Summary
And here we were, thinking the game was going to peter out into a boring 0-0 draw. That was quite a game in the end. After QPR 2-3 Liverpool, that’s two games today that had a dramatic finish. For nearly 80 minutes, both teams attacked meekly, both sides hit the post, but those two chances aside, it was woeful long-range shooting at its worst. Then it switched, both teams taking turns to commit men forward, and getting their reward each time.
We might never know if a defeat would have cost Mazzarri his job at Inter, one suspects that the character shown here might give him at least another week. Moyes will have to wait, for now.
Thanks for reading, and for your emails and tweets. Bye!
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Full-time: Inter 2-2 Napoli
After 79 minutes without a goal, we had four in 13 minutes! What a finish!
90+2 min: Corner to Inter. And Mbaye salmons above his marker, but directs his header wide. An unlikely chance to win the game goes begging!
Dodo breaks down the left, and has enough time to send a driven cross. There are plenty of Inter players in the box, closely marked, but Hernanes arrives late at full pelt, and such is the speed of his run and jump, he powers the header into the near post. Napoli’s players are head in hands! That might be the goal to save Mazzarri’s job! And what a celebration too – the Brazilian manages a kind-of standing backflip. Laaavely.
"@br_uk: Hernanes! Inter set to rescue a draw thanks to the Brazilian's header: http://t.co/O20E1YHCKk" the flip fam
— bazzfro (@BazzGH) October 19, 2014
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GOAL! Inter 2-2 Napoli (Hernanes 90)
Another instant response! How this game has suddenly erupted!
David Lopez crosses to the back post, and Callejon ghosts in at the back post. The Spaniard is completely unmarked and is able to sidefoot a volley into the far post. The Napoli players go beserk!
GOAL! Inter 1-2 Napoli (Callejon 89)
Is that the winner? Is that the end of Mazzarri?
87 min: Break in play, with Palacio struggling on the turf. He’s going to be unable to continue. Will be replaced by M’Vila.
86 min: Napoli on the charge now. Mertens gets to the byline, and cuts the ball back to Higuain on the penalty spot, but that is some challenge from Vidic! He threw himself in for the block, with little regard for his own safety. Great defending.
84 min: Inler leads a promising counter-attack and releases Higuain, but is caught by Juan Jesus who seems content to take the yellow card. The crowd is going nuts, suddenly this game has come to life!
Simple goal. A corner is swung in from the left, Icardo wins the first header, and flicks it to the back post. Guarin taps in! Easy! Mazzarri is absolutely delirious on the sidelines, and in his celebration/rage/whatever spectrum of emotions he is displaying, appears to have got himself sent to the stands.
GOAL! Inter 1-1 Napoli (Guarin 82)
Guarin scores with his first touch!
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81 min: Medel comes off for Guarin, Inter have to go all out now!
Napoli toss a hopeful throw in from the left, Vidic strains his neck but can only glance the clearance on with his header. Callejon collects the clearance, takes one touch and rifles a low shot into the far corner from about 15 yards. I think that took a slight deflection off a defender, which left Handanovic helpless. Inter staring at their third straight defeat here!
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GOAL! Inter 0-1 Napoli (Callejon 79)
We have lift. Just as I say how boring things were getting, there’s a goal! Typical!
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77 min: Nothing is happening. A few free kicks. The way we’re going here, two records are set to continue: 1) Mazzarri will remain his unbeaten record at home to Napoli, the manager has not lost in nine encounters so far. 2) Napoli have now not conceded away in 280 minutes.
75 min: Britos, amples slowly off the pitch to be replaced by Gholam. Britos could easily be shown a second yellow for timewasting. The referee points to his watch as a warning.
73 min: The ref finally pulls his finger out – Kovacic brought down by Jorginho in the middle of the park. Yellow card.
71 min: Two terrible decisions from the referee. Firstly Palacio is brought down by Britos, who is on a yellow. No free-kick. Napoli counter, which ends with Vidic twice dragging back Higuain on the edge of Inter’s area. No whistle! The second of those tugs was blatant. Would have been a promising position for a shot, and Higuain has plenty to say to the ref, rightly so. He’s booked for his dissent.
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69 min: Inler with yet another wild striker, again miles over. He’s obviously been listening to his agent, Dino Lamberti, who said this earlier this month.
“Inler often tries to work from deep, but two or three days ago I told him that he also needs to use other weapons, to advance with the ball at his feet and to try shooting from distance. A player of his quality should score a few more goals.”
Meanwhile, Mertens is on for Insigne.
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67 min: Miscontrol from Higuain, failing to trap a simple ball from Callejon. He’s been woeful tonight, and doesn’t look like ending his goal drought. Prepare yourselves for a Higuain hat-trick, then.
64 min: Callejon has the latest shot from range, but this time, it’s awkward for Handanovic, with the ball bouncing just before him. He manages to parry it, but it’s back toward the Napoli attackers. Could have gone anywhere, but David Lopez hacks clear.
63 min: Penalty shout for Inter but in truth, they’re clutching at straws a little. Koulibaly gets across the front of a dribbling Hernanes, who goes down, but there was little contact. The referee rightly waves any appeals away.
61 min: Napoli respond with a substitution of their own: Jorginho on for Hamsik. The Slovakian has been poor tonight, and is perhaps suffering a bit of fatigue after the international break. Jorginho is a more defensive player, which doesn’t really bode well for us on the goal front.
59 min: First bit of action for Mbaye, released down the right by Kovacic. The 19-year-old decides to cross first time though, it’s absolutely woeful. Whistles rain down on the young Senegalese.
56 min: Inter make their first change: Mbaye on for Obi, straight swap.
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55 min: After a heavy Hamsik challenge on Juan Jesus, Hernanes beats two players and makes a surging run from midfield on the break, Icardi receives a pass on the edge but is forced wide. Get’s a shot off for a corner, which is swung in from the right, Vidic heading over. He looks furious with himself but was tightly marked by Albiol.
53 min: MAZZARRI WATCH – the Inter manager has now taken off his tie and jacket and is sweating, both physically and figuratively – Napoli are having a good spell of possession here. Hopefully Mazzarri ties his tie around his head, Rambo style. I’d like to see that anyway.
50 min: Napoli hit the post! Just as I write about Napoli’s lack of build-up, they construct their best attack of the match. Hamsik drives down the centre, commits Vidic and plays in Insigne, who is played just onside by Juan Jesus, but the Italian drags his shot onto the outside of the near post. He had plently of time to pick a spot and pass it in, and was under little pressure. Poor finish, but encouraging for Napoli.
48 min: Inler tries another shot from range, it’s a good 10 metres over the bar. Napoli seem intent on rushing every attack when they get into Inter territory, which isn’t often.
Peeep peep! And we’re off again. Let’s hope for some goals! Please...
Marek Maj is a touch more forthright.
“Nicklas Bendtner’s number 52 shirt really got on my tits, as did the man himself.”
I think I’m right in saying that Bendtner’s shirt number was a homage to the £52,000-a-week he earned at Arsenal. Make of that what you will.
Meanwhile. L.H. Roper asks:
“Is it fogeyish to lament the whole concept of free numeration--as well as the inclusion of names on the back of shirts? Whatever was wrong with 1-11?”
Nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, I wish we could all go back to the good ol’ days when every celebration was just a simple handshake and a trot back to the half-way line.
@michaelbutler18 fact re: shirt no.88.. think pirlo was forced to give it up as its a number commonly associated w/ neo-nazism
— Peter Simpson (@P_J_Simpson) October 19, 2014
I’m pretty sure that you’re referring to Buffon, who gave up the number while he was at Parms after he was told it was a neo-Nazi symbol by the Italian-Jewish population. This is what he said back in 2000.
“I have chosen 88 because it reminds me of four balls and in Italy we all know what it means to have balls: strength and determination,” he said. “And this season I will have to have balls to get back my place in the Italy team.”
“At first I didn’t choose 88,” he explained. “I wanted 00 but the league told me that was impossible. I also considered 01 but that was not considered a proper number. I liked 01 because it was the number on the General Lee car in the TV series the Dukes of Hazzard.”
Buffon, who said the Holocaust disgusted him and the “Nazi slur” had hurt him, added that he was willing to heed a call from the Jewish community, which asked him to switch shirts “out of respect for Jews, tziganes [gyspies] and homosexuals”.
“I am ready to change numbers if that will help,” he explained. “I didn’t know the hidden meaning of 88.”
Half-time: Inter 0-0 Napoli
Inter should be ahead. Napoli have shown about as much attacking intent as Bunk and McNulty on a night on the beers.
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44 min: Booking for Britos, he halted Palacio in his tracks on an Inter counter-attack. Probably a good booking to concede in the grand scheme of things. Napoli want to keep all the play in front of them.
41 min: Two players – Hernanes and Inler wearing the number 88 tonight on the back of their shirts. Not sure how I feel about this trend. Ronaldo wore 99 while he was at Milan, but he’s RONALDO. Inler hasn’t got near Hernanes or Kovacic in this first half. Are there any other players that have worn odd-numbered shirts that have rubbed you up the wrong way?
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39 min: Ooooo close! Hernanes hits the post! Another cross, but this time it’s not headed clear and Hernanes picks up the loose ball, before trying a half-volley on the turn. It was a snap shot from just right of the penalty spot and took Rafael completely unawares, but the ball bounces back out of the foot of the post! Mazzarri looks like he’s about to cry.
37 min: Napoli get a corner, Hamsik’s long-range shot deflected behind. Napoli take it short, Inler shooting high and wide.
35 min: Inter take a quick throw. Icardi plays a square ball to Hernanes and looks for a return, but the Brazilian takes a shot on, which squirms through the legs of Koulibaly but into the arms of Rafael. As Napoli counter from a quick Rafael throw, Callejon is cynically brought down by the retreating Hernanes: yellow card.
31 min: Insigne cuts inside off his left flank. Higuain is screaming for a ball to feet – for the first time in the match Medel is not screening the Argentinian – but Insigne instead shoots. Higuain throws his toys out the pram, as well he might, it was an awful shot.
29 min: Ranocchia tries from distance, he’s not the player you want trying it from range. Maybe try Hernanes.
27 min: It’s all Inter at the moment, Napoli can’t get out of their own half. Napoli are very deep and happy to let Inter have the ball wide. Dodo can’t work a decent cross in.
25 min: David Lopez caught in possession, and Inter break – it’s three on two! Koulibaly gets a half-challenge in on Callejon and Hernanes picks the ball up but blazes it over. What a waste, Inter should be ahead. And doesn’t Mazzarri know it, he’s head in hands in his technical area. Eventually he feels the attention of the cameras on him, and turns to applaud his team.
22 min: Another chance for Icardi! This time it’s a lot more difficult, the 21-year-old gets a glancing header on an inswinging cross but it’s just wide of Rafael’s left-hand post.
20 min: Medel is doing an excellent job of shielding the defence at the moment. Napoli are trying to find Higuain’s feet with some crisp passes, but Medel is there, sending the ball back in the opposite direction like some bar in Pong. He’s a menace!
18 min: But there is the first chance, and it should be Inter ahead. Hernanes has far too much space on the edge of the area, and slips a lovely through ball to Icardi – one touch and smashed over the bar! The striker really should have scored, at least his the target despite the fact he was under pressure from Albiol.
17 min: Lovely play from Inter, who have definitely started the brighter of the two sides. Ranocchia breaks down the right and pulls it back for Obi who is coming onto it at pace. The Nigerian stays on his feet when he might have gone down, honest play! Napoli clear, their first big scare, even if it didn’t result in a big chance.
15 min: Will be interesting to see how Vidic gets on tonight. The Serbian has made an indifferent start to his career in Italy, and has conceded a penalty against Cagliari and has also been sent off. He’s playing in the middle of a three-man defence tonight, and heads away a Callejon cross.
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13 min: Napoli corner after good work from Higuain on the right. There was precious little for him to aim for in the middle, but Medel slide tackle takes it out. Punched clear by Handanovic.
11 min: First substantial attack from Napoli, ending with Zuniga cutting inside along the edge of the penalty box, and shooting with his weaker left – straight at Handanovic.
9 min: And it’s a good job Britos did come on, an Inter cross from Dodo is swung in from the left and the defender just about gets back to deny Hernanes at the far post. Inter had men over there.
7 min: Britos has collapsed on the turf, he looks to have pulled a hammy. The Uruguayan is forced off but returns to the pitch.
5 min: Obi cuts inside from the right on that left foot of his and releases a fierce strike from 30 yards. It’s comfortably collected by Rafael. Inter come again, this time Kovacic breaking from midfield but Insigne races back to take advantage of a heavy touch.
4 min: It’s obvious to see Napoli’s tactics tonight: sit deep, and break with pace. Hamsik pings a long ball over the top for Insigne but Juan Jesus and Vidic combine to quell the danger. With Inter playing three at the back, there will certainly be some space down the flanks, with Obi and Dodo breaking forward.
2 min: Obi takes his first run at Juan Jesus down Inter’s right, but is well shepherded out. Palacio, who bafflingly continues to sport his terrible rats-tail hair-do, follows up the clearance but it’s deflected behind for a goal kick.
Peeep peeep! And we’re off!
Couple of minutes away here, the San Siro is about three-quarters full, but a decent atmosphere. Both teams are in their home kits, Inter’s is particularly lovely this season. Pinstripe number.
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Inter director Marco Fassone, formerly of Napoli, has been giving the banter pot a good ol’ stir before tonight’s clash. Not exactly endearing himself to the Neapolitans.
“In the two years I spent at Napoli, I rarely heard fans in the more expensive seats jeering,” Fassone told the Corriere del Mezzogiorno.
“The Neapolitan fan is more easily swept up in a wonderful move. Inter fans, not those in the Curva, are much more demanding. They love beautiful football, bitterly criticising even the great players.
“It’s a more refined supporter compared to the Neapolitan and has much higher expectations. From Jose Mourinho’s era onwards, here there is the belief that you have to win always and at all costs.
“When that didn’t happen, and as time went on, the criticism aimed at his successors became increasingly bitter.
“At Juventus you could sense the end of an era after Gianni and Umberto Agnelli died. Napoli had a more populist climate, while Inter had the nobility of a club that knew it had to sweat more than others to fight the power.”
Inter were particularly hit hard by injuries during the international break: Daniel Osvaldo, Danilo D’Ambrosio and Yuto Nagatomo are all now sidelined.
However, special mention must go to former Cardiff terrier Gary Medel, who lost two teeth (!) after being elbowed by Ricardo Cruzado during Chile’s match against Peru. But he takes his place at the base of a five-man midfield tonight. WHAT A SPARTAN.
Napoli will hope that Hamsik brings his international form back with him: in the absence of Higuain goals – the Argentinian has yet to score this season – Napoli have been struggling at the sharp end of late. Maggio is dropped for Britos at left-back. Watch out for Mertens coming off the bench, too.
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Tonight’s teams:
Inter (3-5-2): Handanovic; Ranocchia, Vidic, Juan Jesus; Obi, Hernanes, Medel, Kovacic, Dodo; Palacio, Icardi
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Rafael; Zuniga, Albiol, Koulibaly, Britos; Inler, David Lopez; Insigne, Hamsik, Callejon; Higuain
Referee: Daniele Orsato
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Preamble
It may or may not surprise you that only four Brits have ever managed in Serie A. Alec Stock lost just one of his 11 games in charge of Roma in 1957-58 before resigning after the directors told him who to put in the team. David Platt resigned from his first managerial job at Sampdoria in 1999 after other teams complained that he didn’t have the right coaching qualifications. Sampdoria went on to be relegated. Roy Hodgson had spells at Internazionale (twice) and Udinese with varying degrees of success. But the only Brit to win any silverware as manager in Italy is William Garbutt, who as the only man to have won league titles in both Italy and Spain, has a serious case for being one of the best British managers ever to have lived.
This preamble could easily become preoccupied with Garbutt’s extraordinary story (appointed manager of Genoa at the age of 29 in 1912, revolutionised training and tactical methods, took a World War I hiatus where he rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant, returned to Genoa to win three Serie A titles in 1915, 1923, 1924 and laid foundations in the Italian national team that went onto win the World Cup in 1934 and 1938, left to become the first ever manager for AS Roma in 1927, guided them to the Coppa Coni (the forerunner of the Coppa Italia), left for Napoli in 1929 where they achieved their then best ever league finishes, left for Athletic Bilbao in 1935 and won La Liga in his first season there, forced to flee the country due to the Spanish Civil War, had a brief stint at Milan, then Genoa, arrested and imprisoned by Mussolini’s fascist government through the Second World War, returned to manage Genoa after said war, retired in England in 1951 and died in Warwick in 1964 with no English papers bothering with an obituary, but the Italian press lavishing tributes on the man they knew as ‘Mister’. Some excellent further reading: here) but with a big Serie A clash tonight: Internazionale v Napoli, we don’t want to get too distracted.
The reason for all the above is that with Inter currently struggling in 10th, and having lost their last two league games (4-1 at home to Cagliari, 3-0 away at Fiorentina), their manager, Walter Mazzarri (who moved to Inter from Napoli only last year) is on the brink of losing his job. Among the favourites to replace him? A certain British man by the name of David Moyes. Improving a golf handicap might not be as eventful as Garbutt’s various hiatuses from football, but ‘Mister’ Moyes has recently said he is open to managing abroad and is close to Inter’s chief operating officer Michael Bolingbroke, who left Manchester United in April. Reports that the Scot will attend Inter v Napoli as a guest of the hosts are wide of the mark – ‘Mister’ Moyes was at Stoke 2-1 Swansea this afternoon – but he could well end up as a fifth British manager in Serie A by next week, a loss for Inter tonight would surely see the end of Mazzarri.
After a poor start to the season, Rafa Benitez’s Napoli have turned it around of late, and go into the game in seventh after three straight wins. Both teams are too far from Juventus and Roma in terms of quality and points to take a run at the title this year, but this remains a game between two genuine Italian heavyweights, with a lot riding on the result, particularly for Mazzarri.
Kick off: 7.45pm BST
