Avoiding the Drop

I guess the biggest item concerning this tie is who’s coming out party is it?  Milos Krasic, the talented young CSKA midfielder who leads the Muscovites in scoring, or Wesley Sneijder, the awesomely skilled Inter midfielder who almost single-handedly destroyed Chelsea in Inter’s last set of CL matches.

One would assume that the coaching matchup is heavily weighted towards Jose Mourinho, who of course has a CL title in his bag of trophies.  However, new CSKA gaffer Leonid Slutsky has definitely turned around a shuddering ship after yet another Juande Ramos debacle.  CSKA can definitely handle the road atmosphere at the San Siro, and will give the Italians all they want today.

It’s high time that Inter’s league success carry over to the Champions League.  There are many ongoing discussions regarding the best club league in Europe.  Inter have an amazing amount of talent and play in one of the top leagues on the continent, and have w0n four successive league titles.  Yet, for all of the glittering talent in Italy, it’s the failures of the top clubs at this level in recent seasons that echoes the most.  Inter need to carry the weight for the aging sides and the not yet ready for prime time sides.  They are the most balanced across the entire side, have a top notch goalkeeper in Julio Cesar, have one of the best managers in the world (despite all his bluster and baggage) and should be more successful at this level then they have been.  When a young talent such as Mario Balotelli cannot make the squad for a match at this level, you can clearly see they are playing with a full deck.  It’s making the cards fit in with the strategy and not allowing the match to be dictated to them that needs to be the priority today.  There have been WAY too many instances for me of this team allowing the match circumstances (pitch condition, referree decisions, etc.) take precedence over THEM taking control and bossing the 90 minutes the way they are capable of.

For CSKA, the mission is simple.  Do not be overwhelmed by the level of play, the atmosphere and the thoughts of Barcelona.  This match is needing to be played at a Spassky-like level.  I would expect that Krasic’s explosiveness down the right will be their first plan of attack, but certainly he will need to be at his dead-level best against this polished bunch of players in black and blue.   One of the biggest factors that makes this set of matches hard to call is the fact that the Russian club season has just begun, while Italy’s is nearing the finish.  The clubs are at completely different levels of match fitness and injury levels, so it means that the Russian side must capitalize on the existing weaknesses of the Italian side (which, granted, are not many).

The San Siro is a cauldron during matches like this, but I’ve always felt that the support for AC Milan is a bit heartier than for Inter, despite the latter’s recent run of amazing success.  The crowd must be well up for it tonight and will their home side on.  The Russians have done very well on the road in this competition this season.  Let’s not forget they put together an amazing comeback to forge a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford last November, so they are clearly up for it in big, imposing stadiums.  I would suspect that today will be no different.

The coverage kicks off at 2:30 PM EDT on Fox Soccer Plus (if you have it), and then it will be on delayed broadcast at 5:00 PM EDT on Fox Soccer Channel.  It should be a cracking affair, because let’s face it, any trip to Moscow is not an easy one.  Inter will want to do the best they can for a scoreline in this one.

My prediction for today?  Inter 1-1 CSKA.