Internazionale v Schalke 04 – Italy vs Germany. Again.

by David Swan

The Germans cannot seem to avoid the Italians in Europe at the moment. Internazionale’s victory over Bayern Munich in the final of last season’s Champions League ensured Serie A just about kept its fourth spot in Europe’s top club competition. This year’s edition saw Werder Bremen paired with Inter in the group stages, beating them 3-0 at the Weserstadion. Bayern were also grouped with Roma, winning 2-0 at the Allianz Arena.

As if that was not enough, Bayern then managed to meet Inter again, this time at a much earlier stage in the Round of 16. They lost to the Nerazzurri once more, despite winning 1-0 at San Siro in the first leg.

Schalke 04 are now the latest German team to face Italian opposition, meeting Inter for the first leg of their quarter-final clash on Tuesday night. It is safe to say Inter were rather fortunate with their draw – there can be little doubt that Schalke are the easiest side left in the competition, and Inter would probably have handpicked them if given the opportunity.

The coefficient battle between the two nations is now a lost cause – Germany has overtaken Italy regardless of what happens in this quarter-final. The two legs do, however, give Italy a chance to start the comeback trail immediately, although nothing less than two victories will realistically suffice for this goal.

That in itself could prove problematic. They may be the weakest side left, but they are unbeaten at home in the Champions League thus far, having only conceded twice in four games at the Veltins-Arena, scoring at least two goals in each time. There has been a victory for a German side in each ‘double header’ with an Italian team this season, so the odds on a Schalke win at some point may be deceptively long.

Having witnessed Milan successfully pick apart the weaknesses in Leonardo’s team at the weekend, Schalke may fancy their chances at San Siro. Inter will have defender Lúcio back in the team – he was suspended for the Milan derby on Saturday – but Leonardo’s naïvety in his team set-up can be exploited providing there is enough quality from the opposition to do so.

Inter’s performances under the Brazilian coach are baring more than a passing resemblance to those of Milan under the same coach last season. The vulnerability to the counter-attack, the space afforded in midfield, the defensive struggles despite the presence of good defensive players – Milan fans will recognise this current Inter team very well.

His attacking line-ups and general approach to football work well against the lesser lights in Serie A, but the Champions League is full of teams with the ability to take advantage of the footballing ideals he seems to swear by.

Perhaps a defeat to a team like Schalke will convince Leonardo that he needs to reign in the attacking nature and start to adopt a more conservative approach. His current methodology is not going to get him far in the Champions League – they should have been eliminated in the last round, but were fortunate to find a team that were as bad as Inter that night defensively.

Schalke are also unlikely to miss as many chances as Bayern did in the 2nd leg, with serial Champions League predator Raúl in their ranks.

Of course, Inter will not be contemplating defeat, and they really should be looking to progress through this tie with relative comfort. As open as they look at times under Leo, they should have too much going forward.

Diego Milito came off the bench on Saturday against Milan, and his gradual return from injury will be a welcome boost. He has been the scourge of a German team before, and you would not bet against him repeating that trick.

(photo credit: probek on Flickr)

Champions League, German Bundesliga, Germany, Inter Milan, Italian Serie A, Italy, Schalke 04