Inter vs Barcelona – A Match Of Smarts And Strikers

Cyrus MalekSep 15, 2009

When two sides of comparably exceptional talent face one another, the role of strategy and tactics become far more important in determining the outcome of a match. The objective becomes less about superseding the opposition through superior athleticism and more concerned with winning tactically; managers position their players about the pitch as Kasparov manipulates his pawns in a chess match and the fan is treated to the nuances of the psychological aspects of sport.

It is this duel of minds that will be on full exhibit as Josep Guardiola’s Barca travel from the fashion capital of Spain to the fashion capital of Italy to face Jose Mourinho’s Inter in Wednesday’s tantalising Champions League encounter.

By the account of Barca midfielder and Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament Xavi Hernandez, both the Blaugrana and the Nerazzurri coaches are ‘sick with football’—men who dissect the game and analyse details that avail even some of the most studious of managers to the point that they are afflicted with football fever. In the minds of such men, football becomes a combination of science and art where hours of watching match recordings and specialised practice on the training grounds are requisites for proper preparation.

They are perfectionists in their trade, enjoying great success even though they hail from curiously differing backgrounds. Guardiola was a very successful player with Barcelona, having won a number of major championships and even captaining the Blaugrana before pursuing coaching, heading the Barcelona B team for a year before being handed the first team reigns with unrivalled results.

In contrast, Mourinho’s playing years were unremarkable and the Portuguese turned to management early in his relationship with football, serving as an interpreter for the great Sir Bobby Robson for top Portuguese teams Sporting Clube de Portugal, F.C. Porto, and later at Barcelona (incidentally, while Guardiola was still a player at Barca) before enjoying very successful stints as the manager of Benfica, União de Leiria, Porto, Chelsea, and finally Inter.

It is the passion for the game’s finer points that underscore this chalkboard battle between Guardiola and Mourinho in the Champions League match of the week and this duel between two of the greatest coaches in football’s modern era promises to be truly epic as the ‘Special One’ and Pep attempt to outwit one another. But there is another gripping storyline that surrounds this match as well and that is Samuel Eto’o’s and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s respective reunions with their former teams and the implicit competition between the two strikers to prove who is the better player.

In one of the most surprising moves of the summer transfer window, Inter sent the Serie A’s leading scorer in Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona as the Catalan club’s most expensive signing in history (and the second highest transfer fee in football history) in exchange for Barcelona’s leading scorer (and the third highest scorer in club history), Samuel Eto’o.

It was a highly controversial move, as both players were widely loved by their respective fans, especially in the case of Eto’o at the Camp Nou. But rumours of strife in the dressing room with respect to both players and their annoying knack for being loud-mouthed made offloading the strikers a priority and thus the Swede was exported to the Iberian Peninsula whereas the Cameroonian was given the boot to 'The Boot'.

Now, in a twist of fate that could not have been written more fittingly, Barcelona and Inter have been drawn into the same Champions League group, allowing both Eto’o and Ibra a chance to stick it to the management of their old sides and show just how valuable they really are.

Comparably, the two number 9's are in a hot scoring mood; Ibrahimovic has netted twice in two appearances (one goal in both of his Liga showings) while Eto’o has found the back of the net three times in four matches (twice in Serie A and once in the Supercoppa Italiana). Incidentally, Eto’o’s goal this past weekend against Parma was one of his best in recent memory as his blast was so thunderous it almost took the net right off its posts. Both Ibra and Eto’o will be hunting for the chance to put his side ahead in Wednesday’s bout and take away the three points, creating the opportunity for some very sweet payback indeed.

And yet all the media coverage that surrounds the Mourinho/Guardiola storyline and the Ibrahimovic/Eto’o saga has led the majority of writers to overlook just how mouth-watering a matchup Wednesday’s clash really is. A Barcelona side featuring Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves, and Carles Puyol (to name a few) is set to face off against an Inter side featuring the likes of Diego Milito, Mario Balotelli, Javier Zanetti, Maicon, Patrick Vieira, Wesley Sneijder, and Lucio.

And finally, Inter midfielder Thiago Motta faces his former team while Barca left-back Maxwell, signed this summer from the Nerazzurri, comes back to Milan in a new kit.

With a match framed by calculating masterminds, bitter vendettas, world-class talent, and two of Europe’s most historic clubs, it is hard to believe that we are only midway through the month of September. As the epic anthem quite accurately proclaims, “These are the Champions!”