[FM13] Giuseppe Bergomi - The King of Calcio

Couragesand: ...

Pauker: Yeah Lille are a strong side, it'll be a fun match for sure. As for Roma, it's quite shocking. Giuseppe Sceinza is the manager (they've gone through Zeman, Beenhakker, Iachini, De Canio, and Cosmi), they've still got Stekelenburg, De Rossi, Bertolacci, and Osvaldo, and yet they suck

While Inter Milan coach Giuseppe Bergomi is keen to stress that it isn't quite a full blown crisis, the Nerazzurri are certainly starting to edge toward panic time. With Mattia Destro and Ademilson suddenly both out injured for quite some time, though, Lorenzo Insigne is the only remaining first team striker left.

The two players have 29 goals between them, showing their goalscoring prowess, but have struggled to stay fit so far this season. However, now Inter will have to do without the two talented forwards for almost the entirety of the remaining season.

Ademilson will miss the upcoming 2-3 months with a torn hamstring and thus won't be returning to first team action until mid-April should things go well. The Brazilian has 11 Serie A goals and 5 in the UEFA Champions League and will sorely be missed.

However, perhaps an even bigger blow, Mattia Destro will miss the next 3-4 months with a torn calf muscle. The Italian superstar striker has scored 66 goals in the last 3 Serie A seasons, but only 7 have come in 9 appearances this year. He's scored 13 goals in all competitions, but has mainly struggled with niggling injuries.

Destro had missed the opening 3 months of the season with a torn hamstring and struggled to find games and will now miss another 4. Lorenzo Insigne is now the only remaining first team striker. U20 strikers Filippo Valentini and maybe Danilo Anconetari are expected to be given some chances in the first team.

Bergomi, though admitting his side were in a difficult positions, tried to remain optimistic. "Obviously it is a bitter, bitter blow," he said. "Losing Mattia for the rest of the season and Ademilson for most of it is a big loss of two of our best goal scorers. However, this is a big chance for players like Lorenzo [Insigne] to get a regular first team slot and give younger players like Valentini a chance to make an impact. We cannot use this as an excuse; we still want to win all trophies we can."

Ouch, tough losses. But you're Inter. You'll win. You always do

Rablador: That's the plan

You're team's pretty good man;) Good update

Unbeaten up until now... amazing!

Lucas: Yeah we're not bad

NVDTahir: Yes, yes I am amazing

Great results m8. I'm very happy to see that my story of the year is still going on

AlexSonwild: Thanks bud, hopefully it will continue going for a bit longer

It seemed that everybody but Giuseppe Bergomi was certain that Inter would triumph over LOSC Lille and move on to the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League, especially after taking a 1-0 win in France. Going into the game, though, the Inter boss was quoted as saying, "They're a great team, better than most people like to think. It will be a very tough match."

In fact, it was Lille that had the first real chance of the game. 12 minutes in, striker Nolan Roux had a long range effort batted aside by Fernando Muslera. Many had expected Marc-Andre ter Stegen to start in net for the Nerazzurri, but early on the Uruguayan was showing why he had been chosen to start in this crucial fixture.

Right after the save, Inter countered through Isco, who sought out this year's superstar Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian deftly switched the point of attack to Diego Fabbrini on the right wing who burst past two players before driving the ball across Yann Sommer to give Inter a 1-0 lead, 2-0 on aggregate.

About half an hour in, Inter nearly doubled (tripled, technically) their advantage. Andrea Poli sliced upon the Lille defense to find Isco in a tight area in the box, but the Spaniard was excellently defended and his strike could only find side netting, resulting in half cheers from parts of the crowd that thought the strike had gone in.

Into injury time of the first half, Inter added to their lead to devastating effect. It was Isco Alcorcon yet again involved in the heart of things when he lined up a delightful, curling effort from well outside the box. The shot crashed off of the crossbar but Lorenzo Insigne was the quickest to react, and the diminutive striker popped home the rebound to make it 2-0 (3-0 on aggregate).

In the second half, Lille began to show why Bergomi had so clearly stressed their quality. The French side's midfield began to take control of proceedings and launch attack after attack as it sought out the 3 goals it needed to advance. Slightly after the hour mark, Lille struck.

Nolan Roux, who had looked dangerous all match long, slipped in an inch perfect ball for Jorge Enriquez. One on one with Fernando Muslera, the Mexican midfield man made no mistake to claw one back for his side. A short scuffle broke out between Enriquez and Muslera as Lille looked to quickly grab the ball and resume play, but it was shortly sorted out.

However, Lille's late efforts were not enough, and the match finished 2-1 to Inter, who advanced to the quarterfinals 3-1 on aggregate. Diego Fabbrini was voted player of the match after his fantastic performance down the wing and excellent goal to give Inter it's lead.

"I'm very pleased with how we've played tonight," said Giuseppe Bergomi after the match. "Lille played well but we played better in the end and we thoroughly deserve to go on to the quarterfinals."

When asked if Bergomi thought his side could retain their Champions League crown, the boss replied cuatiously, "We want to take things one game at a time; every match at this level will be very difficult, but we know if we focus we can go far once again."

Meh.

Pauker:

Not too many teams can say they have two world class goalkeepers at their club, but Inter Milan is one of them, and right now, nobody can seem to decide which one should start. Uruguayan Fernando Muslera and German Marc-Andre ter Stegen have split games so far with the German taking almost twice as much due to an early season injury to Muslera, but the question still rings around the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza; Which one is better?

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is currently manager Giuseppe Bergomi's favored shot stopper. The German joined Inter Milan at the start of last season for a fee of €21,500,000 and went on to play 51 matches all season, keeping 35 clean sheets and conceding a mere 18. This season he has played 30 matches, keeping 19 clean sheets and conceding 12 goals. Until then, ter Stegen had played his entire career at Borussia Moenchengladbach, enjoying some difficult seasons until the Nerazzurri snapped him up.

Fernando Muslera, however, is enjoying his first season at Inter, though not his first in Italy. The Uruguayan international had spent the last 5 seasons at Galatasaray where he had become known for making outstanding saves and keeping many clean sheets. He did not renew his contract last season, however, and joined Inter for free in the summer. He had previously played for Lazio in Italy. Muslera has made only 15 appearances this season due to injury but has kept 12 clean sheets and conceding just 3 goals.

Both goalkeepers seem to enjoy the friendly competition and are on very good terms. Ter Stegen said to our interviewer, "Nando is a great guy, a top goalkeeper. It's good to have another goalkeeper as good as you or even better than you to keep you on your toes and play well."

Muslera expressed a familiar friendship towards his competitor, saying, "We're good friends, he's great to practice with and we learn a lot from each other. Marc and I keep our heads down and support whoever gets the start, it's a good rotation policy and we are both enjoying it."

Lately, it seems Muslera has become slightly more favored as he was played in the crucial Champions League fixture at home against Lille. Until then, ter Stegen had been playing in most of the UCL matches, but this may be a change in policy and perhaps favor from Giuseppe Bergomi. When quizzed on the subject, however, the fiery Italian boss was quick so squash any suspicion.

"I play whichever deserves to play," he said. "Each week of training is competition for them, and whoever impresses me more plays. If you then make some good saves in the match, you will play again. The two are taking things very well and working very hard."

It seems like the two will continue to share time, and the one who plays better will start. However, we want to hear from the fans, too. Who do you think should start?

Marc-Andre ter Stegen


Fernando Muslera

Meh. Did you get who is better?