Inter Milan-Manchester United: Good or Bad for Italians?

Earlier today the draw for the first knock-out stages were made and an old rivalry will again come to life. Jose Mourinho’s Inter are set to take on Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

Is it the worst possible nightmare or perhaps a blessing in disguise for Inter?

When the Champions League draw for the group stages were made back in August, Inter were drawn alongside Werder Bremen, Anorthosis Famagusta and Panathinaikos—a cruise to qualification many, including the Nerazzuri, expected. Six games later and, as expected, Inter qualified to the knock-out stages, along with Panathinaikos the surprising  group winners.

Inter replaced Roberto Mancini with Mourinho this summer in order to guide the club to long overdue Champions League success, but the Portuguese tactician has yet to make them play to their true potential.

An opening day win against Panathinaikos was followed by a draw against Werder Bremen. The same results followed in their double fixture with Cypriote surprise package Anorthosis Famagusta. Inter then closed the group stages with two back-to-back defeats against the first two outfits mentioned above.

Mourinho was hardly satisfied with the eight points gathered in their six games as the Inter manager stressed that he usually has eleven or twelve points at this stage.

Inter struggled against the top sides last term as they inevitably won the Scudetto by crushing the “smaller” sides of Serie A. However, this season has showcased several below-par performances from Mourinho’s side against lesser opposition, as players seemed to expect the results and exerted less effort.

This term, several games have been won by clinching last minute goals or due to the magic footwork of Inter’s star player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

There is no doubt that they struggled in their Champions League group – despite getting what looked like the easiest group on paper. Perhaps being drawn opposite the reigning European champions was not such a bad thing after all.

It was obvious from the group stages that Inter were lacking both motivation and focus. With Manchester United as opponents, neither of those factors will be missing when the Nerazzuri players enter the field. On top of that, there will be another battle raging off the field, between managers Mourinho and Ferguson, as neither will want to lose any face at all cost.

Mourinho will have one headache, though: His star man Ibrahimovic may be known around the Peninsula as a “crusher” of smaller sides, but the Swede is notorious for fading away in the big games.

In either case, Inter will have to put their best foot forward because they may just have gotten the toughest possible draw in the first Champions League knock-out stage. However, it seems the only way to bring out their true potential.

So, is it a good or a bad draw for the reigning champions of Italy?

We’ll see come March.