The Brazilians could beat Chelsea tonight.
Maybe Lucio can contain Drogba.
Right back Maicon is a powerhouse who will exploit the absence of Ashley Cole and Zhirkov.
And Julio Cesar is the best keeper in Serie A. Very agile, commanding, a superb goalkeeper from a country that does not produce top keepers.
About ten years ago, when I started to understand what the Champions League was all about, I used to say : My Brazilians are better than your Brazilians.
Meaning : That’s what a lot of big quarter-finals and semis might boil down to. My Brazilians being better than your Brazilians. In a tight game, a top Brazilian often makes the difference.
And Chelsea have no Brazilians.
It’s a very interesting contest between two old teams and two astute tacticians, Mourinho and Ancelotti.
Can Lucio can contain Drogba?
Brazil’s big skipper is the world’s most awesome defender. Tall, fast, skilful, experienced, brings it forward, scores a big goal now and then.
Lucio and Samuel, an Argentinian bandit, can contain Drogba between them.
But Walter Samuel is a bruiser who can be very impulsive. He got a red card as recently as last weekend when he was sent off in a 0-0 draw against Sampdoria. Cordoba, a tiny hard man, was also sent off in the same game.
Samuel (pronounced Samwell) is nowhere near as good as Lucio, who joined Inter from Bayern last July.
We’ve seen Lucio match Thierry Henry for pace. He’s big and fun to watch and he’s a truly great footballer who can head in free-kicks.
I originally fancied Malouda to score in this game because Malouda and Drogba are good at volleying the ball to each other at sharp angles to open you up.
But Malouda might have to play left back tonight. He has played there for France. JT is off form and will miss Ashley Cole a lot.
Mourinho and Ancelotti don’t like each other. In his autobiography, Carlo Ancelotti referred to Mourinho as “His Specialness.” He also said, “If Mourinho is Jesus, I’m certainly not one of his apostles.”
Jose Mourinho is a charismatic winner who turns nasty when anything goes against him. That’s why I would not like to see him in England again. But he can’t wait to come back and our hacks love Jose because he’s controversial and quotable and does their jobs for them.
I’m up for this game. It could be dull and spiteful and it could easily be a 0-0 but I’m really, really up for it.
Sobering thought : The winners of tonight’s tie might win the Champions League.
Man United are beatable, so are Real Madrid, and it may be beyond Barcelona to repeat their 2-0 victory over Man United in last years final.
You peak when you win the big one – and it’s almost impossible to peak again a year later.
The final is on Saturday, May 22 and, as you know, it’s being held in the Bernabeu.
Tonight will be tight, tight, tight. Unless the raiding Maicon opens Chelsea up.
Inter could win it on a set-piece. Chelsea and Inter can score both score from set-pieces.