Inter Milan lost points against Dynamo Kiev: 2-2

Inter twice came from behind as Tuesday's Champions League Matchday 3 clash against Dynamo Kiev at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza ended in a 2-2 draw. But the Group F situation is evenly balanced with three matches left to play as defending European champions Barcelona lost 2-1 at home to Rubin Kazan.

Dynamo came out with all guns blazing and fired an early warning when Yarmolenko just failed to make contact with Milevskiy's flick from Magrao's corner. Gazzaev's men stepped up the pressure and took a fifth-minute lead through Mikhalik, who rifled past Julio Cesar after Milevskiy's free kick came off Stankovic.

Penned back for the opening fifteen minutes, Inter gradually settled but Dynamo went inches close to a second with Shevchenko heading wide after climbing above Maicon. Inter's leveller came from a counter-attack after Julio Cesar's punched clearance from Magrao's cross. Sneijder turned an opponent and played to Lucio who fed Stankovic and the Serbian slotted beyond the onrushing Bogush.

In his pre-match press conference Mourinho said a few moments are enough to go from heaven to hell in football and Lucio must have been thinking just that when he inadvertently headed Magrao's corner into his own net five minutes before the break. But the Brazilian's partner in defence Samuel grabbed a quick equaliser after half time, rising in the box to head Sneijder's corner kick into the top left corner.

Spaces opened up for both teams and mistakes abounded, and the result could have gone either way. Eto'o was narrowly beaten to Magrao's wayward back pass by Bogush, who made a point-blank save from the Cameroonian seconds later. At the other end, Lucio found himself in Purgatory after mis-timing his clearance but Inter were let off the hook as Shevchenko fired wide with just Julio Cesar to beat.

Suazo had an impact after coming on for Muntari at half time and with five minutes to go he missed from the close range after a storming run to the byline by Zanetti. The Honduran had a further chance from a tight angle before having a goal disallowed for offside in stoppage time.

Inter 2-2 Dynamo Kiev (HT: 1-1)

Scorers: Mikhalik 5, Stankovic 35, Lucio (o.g.) 40, Samuel 47.

Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 25 Samuel, 26 Chivu; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso (23 Materazzi 86), 11 Muntari (18 Suazo 46); 5 Stankovic (14 Vieira 86), 10 Sneijder; 9 Eto'o.

Subs not used: 1 Toldo, 2 Cordoba, 30 Mancini, 39 Santon.

Coach: José Mourinho.

Dynamo Kiev: 31 Bogush; 11 Eremenko, 34 Khacheridi, 44 Almeida, 21 Magrao (3 Betao 71); 17 Mikhalik, 36 Ninkovic (20 Gusev 69), 5 Vukojevic, 70 Yarmolenko; 7 Shevchenko, 10 Milevskiy (22 Kravets 90+3).

Subs not used: 55 Rybka, 8 Aliyev, 20 Gusev, 25 Atanda, 79 Zozulia.

Coach: Valery Gazzaev.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (England).

Booked: Stankovic 23, Maicon 29, Almeida 31, Chivu 52, Shevchenko 61, Milevskiy 68, Vukojevic 82, Zanetti 83.

Inter Press

Barcelona UCL Group: European rivals up and running

Barca’s three rivals in the Group Stage of the UCL this season will all be going into the competition with more games under their belts than Guardiola’s team, with the Russian team Rubin Kazan actually reaching the end of their season.

When Barca visit Milan to take on Inter in 11 days time, they will have just played their second league game, away to Getafe, having already beaten Sporting in the league opener and taken the Spanish and European Super Cups in August. Their rivals have all had the benefit of a few more games and the Russians are almost at the end of their season.

Inter Milan

Barca’s first game in the Group Stage is in Milan and Inter have already played one more league game than their visitors, boasting a 0-4 win over Milan and a draw against Bari. Sampdoria lead the Scudetto with Inter lying fifth alongside Parma, who Mourinho’s team play the weekend before the clash with Barca.

Dinamo Kiev

On 29 September, Barca entertain Dynamo Kiev at the Nou Camp. The Ukranians top their league with 16 points, three more than Shaktar Donetsk, having won 5 of the six games played so far and drawn the other, scoring 24 goals and conceding just 4.

Rubin Kazan

The third Group Stage game will be against the Russian team Rubin Kazan. There are just 10 games to go in the Russian league and Rubin have a 4 point lead over second place Spartak Moscow, who beat them 0-3 in the last league game. Rubin have won 12 games, drawn 4 and lost 3 games in the league so far.

Sandra Sarmiento / FC Barcelona Press

Inter Milan is ready, submits Champions League player list to UEFA

FC Internazionale has submitted to UEFA its list of players for the group stage of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League.

A list

Goalkeepers

1 Francesco Toldo

12 Julio Cesar

21 Paolo Orlandoni

Defenders

2 Ivan Ramiro Cordoba

4 Javier Zanetti

6 Lucio

13 Maicon

23 Marco Materazzi

25 Walter Samuel

26 Cristian Chivu

39 Davide Santon

Midfielders

5 Dejan Stankovic

7 Ricardo Quaresma

8 Thiago Motta

10 Wesley Sneijder

11 Sulley Muntari

14 Patrick Vieira

19 Esteban Cambiasso

20 Joel Chukwuma Obi

30 Amantino Mancini

52 Antonio Esposito

Strikers

9 Samuel Eto'o

18 David Suazo

22 Diego Milito

45 Mario Balotelli

B list

51 Vid Belec (goakeeper)

15 René Krhin (midfielder)

46 Luca Caldirola (midfielder)

49 Mattia Destro (striker)

53 Luca Tremolada (midfielder)

AC Milan – Internazionale: debut with goal for Klaas Jan Huntelaar?

On Saturday, AC Milan host city rivals Internazionale in the Milan city derby. New signing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar can make his Serie A debut for AC Milan.

According to Infostrada Sports, the former Real Madrid striker can become the first Milan player since Alberto Paloschi in February 2008 to score on his Serie A debut for AC Milan. The last Dutch players to do so were Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten in September 1987.

Scoring on Serie A debut for AC Milan since 1987/1988

Date Name Nation Match

10 Feb 2008 Alberto Paloschi ITA AC Milan - Siena 1-0

13 Jan 2008 Alexandre Pato BRA AC Milan - Napoli 5-2

10 Sep 2006 Ricardo Oliveira BRA AC Milan - Lazio 2-1

29 Aug 1999 Andrei Shevchenko UKR Lecce - AC Milan 2-2

27 Aug 1995 George Weah LBR Padova - AC Milan 1-2

27 Aug 1989 Giovanni Stroppa ITA Cesena - AC Milan 0-3

13 Sep 1987 Ruud Gullit NED Pisa - AC Milan 1-3

13 Sep 1987 Marco van Basten NED Pisa - AC Milan 1-3

Serie A starts: Inter-Milan goes for the history

On Saturday, the Italian league season gets underway with Bologna hosting Fiorentina and AC Milan travelling to Siena. A day later, defending Serie A champions Internazionale host Bari. According to Infostrada Sports, if the ‘nerazzurri’ win their fifth successive scudetto in 2009/2010, they will equal an all-time Italian top flight record.

Most consecutive Serie A championships
# Club Years
5 Juventus 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935
5 Torino 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
4 Internazionale 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
3 AC Milan 1992, 1993, 1994
2 Bologna 1936, 1937
2 Internazionale 1953, 1954
2 Juventus 1960, 1961
2 Internazionale 1965, 1966
2 Juventus 1972, 1973
2 Juventus 1977, 1978
2 Juventus 1981, 1982
2 Juventus 1997, 1998
2 Juventus 2002, 2003

Inter Milan 2009 / 2010 squad: UEFA Champions League and Serie A

UPDATE: list of players for the group stage of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League.

Goalkeepers
1 Toldo Francesco Thursday, December 2 1971 [Italy]
12 Soares de Espindola Julio Cesar Monday, September 3 1979 [Brazil]
21 Orlandoni Paolo Saturday, August 12 1972 [Italy]
51 Belec Vid Wednesday, June 6 1990 [Slovenia]

Defenders
2 Cordoba Ivan Ramiro Wednesday, August 11 1976 [Colombia]
4 Zanetti Javier Friday, August 10 1973 [Argentina]
6 Da Silva Ferreira Lucimar Lucio Monday, May 8 1978 [Brazil]
13 Sisenando Maicon Douglas Sunday, July 26 1981 [Brazil]
16 Burdisso Nicolas Andres Sunday, April 12 1981 [Argentina]
23 Materazzi Marco Sunday, August 19 1973 [Italy]
24 Rivas Lopez Nelson Enrique Friday, March 25 1983 [Colombia]
25 Samuel Walter Adrian Thursday, March 23 1978 [Argentina]
26 Chivu Cristian Sunday, October 26 1980 [Romania]
39 Santon Davide Wednesday, January 2 1991 [Italy]

Midfielders
5 Stankovic Dejan Monday, September 11 1978 [Serbia]
7 Andrade Quaresma Bernardo Ricardo Monday, September 26 1983 [Portugal]
8 Motta Thiago Saturday, August 28 1982 [Brazil]
11 Muntari Sulley Ali Monday, August 27 1984 [Ghana]
14 Vieira Patrick Wednesday, June 23 1976 [France]
15 Krhin Rene Monday, May 21 1990 [Slovenia]
19 Cambiasso Esteban Matias Monday, August 18 1980 [Argentina]
20 Obi Joel Chukwuma Wednesday, May 22 1991 [Nigeria]
30 Faioli Amantino Alessandro Mancini Friday, August 1 1980 [Brazil]

Forwards
Nsofor Victor Obinna Wednesday, March 25 1987 [Nigeria]
Arnautovic Marko Wednesday, April 19 1989 [Austria]
9 Samuel Eto'o Fils Tuesday, March 10 1981 [Cameroon]
18 Suazo David Monday, November 5 1979 [Honduras]
22 Milito Diego Alberto Tuesday, June 12 1979 [Argentina]
45 Barwuah Balotelli Mario Sunday, August 12 1990 [Italy]
49 Destro Mattia Wednesday, March 20 1991 [Italy]
76 Moura Souza Kerlon Wednesday, January 27 1988 [Brazil]

Eto'o arrives to Milan for Inter switch

Samuel Eto'o arrived in Milan on Monday to complete his transfer to Inter in a swap deal which sends Zlatan Ibrahimovic to his former club Barcelona.

The Cameroon international will reportedly sign a five-year contract worth almost $15 million per season at the current Serie A champions.

Eto'o is undergoing a medical in Milan before being officially unveiled, but is already looking forward to the new season.

He was also delighted that his new team had made a good start to pre-season with a 2-0 win over arch-rivals AC Milan in a friendly tournament in the United States on Sunday.

"Compliments to my teammates, who have already won the first derby," he added.
Eto'o was top scorer for treble-winning Barcelona last season with 34 goals, but annoyed the Spanish giants while being courted by English club Manchester City.
Coach Pep Guardiola later stated it would be best for the club if the player left despite him having been offered a new contract.

Eto'o will leave the Nou Camp as the fourth highest goalscorer in the club's history and netted in both finals as Barcelona won the Champions League in 2006 and 2009.
Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb is also coming to Inter as part of the deal, with the Italian giants also receiving a reported $46 million as compensation for losing a striker who led the Serie A scoring charts last season.

Meanwhile, Swedish international Ibrahimovic is due to travel to Barcelona on Monday to complete the formalities of his deal with the Catalan giants.

Source: CNN

Inter Milan 2 - AC Milan 0: Diego Milito goals far from home

Diego Milito scored twice to lead Inter Milan to a 2-0 victory over AC Milan on Sunday in an exhibition that was just the third match the bitter intracity rivals have ever played outside Italy.

The crowd of 42,531 leaned heavily toward AC Milan, and they were quieted in the fourth minute when Milito chased the ball down to the left of the goal and left-footed it between the goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac and the near post. He gave Inter a 2-0 lead in the 75th minute on a 2-on-1 break with Dejan Stankovic, who drew the defender and passed to Milito for the shot that bounced off and over the keeper into the net.

The clubs that share a home in foggy San Siro had met outside Italy only twice: in Chiasso, Switzerland, in 1908 and at Yankee Stadium in 1969. But they came to the United States as part of an exhibition tournament known as the World Football Classic.

Source: AP

Samuel Eto'o goals travel to Inter Milan

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o has agreed terms on his transfer from Barcelona to Inter Milan, the Cameroon international star's agent Jose Maria Mesalles said on Thursday.

Mesalles emerged from two hours of talks with Inter representatives to tell the waiting press that a deal had been agreed, which was later confirmed by Inter's transfer specialist Marco Branca.

"The only problem is his loyalty bonus with Barcelona," said Mesalles. Eto'o is due to arrive in Milan on either Monday or Tuesday to put pen to paper. "It was a really long negotiation but it was always conducted with respect and for that I have to thank Inter," said Mesalles.

The agent spent three days negotiating with Inter before a deal was reached which will see Eto'o switch from Barcelona while Inter's Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic joins the Spanish champions.

As well as Eto'o, the Catalans would pay the Italians 50 million euros and allow Belarusian winger Alexander Hleb to go on a season-loan to the San Siro. According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Eto'o will sign a five-year deal worth between 10-10.5 million euros a year.

The 28-year-old Eto'o, who joined the Catalan side in 2004, has a year left in his contract with Barcelona. He was the club's top scorer in the Spanish league last season, with 30 goals.

Inter president Massimo Moratti told the club's website that the transfer was 'nearly finalised' and said he would not comment more until it has been completed. But Moratti moved to deny speculation in the Italian press that Inter coach Jose Mourinho doesn't want the Cameroon star at the club.

"That's completely untrue, I've spoken with Mourinho on the telephone and he has been a part of this process all along," said Moratti. "As for the Ibrahimovic question, that was something that he (Mourinho) always knew might happen.

"Obviously the coach made it clear he didn't believe the Swedish striker could go to another club but he is a big admirer of Eto'o and he is very satisfied and happy about this possibility, this exchange."

Since then the club website also revealed that Ibrahimovic, who has injured his wrist, has left the club's pre-season training camp in the United States and returned to his native Sweden, possibly with the view to finalising his move to Spain.

Ibrahimovic was the top scorer in Serie A last season and has been Inter's best player since joining the club in 2006 when Juventus were demoted to Serie B for match-fixing.

But while he has often dazzled on the Serie A stage, scoring some spectacular goals, he has been much criticised for failing to produce on the biggest stages, such as the Champions League.

He has also made it clear that he is not happy at Inter's failure to mount a serious Champions League challenge having been knocked out in the second round in each of the last three seasons, by Valencia, Liverpool and then Manchester United.

Eto'o by contrast has twice risen to the occasion on the biggest club stage of all, scoring goals in the Champions League final in both Barcelona's last two triumphs.
He scored in the 2-1 victory over Arsenal in Paris in 2006 and he opened the scoring in the 2-0 success against United in Rome in May.

He is the only African player ever to score in two Champions League finals.
Meanwhile, Barcelona striker Thierry Henry said on Thursday he was looking forward to playing alongside Ibrahimovic.

"Technically he can keep whatever ball you throw at him," Henry said. "And what I like about him is his character. For some people it is a bit too much but I don't mind. To be a player like that you have to have it."

Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola had already admitted that it would be better if Eto'o left.

"I fully understand that people ask why. He is a wonderful player. Everyone knows there are no 'football' reasons. So why? It is a question of feeling," Guardiola said earlier this week.

"I feel that it is the best for the team, for the club, but I don't dare say that it is best for Samuel. I am very grateful to Samuel, not for this year but for the five years he has spent here.

"The coach's job is not to change the personality of players but it is my job to decide who to work with. It's my responsibility and I think we need to change something."

Source: AFP

Zlatan Ibrahimovic by Mirror

With a massive £80m sitting in the bank after one particular summer transfer Manchester United are combing the highest ranks of European strikers to replace the 30-goal-a-season-sized hole left by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sir Alex Ferguson is considering a move for Serie A superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic to provide a deadly strike force alongside newly signed Michael Owen. Here’s everything you need to know about the fiery Inter Milan front man...

1. Ibrahimovic was born to a Bosnian father and Croatian mother on 3 October 1981 in Malmo, South Sweden. He almost gave up football at 15 but was convinced by his coach to carry on playing, eventually dropping out of school to pursue his prolific career, joining home town club Malmo in 1996 and graduating to the senior side three years later.

2. If Fergie is hoping to get his man over on a trial, he would probably be out of luck. Ibrahimovic's performances with Malmo caught the eye of Arsene Wenger, who later said Ibrahimovic had gone to Highbury on trial. The striker's response was to insist he had had a Highbury tour rather than an audition, flouncing: "I didn't have a trial at Arsenal, I came to visit. Some scout was in Sweden and he looked at me and said, 'I invite you to Arsenal.' Wenger wanted me to do a trial and I said, 'I don't do trials. I come here because you know who I am.'"

3. It was Ajax who secured the Swede's services instead, securing a €7.8million transfer in 2001. He managed 35 goals in 74 appearances, including this beauty against NAC Breda which Eurosport named goal of the season.

But he left under a cloud in 2004 after a Sweden-Netherlands friendly saw him injure Ajax strike partner Rafael Van der Vaart, who accused him of doing it deliberately, and Ibrahimovic was quickly sold to Juventus for €19million.

4. An injury to David Trezeguet meant he settled into a first team place almost immediately. After 23 goals in two seasons with Juve, the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal saw the club relegated to Serie B and Ibrahimovic wasn't keen to stick around to help get them back to the big time, his agent confirming he would be prepared to take legal action to escape his contract. It did not come to that though, Inter Milan snapping him up in a deal worth €12m a year.

5. He was a goal-scoring hit at Inter, bagging 15 goals in his first season to be the club's top scorer. He was named in the 2007 UEFA Team of the Year 2007 alongside Steve Gerrard, John Terry, Lionel Messi and Didier Drogba.

6. Last season he notched an impressive 25 goals to win the coveted capocannonieri, Serie A's golden boot. And those performances led Inter boss Jose Mourinho to name him “the best player in the world, ahead of (Cristiano) Ronaldo”. He also landed the “Oscar del Calcio”, footballer of the year as voted by the Italian Association of Footballers, due to some cracking goals.

7. Ibrahimovic has won the Italian league every year since he has started playing with Inter - but after celebrating this year's win he did not really fancy playing the whole 90 minutes against Siena. An unsympathetic Mourinho ignored his pleas to be substituted - even changing the goalkeeper instead...

8. A Swedish international with more than 50 caps, Ibrahimovic made his debut for Sweden in January 2001 against the Faroe Islands. He could fit in well in England - he missed from the penalty spot against Holland at Euro 2004. His tournament scoring record leaves something to be desired, with a scoreless 2006 World Cup and a two year drought during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

9. That qualifying campaign was interrupted by a self-imposed boycott over what he felt was unfair punishment from coach Lars Lagerback. Ibrahimovic, along with Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg, had headed for a night club two days before a qualifier against Lichtenstein. They didn't drink alcohol but they had broken their curfew and were sent home from the squad. Mellberg and Wilhelmsson took their punishment - Ibrahimovic boycotted the next three internationals.

10. At 6ft3ins tall the Swede is known for his ability to push past defenders and use his deft touch to set up goal scoring opportunities - skills which have seen him consistently rated among the best world's best strikers.