Spurs1960
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- Jul 26, 2011
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The Italian view from La Gazzetta dello Sport http://english.gazzetta.it/Football/07-03-2013/europa-league-tottenham-3-0-inter-spurs-demolish-strama-92363442183.shtml?
Europa League, Tottenham 3-0 Inter: Spurs demolish Strama
The Nerazzurri suffer a heavy defeat at White Hart Lane, with goals from Bale, Sigurdsson and Vertonghen
Europa League, Tottenham 3-0 Inter: Spurs demolish Strama
The Nerazzurri suffer a heavy defeat at White Hart Lane, with goals from Bale, Sigurdsson and Vertonghen
A body blow, even if you see it coming and you're expecting it to land, still hurts. All the odds pointed to Inter fighting an uphill battle last night and that's exactly what happened. Their 3-0 defeat at the hand of Tottenham, which more or less means they are out of the Europa League, still came as a bad blow. A blow to morale, because it reeked of inferiority and impotence. A blow to the body, because chasing the other team for ninety minutes as they had the ball and moved at twice the speed, without ever managing to keep possession, takes it out of you. A blow to hopes for the future, because team that have a project and will be winners are made like Spurs and not like the present Inter team. Their play was convincing, the terraces were packed and the atmosphere warm, they had a superstar like Bale who was surrounded by many other good players: that's Tottenham, the Inter we saw in London was a rather unconvincing group held together by plasters. Cassano, had been pardoned and given a place in the starting lineup, but he did very little to win anyone back again.
THE GOALS — Gareth Bale is a man in a hurry and it isn't only because when he gets into gear he seems to have an engine inside. After just 6 minutes he had stamped the destination of the first leg, after 15 he was yellow-carded and will miss the second leg. The Welshman's 21st goal of the season and 10th in 8 matches, came from a header: Tottenham were off to a great start, on 6 minutes Sigurdsson lofted a cross into the centre of the box, Gareth rose a metre higher than Cambiasso and directed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. Then, while he was still buzzing, 9 minutes later, he tried to claim for a penalty, following a tackle by Juan: the ref booked him for diving. He had been booked in a previous match so this means he won't be travelling to Milan. Maybe this is why Spurs were in such a hurry to wrap up the match: on the other wing in the 19th minute, Lennon picked up a bad clearance by Ranocchia, he found Defoe who let fly. Handanovic managed to parry, but Sigurdsson was quicker off the mark than Zanetti: 2-0. The mission to transform the second leg into a nice outing in the capital of fashion (with shopping sprees for the wags) began to look more likely 8 minutes into the second half: a Bale corner, Vertonghen outjumped them all, and headed number 3. Total domination in the air: this was an unexpected feature of the game, in the run up.
SUPERSPURS — Granted, today's Inter is full of problems, and they have still managed to deal with other teams, but this Tottenham is ready to take up its place alongside the best in Europe. Handanovic alone managed to keep the score from becoming embarassing. He saved well from Defoe and Lennon, who both deserved to score. Bale isn't one of those primadonnas that don't live up to expectations, the Icelander Sigurdsson and Dembelé are two forces of nature, Parker would be the undisputed leader in midfield if he played for Inter. At the back they only made a couple of mistakes (the second time Palacio was stopped by Friedel), due to lack of concentration more than any thing else. Villas Boas has already won this cup and it looks very much like he could do it again.
INTER, NO WAY — Stramaccioni began the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation, but this had a problem in the centre because neither Cambiasso nor Gargano could keep up with Bale when he spurted off from their zone, or when the midfielders cut inside. Inter was nowhere to be seen for the first 20 minutes, then Strama moved Kovacic ahead of the defence and things began to improve. Occasionally Inter managed to control the incessant waves of the English and showed their faces: in the 42nd minute a deflection on a through ball from Cassano (who did very little else) sent Alvarez through. Ricky had the ball on his 'right' foot (maybe his only foot): but the left-footed shot went wide of the mark. This time the Palacio card didn't work: El Trenza came on in the second half, but his team-mates just hit the odd potshot upfield in his direction. One of them turned out to be useful but it just wasn't their night. And no way did they deserve a 3-1 scoreline.
