions League schedule? The new tournament format, which now includes 36 teams compared to 32 previously, promises more confrontations from the start of the competition. Find the complete schedule of matches and their results updated in real time in our table below.
During the league phase scheduled between September and December 2024, each club plays eight matches against different opponents, selected based on their UEFA ranking.
Then, the top eight teams in the rankings will advance directly to the round of 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th will have to go through play-offs in January 2025. These knockout matches will begin in February, with the grand final scheduled for June 2025. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
For French clubs, including PSG, AS Monaco, Lille and Stade Brestois, the challenge will be to stay in the race for direct qualifications and avoid early eliminations.
The final of the competition will take place in Munich on May 31, 2025. We will then know the successor to Real Madrid where Kylian Mbappé now plays.
In American football, the halftime show has long been part of the event. Appearances during the break have not been an issue in football so far – but that will change at the next World Cup.
Anyone who goes to the toilet or refills chips during half-time at the next World Cup final will miss something: As the world football association Fifa announces, from the next World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico there will be a half-time show in the final. What exactly the association is planning is still very vaguely worded in the announcement. FIFA is probably planning a musical performance modeled on the Superbowl in American football: This so-called half time show is probably the biggest stage that musicians have had so far. In recent years, megastars such as Coldplay, Rihanna and Bruno Mars have appeared at halftime.
FIFA wants to organize a halftime show together with an aid organization
Global Citizen acts as co-organizer. The aid organization is committed to combating extreme poverty around the world. “FIFA has made it its mission to promote football in all countries of the world and thereby have a positive influence on society,” explains the controversial FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Through this partnership, FIFA, together with Global Citizen, will unite the world of sports and entertainment to actively contribute to a better world. “We are committed to a series of joint actions that promote access to the game and encourage fans to advocate for positive change in their local communities,” Infantino continued. However, the association leaves it open exactly how a halftime show during the World Cup final should support Global Citizen or combat poverty in the world. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
“Eventization” of football is met with rejection in Germany
If FIFA presents an act as big as the NFL at the Superbowl, the football halftime show would actually immediately be in the same league as its US counterparts. In the USA, the show is one of the absolute highlights of the football final. It remains to be seen whether such a show will be received so positively by football fans who are more used to a simpler presentation of their sport.
In Europe and especially in Germany, the organized fan scene is extremely critical of the additional commercialization and “eventization” of sport. A resonant example is Helene Fischer’s act before the 2017 DFB Cup final. The artist was booed so mercilessly and loudly during her short appearance that her singing on the television was difficult to understand at times.
Difficult to find two courses as dissimilar as those of Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils at the ATP 500 in Tokyo, but the rectilinear trajectory of the first will still cross the fractured line of the second, in the final, this Tuesday. Despite losing his first set of the week, Humbert (19th in the world) qualified without too much difficulty by beating Tomas Machac (54th) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. After having fought like a madman to eliminate Taylor Fritz and especially Ben Shelton, Son went through two tie-breaks with forceps to subdue Holger Rune. One wanders, the other suffers, but we will be treated to a happy ending. Even with a seven-hour time difference with France, this is a pleasure that we won’t shy away from.
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