Today at 20:30 CET here at Macedonian TV Channels you will be able to watch the first match in this season in Italian Seria A. Sampdoria and Inter Milan will show us great matches and be sure you are here right on time. Also in addition we left a preview of the match from Goal.com.

Mourinho To Take Inter To The Next Level?

It’s certainly an exciting time for all Inter fans. After years and years without a trophy and countless humiliations, they have now returned to the top of the Italian football scene. Of course, Juventus’ involvement in the "Calciopoli" scandals and subsequent relegation to Serie B helped them a lot, but in a sense that makes it even more satisfying for the average Interista.

Juve have always been Inter’s bitterest rivals (perhaps even more than Milan), and the fact the Nerazzurri have now overtaken them as the dominant team in Serie A makes the rivalry even stronger.

Roberto Mancini was Inter’s coach between 2004 and May of this year, and it can definitely be said he found himself at the right place at the right time. However, it must be said he also managed to give the team a more winning mentality than in previous years, leading them to lifting various domestic trophies even before "Calciopoli". Before his arrival, the team hadn’t won anything since the Uefa Cup of 1998.

After two consecutive Coppa Italia wins, he duly led Inter to win the Scudetto in the 2006/2007 season, the one in which Juventus were relegated and Milan (among other teams) had a point deduction. Last season proved to be a tougher test for Mancini and Inter, as this time Roma, who had finished 22 points behind Inter the year before, proved very competitive. They ultimately finished just 3 points behind them, with the title race being decided only on the last match of the season.

On the European stage, however, Inter always failed to meet expectations and, during his four years in charge, Mancini never led them past the quarter finals. That is probably a big reason why president Massimo Moratti decided to replace him with Jose Mourinho, a coach who does not need an introduction. Aside from that, it was also known Mancini did not have a great relationship with a number of key players such as Adriano and Luis Figo, and he also had a tendency to make odd decisions in big matches, which frequently ended in defeat for Inter.

Now the former Chelsea and Porto tactician is logically expected to bring European success to the club, which has already tasted plenty of success in Italy in recent years. That is Inter’s main target, and it would certainly complete their renaissance as one of the top clubs in Europe, a status they never quite regained after the glory years of the mid-1960s.

Their performances in this summer’s pre-season friendlies have been mostly promising, as they looked very solid in defence, though they always wasted numerous chances going forward. This was also evident against Coppa Italia winners Roma in the Italian Supercup. In the first half Inter were excellent and could have (perhaps should have) scored three goals, but they didn’t and allowed Roma back into the game after opening the score through new recruit Sulley Muntari.

In the second half Daniele De Rossi equalised, and although young hotshot Mario Balotelli restored Inter’s lead, they were pegged back by an unfortunate own goal on a corner kick a minute before the end. Mourinho will have been disappointed not to win the game in normal time, but Inter still won the game on penalties in the end.

Overall, they were rightly praised for their performance, though obviously things can’t be perfect yet, and they could have controlled the match better after they went in front. Of course, in the league games aren’t decided on penalties, and Mourinho will urge his side to be a bit more clinical going forward and avoid distractions like the one that led to Roma’s second goal as they prepare for the opening league match against Sampdoria.

Sampdoria Hope To Confirm Solid Performance Of Last Season

Last season Sampdoria made it back into the Uefa Cup thanks to an impressive all-round display in the league. They had come off a couple of disappointing seasons in which they finished in mid-table positions, but largely thanks to the arrival of rebellious star Antonio Cassano from Real Madrid, they proved to be dangerous opposition for every team in Serie A last year.

Also coach Walter Mazzarri played a large part in the team’s 6th place finish. In 2006/2007, he performed the miraculous feat of keeping Reggina in Serie A in spite of an 11-point penalisation due to Calciopoli. Considering that in previous years Reggina had been the kind of club who had always fought tooth and nails to stay up, it was a truly remarkable achievement.

Unsurprisingly Mazzarri was subsequently offered a job at a bigger club, and at Samp he did not disappoint. The team started slowly, but once Cassano found his place in the team’s tactics, they started gaining real consistency and even obtained some prestigious results against big teams, such as a win against Milan at San Siro, a draw away to Juventus, and a home draw against Inter.

They ultimately qualified for the Uefa Cup without too much trouble, and this time they will hope to do better than in previous seasons, in which they always crashed out in the early rounds, often against teams they should have beaten easily. In that sense, you could say they are a bit like Inter.

However, the main focus will undeniably be on Serie A. In this opening match against the Nerazzurri, a side who have rarely beaten them at home, they will fancy their chances of getting a result. It would certainly be a big morale boost for them to avoid a defeat against the reigning champions in the opening game.FORM GUIDE

Sampdoria

24/08 (Friendly): Sampdoria-Saudi Arabia 2-0

21/08 (Friendly): Sampdoria-Al Shabab 2-0

16/08 (Friendly): Sampdoria-Siena 1-0

13/08 (Friendly): Carrarese-Sampdoria 1-3

09/08 (Friendly): Sporting Lisbon-Sampdoria 2-0

Inter

24/08 (Italian Supercup): Inter-Roma 2-2 (8-7 after penalties)

15/08 (Friendly): Benfica-Inter 0-0 (4-5 after penalties)

09/08 (Friendly): Ajax-Inter 0-1

08/08 (Friendly): Inter-Sevilla 0-0

05/08 (Friendly): Bayern Munich-Inter 0-1TEAM NEWS

Sampdoria

Striker Claudio Bellucci and goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi are out injured. New purchase Marius Stankevicius from Brescia will probably make his debut in midfield and Emiliano Bonazzoli will partner Cassano up front.

Possible formation (3-5-2): Mirante; Campagnaro, Lucchini, Accardi; Stankevicius, Sammarco, Palombo, Franceschini, Pieri; Cassano, Bonazzoli.

Inter

Inter still have quite a list of injured players, some still from last season. Adriano was injured during one of the pre-season friendlies, while Christian Chivu, Walter Samuel, Ivan Cordoba, and Olivier Dacourt are all still recovering from old injuries. Also Nicolas Burdisso, Nelson Rivas, and Patrick Vieira are unavailable due to injury, so Inter are in a bit of an emergency situation in defence, where Esteban Cambiasso will probably play alongside Marco Materazzi.

Possible formation (4-3-3): Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cambiasso, Materazzi, Maxwell; Zanetti, Stankovic, Muntari; Balotelli, Ibrahimovic, Mancini.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria)

The Bari-born ‘fantasista’ just had one of his best seasons ever in his first season for Sampdoria, scoring 10 goals and creating many others, and was rightly called up by former Azzurri coach Roberto Donadoni for Italy’s ill-fated Euro 2008 campaign. At that tournament he was one of the Azzurri’s more dangerous players, even though admittedly that isn’t saying much. This season he will be looking to confirm the progress he has made also from a disciplinary standpoint, as it has been a long time since there was news of Cassano causing trouble.

Mario Balotelli (Inter)

Against Roma in the Supercup he confirmed he has nerves of steel by scoring a crucial goal for Inter with a beautiful lob. The Ghanaian-born striker recently obtained his Italian passport after turning 18, and admitted he cannot wait to appear for the Azzurri. Under 21 coach Pierluigi Casiraghi has already called up the youngster for Italy’s next matches, and perhaps for Balotelli the leap to Marcello Lippi’s senior team will come much sooner than usual.

He already scored a number of important goals for Inter in the latter stages of the Scudetto race last season, and his winning attitude, ice-cold finishing, and powerful physique make him one of the most promising young Italian players around.PREDICTION

It may only be the first match of the season, but for Inter getting a win in a tough away game like this one would be very important to the morale of the team and the fans. Of course, a draw would not be a terrible result, but a win would immediately ease the pressure on them somewhat ahead of the next games. It is very hard to choose between a draw and a win for Inter, but considering the Nerazzurri’s absences in defence, I’ll go for a draw.

Sampdoria-Inter 2-2

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