The King of Rome

13/12/2017


Current holders Internazionale grabbed an easy win in the TIM Cup First Round at the San Siro tonight against Bologna who never looked very dangerous in front of goal and managed to get a goal just after the hour mark but Totti's side was far too superior for them to get anything from this game. Inter's victory is no less than people expected and they comfortably go through to the Second Round and will give them some momentum going into the Milan derby in 3 days which should be a great game. With Inter sitting in 2nd and AC Milan sitting in 5th, a win for Inter would see them come back just one point behind Juventus whilst a win for AC Milan could allow them to move up to 4th but given their low goal difference, Lazio (currently 4th) should keep their spot on the table.

Great victory, completely deserved. We go through to the next round which is nothing less than I expected. I'm so excited about my second ever Milan derby especially considering how well we did last year so let's hope that the fans are excited too. We have a game in hand over Juventus who failed to win in their last game which means that right now they're 4 points clear at the top of the table. If we win, we come back just a point behind them which could really kickstart the title race again so I hope the players are up for it. I certainly am!
 
05/01/2018

The rumours linking me back to Roma have been making me think. I love it here at Inter but I was going through some old videos and found this from 2013:

[video=youtube;Boj8llp0iI8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boj8llp0iI8[/video]​

Seeing that video just made me think: I always told them I was hungry for more, I always told the fans that I wanted to stay at Roma forever and there I am leaving them and moving to a team becoming Roma's rivals. What am I doing? Should I really be here at Inter? I feel like I belong to Roma. I don't know if I should wait until the end of the season to make a decision, I don't know if I should act now. Ever since news have been going around that Spalletti's time at Roma was almost over, I've been having dreams about them approaching me as their manager. For me it would obviously be a dream come true but I would hate to disappoint another set of fans here at Inter. It's barely been over a year and I'm already thinking of leaving? I don't even understand what's going on in my own head anymore. With some players unhappy about how I treated Asensio and others angry at Brozovic's departure, I feel like things here are getting worse by the minute, the day. I don't know what's right for me to do. All I know is that my heart belongs to Roma and if they want me, then they have me. I'll never be able to turn down an offer from them, it would just be wrong of me. For now, I'll try to concentrate on getting good results with Inter and see where it takes me and maybe make a couple of signings in case I stay here for a long time. Oh and by the way, we signed this really young Brazilian striker, Antonio Fernando, for just 3 million euros and all the scouts from Brazil and from the best teams around Europe are saying he's the next Ronaldo so at least there's one thing I'm excited about now.

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08/01/2018

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Inter go top of Serie A as Juventus draw with Sassuolo

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It's all gone wrong for Juventus as Dybala's injury last December seems to really affect the previous Serie A leaders as they fall one point behind Inter and give up their lead whilst Totti's side continue their unbeaten Serie A campaign with yet another victory. With Francesco Totti rumoured to be going back to former club Roma as a manager, Inter needed to show that they were not affected by what the media was saying and got a very well deserved victory over a harmless Cagliari side. Roma also managed to easily win their game against Pro Vercelli 4-0 which will remove some pressure off of Spalletti's shoulders and hopefully for him give momentum to his players and want to do well. Roma sit in 5th place, level with Palermo and AC Milan but 4 points behind arch rivals Lazio.

Takes some pressure off my shoulders too I think. All those rumours have really been destabilising me and I genuinely have been feeling very lost lately. This win was good for us and also for me and makes me want to do more for this club and since Roma also won, Spalletti's job should be secure until at least the end of the season. All of a sudden now the possibility of me going back to Roma has become so huge that I just feel scared about my job status here at Inter and scared that even if I come back it'll be a failure and the fans won't like me anymore and will be sad about Spalletti leaving. I feel like I'm thinking about this too much and should just concentrate on my football here at Inter but it's so hard. Living away from my wife and my son has also been quite hard since they still don't want to move to Milan. I take trips about every 2 days to go and see them but it's been hard and I feel like now that there's so much more pressure on us to succeed in the league and the Champions League and the TIM Cup, all of my emotions are coming back up and just making me unable to focus properly. Let's hope this improves over the next month.

 
14/01/2018


Inter continued their amazing form with an easy 3-0 win against Sassuolo which saw Felipe Melo, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Giuliano all score goals. This means that Inter are now on an 8-game winning streak and stay top of the Serie A leaving Juventus second just a point behind them. Joachim Löw's team, who have won the Serie A 6 years in a row, might just see Inter rise up and steal the title from them and break Juventus' title streak and win their first Serie A since 2010. Given the current rumours linking Totti with a move away back to Roma, this win and Inter's 1st place in the Serie A might just chance Totti's mind and make him stay until at least the end of the season. Inter now need to get ready for their game against AC Milan in 3 days for the TIM Cup quarter-final.

Well then, at least all those rumours seem to be making the players perform even better than they did before! It's good for this club, it's good for them and it's good for me too to be honest. The fact that I have such a huge emotional attachment to Roma makes it hard to ignore the rumours but I'm starting to have a very strong attachment to this club here too, Internazionale. Sure it's only been a year but so far they are the club that gave me everything as a manager. My first European trophy, my first victory, my first transfer, my first loss, everything. I wish there was a way for me to move on from Roma quickly but when you've stayed at a club for over 20 years in total, I don't know if there is a quick way to get over it. For now I'll stay focused on my current club and the expectations set by the board and hopefully meet them or exceed them even.
 
Looking really good. Keep it up mate.

Hope you don't leave Inter mind you...
 
17/01/2018

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Inter on course to defend title as they beat AC Milan in quarter-final

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In a game that saw Fabregas score his first ever goal for Internazionale, the latter are through to the semi-finals where they could face Juventus as they will try to defend their TIM Cup title which they won last season against Fiorentina 3-0 in the final. Totti's side continue their outstanding form and are now on a 12-game winning streak and are unbeaten in 13. AC Milan will be disappointed they couldn't get further in the competition and will definitely try to focus on the league now as it's one of the only competitions they are left in (still competing in the Europa League First Knockout round). Fabregas will be extremely happy that his first goal came against AC Milan and will probably also be happy that he managed to score from a header, which is something he hasn't done very much in his career at Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea. Hopefully for Inter and for him it will be the first goal of many and he'll keep on improving his already amazing form.

Still haven't lost a Milan derby; I think I've got a pretty good record going there and I hope it can keep going because at the end of the every one of those games there are always so many fans coming up to me saying they love me and they're so happy I'm the manager here. Maybe I should just stay here I mean, I've got everything going for me so why would I change clubs? I don't really want to think about that too much because there's no reason for me to be thinking about a departure and I'm just hoping the fans can look over that and still support me as much as they can. We've got a very heavy schedule ahead of us now so I think I need some sleep, I'm still buzzing about this Milan win but I'll fall asleep at some point.



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21/01/2018

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Another clean sheet and another win for Inter

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Inter grabbed yet another win to stay top of the Serie A as they now have a 3 point lead over 2nd place Juventus, who drew against Atalanta yesterday in what could be a huge turning point for the title race. Indeed, Juventus are favourites to win the league but they've slipped up a couple of times in the past month or so which has cost them not only a first place in the league but might also have cost them the league title as Inter continue their 13 game winning streak and stay unbeaten in the league. Giuliano was yet again the key performer for Inter as they easily held on to a 1-0 lead before Mkhitaryan made it 2-0 just about 15 minutes before the end of the game. That's Inter's 8th clean sheet of the season and they will definitely be hoping to build onto their momentum to hopefully keep winning games and maybe celebrate the Serie A title at the end of the season.

Get in boys! It's kind of starting to feel very easy now but the boys are just incredible what can I say? Giuliano performs week in week out and we're definitely starting to become the title favourites now. We're 3 points clear of Juventus which isn't a lot considering the quality they have in their team but it's better than nothing and right now we're definitely looking like a stronger side than them in the league, having won 9 games in a row in the league to get to where we are. If we can keep this going, amazing. If we finish the season unbeaten, I don't know how I'll react but I know for a fact I'll be absolutely buzzing! Let's try to keep this run of form going and win our next couple of games to have an amazing momentum before our Benfica games in the Champions League!
 
27/01/2018

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Inter youngster scores on debut and gifts victory over Atalanta

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It'll have been a dream debut for Antonio Fernando, who came in from Brazil for 3 million euros earlier this January, who managed to score a goal in the 68th minute to gift his side a 10th straight league win to put them firmly in 1st place in the Serie A. Atalanta were 4th in the league and this was definitely one of Inter's toughest game this month as they prepare to take on Lazio in a couple of days who just lost against Juventus 1-0. Handanovic, who was preferred to Kevin Trapp for this game, will definitely be happy with his Man of the Match award and has now gone 280 minutes without conceding a goal which is a great record for the 33 year old. Inter stay top of the Serie A just 3 points ahead of Juventus which still puts them in a commanding position in the title race.

What a signing Antonio is turning out to be already! I don't know if I'll start him in the next game but he'll definitely come on if that's how he's planning on performing! We looked like we had nothing up front today and he just came on and changed the whole game by scoring! What was also incredible was Handanovic's penalty save I mean, wow. He told me he wanted more playing time so I told him yeah sure why not as long as you prove to me that you should be in the team ahead of Trapp and that's what he does. Great stuff, I can't wait for the Lazio game and I can't wait for the rest of this season! What a year it would be if we won the league!
 
31/01/2018

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Inter's youth keeps performing with narrow win over Lazio

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Inter relied on their younger players once again as Spanish striker Iván, who came in on a free transfer from Real Madrid at the beginning of the transfer window, scored his very first goal for Inter in the 84th minute to give Inter yet another 3 points and keep their amazing form going. This is the best we've seen Inter perform in the past at least 8 years as they are now on a 16 game unbeaten streak and have not conceded a goal in the past 6 games. Amazing stuff from I Nerazzurri who clearly want to impress manager Francesco Totti after there were doubts about him staying at the club due to Spalletti's precarious position at Roma.

Well then, maybe I should start playing those younger players more often. With games coming thick and fast, I knew that our key players would start to get tired and want some rest so I decided to rest our key strikers and play them for only one half and did it pay off. Ivan is one **** of a player and so is Antonio Fernando and I can't wait to see what they become for us. As I said before, they might not start every game but if I know that they can perform like this when they play, they might just come in as subs as often as possible because they always make an incredible impact right after coming on. We finally get some rest as our next game is against Chievo Verona in 5 days, let's just make sure we're ready to keep our form going and let's also make sure our defence keeps doing as well as they've been doing because 6 games without conceding is incredible! The record for most games without conceding in a row belongs to AC Milan right now who set the record in 1994 when they got 8 clean sheets in a row so you know what, we've got 5 in a row in the Serie A so let's keep it going!
 
04/02/2018

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Inter go 8 points clear after Juventus draw

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Inter put in yet another fantastic performance to go 8 points clear at the top of the Serie A after Juventus lost against Chievo Verona last week and could only manage a 0-0 draw against Genoa today as Inter finally conceded but won their 12th game in a row with goals from Giuliano, Embolo and Fabregas. Chievo Verona thought they might make a comeback after Bellomo scored a screamer from outside the box but Inter were just way too strong for a team that lies in 16th in the league, just 2 points off the relegation zone. Meanwhile there were a couple of changes in the top 5 as Atalanta dropped from 4th to 6th and Roma, after losing 1-0 to AC Milan, dropped all the way down to 7th. Napoli are still very surprisingly in 11th and Lazio managed to climb up to 3rd with 14 games left this season.

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Another great victory which takes us even closer to the Serie A title. We've been absolutely incredible all season and I think it would just be really unfair for us to lose out to Juventus. I mean, 24 games in and we're still unbeaten and are on a 14 game winning streak? Only conceded 1 goal in our last 7 games? That's just title-winning form right there for you. We might not have the best defensive record in the league but that's only because of our bad results earlier on in the season. Now, we can put those past us and just try our best to keep this form going. I feel bad for Roma, they were always in the top 3 in the past few seasons and this year they just completely dropped off; 7th is really not a good position for a club like Roma, same with Napoli I mean what even happened to them? Our schedule for February is very, very tough and sees us play Juventus 3 times and Benfica once as well, which means this month is THE month where we can't afford slip ups at all.

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07/02/2018

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Inter coast past Juventus in surprise thrashing

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Handanovic, Icardi and Fabregas put in some absolutely world-class performances as current Serie A leaders Inter absolutely thrashed Juventus in a very unexpected win for the home side. Many expected a draw or a Juventus win but it seems that the latter's poor form in the Serie A has carried over to the TIM Cup as they will have to make up for a 3-goal deficit in the second leg of the semi-final later on this month. Inter will be absolutely buzzing about this performance as it puts them just a step closer to the TIM Cup final and would give them a chance to win it for the second year in a row. Napoli won 1-0 away from home against Fiorentina in the other semi-final which puts Napoli in a commanding position for the second leg but if Fiorentina manage to bring it back we could see a repeat of last year's final.

What?!?!? Did we just manage to win 3-0 against Juventus, the (second) best side in Italy? That's just absolutely incredible! I told the players to go into this game and do their best and see where it would take us and I expected a draw at most or a very narrow victory for us like the one in the Serie A earlier this season when we won 2-1 but certainly not such a huge victory for us! This really goes to show how much we've evolved as a team and how much we've improved in terms of stature and performances as well. I am so proud of Mauro for being the best captain he could be and man what a performance from Samir too. Six saves and just world-class goalkeeping from him. Incredible. I've really got nothing else to say if I'm honest, I don't want to get too excited about this win otherwise we'd just get complacent but what a victory.
 
15/02/2018

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Inter fail to win at home against Benfica

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Inter failed to win at the San Siro and managed to hold on to a draw after Icardi scored late on in the first leg of the First Knockout round clash between Inter and Benfica. Pundits knew this game would be a close one but probably would have expected a victory from the home side as their 14 game winning streak ends with this draw. Nicolas Gaitan was probably the reason for the draw as he was the best player on the pitch by far and got the Man of the Match award. With Inter's next game against Juventus, Totti will probably be a bit disappointed for not getting the win but the result was fair in the end given the stats and performances from both teams.

I guess this is a good result; I would have wanted a better result against Benfica especially because we were at home but they are a very good side and we'll need to be at our best when we go to their place for the second leg. Hopefully, we can manage our next couple of games and not get any major injuries to play our strongest team then. Gaitan was really impressive I have to say, but thankfully Mauro was once again our captain fantastic and he gets us somewhat of a good result. After we beat Juventus 3-0 in the TIM Cup, they'll definitely want revenge in the Serie A so we're going to have to be at our best and since we just had a game mid-week, I'm not sure I'll be able to play our strongest side but you know what our youngsters have been very good whenever they played so I believe in them.
 
17/02/2018

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Inter take huge step towards title with crucial win over Juventus

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Inter managed a 4th win in a row against Juventus to go 11 points clear at the top of the Serie A and put themselves in a VERY commanding position in the title race. It was once again youngster Antonio Fernando who scored the winning goal and gave Inter all 3 points away from home in Turin. With just 12 games left in the season, Juventus are more than 15 points clear of 3rd place Lazio so it should really just be between Juventus and Inter for the title but with Totti's side being 11 points clear at the top of the league, it seems like Inter have got it in the bag already. After a bit of a disappointing first leg against Benfica in the Champions League, I Nerazzurri impressed once again in the league and definitely seem ready to take on Juventus again in the second leg of the TIM Cup semi-final in 11 days.

Maybe Antonio Fernando should actually start more often! I wanted to rest our key players for the next couple of games and play a younger side today (I admit it was a bit of risk against Juventus) but clearly risks pay off! Eleven points clear is absolutely fantastic especially considering our latest form as we've now won 14 games in a row in the league and no one seems to be able to stop us. If we managed to finish unbeaten this year I'd be incredibly happy and really proud of our defence and goalkeepers; to be fair, Handanovic and Trapp have just been immense and that's really how we're still unbeaten in the league right now. Let's hope we can keep all those positives going for the next couple of games!
 
25/02/2018

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Luciano Spalletti sacked by AS Roma

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It was expected for a while but today it's happened, Luciano Spalletti has been sacked by AS Roma, club he joined in the summer of 2015 and went on to stay a little over 3 years with. His first two seasons after coming back at Roma in 2015 were very impressive, managing a 2nd place finish, as well as a 3rd place finish the year after. He also won the Supercoppa once but unfortunately, this season was just not good enough for Roma. Sitting in 8th in the Serie A, it was today's 1-0 defeat to Udinese that sealed Spalletti's fate as he will now be looking for a new club to manage following his reign in Rome. Roberto Mancini is currently the favourite to take over at the club, however Roma legend Francesco Totti could be in with a shout to manage the team he stayed at for so many years as a player. Will that move happen? It seems unlikely as the current Inter manager is on the brink of winning his first league title as a manager with the Milan-based side who are yet to lose a game in the Serie A and are 11 points clear of Juventus at the top of the league. More info will come out soon but rumours are going around everywhere in Italy at the moment.

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A screenshot from Roma's website, asroma.com, following Spalletti's sacking

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Could it be? Roma, my club, are now looking for a manager? I'm so close to a title with Inter I would just feel like I betrayed them if I left now. Ugh. Is there any way for me to make this work? Should I stay here and build a legacy at Inter? Should I go back to Roma and make them great again and make my legend there even more memorable? I really have no idea. As of right now they haven't approached me so I guess I'll wait and see but my thoughts of a departure are coming back again. I know how many people want me to stay at Inter but I just feel like I'd regret not moving to Roma so much if they came in for me. Man, what a day this has turned out to be.

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28/02/2018

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Inter score 2 and survive thrashing to make second final in a row

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Inter came very close to not making it to the TIM Cup final after Juventus put in a fantastic performance to score 5 past Handanovic but it wasn't enough as Felipe Melo and Mkhitaryan both scored to make the scoreline 5-2, making it 5-5 on aggregate. Inter's 2 away goals saw them go through to their second TIM Cup final in a row where they will play Napoli, who went through 2-1 on aggregate against Fiorentina. I Nerazzurri were clearly destabilised by the latest rumours linking their manager to a move to AS Roma as Totti seemed less energetic than usual on the sideline today. Juventus just about came short of a win but they'll probably be happy about Dybala's performance who just came back from injury as he grabbed himself 3 goals and an assist to get the Man of the Match award at the end of the game.

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It will be a tough final for sure. No doubt about it. Napoli are a great side who just have been very unlucky this season, it happens. We were really outplayed today and probably didn't deserve to go to the final if it only depended on today's performance. Our 3-0 win at home really did show our superiority and today Juventus were the ones who wanted it more but we got away with it so I won't complain. All the players have been feeling a bit weird due to the rumours linking me to Roma but I assured them that I wasn't leaving before the game. I guess that didn't really work especially because the press thinks that I'm feeling very emotional which to be honest I am a little bit but not about joining Roma. It's just that I'm starting to realise now that I'm not at Roma anymore and I also just realise that the reason I became a manager was to show Spalletti what he was missing and what a great coach or assistant manager I could have been. Now, he's been sacked and he doesn't have a club. Who do I have to prove myself to now? Why am I manager now? I've always said that I wanted to manage Roma but again, I'm starting to really feel at home here and I don't know if it's the right decision.
 
Totti's got to go surely. It's his boyhood club and a fantastic opportunity to become even more of a club legend!!! :)
 
06/03/2018

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Abysmal Inter come crashing out of Champions League

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We all thought that the 1-1 draw at the San Siro was a bad result for Inter but they've come absolutely crashing down in this second leg as Benfica triumphed 4-0, scoring all 4 goals in the first half to end Inter's Champions League campaign and go through to the quarter-finals themselves. For Inter, this was probably their poorest performance from the past 2 or 3 seasons and in the past 3 games, they've conceded 10 goals and only scored 3. Youngster Iván came on late in the game to try and make an impact and just ended up getting himself sent off which made the whole match even worse for Inter who never looked dangerous and never had any real opportunities to test Jasper Cillessen in Benfica's net. However, this will now give Inter the time to focus on the Serie A as they are 9 points clear of Juventus after a disappointing draw against Fiorentina earlier last week. Totti's Champions League dream is over for now but seen as his side might win the league or at least come 2nd, we will see them again next year probably even stronger than this season.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgraceful. I have never seen such a horrible performance in my entire life as a football player and a manager. We should be ashamed to have even stepped on the field today. I mean if we had forfeited the game we would have lost by less goals!!! What does that tell you??? Just terrible. I do not even have anything to say about this game, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Disgusting. The referees were just awful too which didn't help but on the field I mean wow. The poorest team performance I have ever been a part of. I'm just ashamed. Three games in a row now we've just failed to perform. I mean we're supposed to be title favourites for God's sake! What is this!!! We need to turn this around, right now.

 
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