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After three consecutive draws, Inter Milan finally tasted victory after beating Udinese 3-2 this last Sunday. The game was the 26th of the Serie A. The win keeps Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A standings. The victory was a narrow one; Inter had trouble from the beginning, as the team couldn’t play four of its starters aE” Esteban Cambiasso, Walter Samuel, Muntari, and Ivan Ramiro Cordoba aE” due to injuries. However, outstanding performances from Thiago and Lucio helped Inter take the match. The match was uphill from the start for Inter. At minute 2, Simone Pepe scored after an assist from Antonio Di Natale. However, the Nerazurris responded, with Mario Balotelli tying the game off of a pass from Maicon at minute 6, putting the score at 1-1. At minute 21, Maicon added another point on the scoreboard in Inter’s favor, bringing the points to 2-1.

In the last minute of the first half, Diego Milito knocked out the Udinese with a header and put the score 3-1 at halftime. The goal was Milito’s 15th, and the player is now in second place of the scorer’s standings. In the second half, at minute 51, the Udinese came up with a penalty goal from Antonio Di Natale to cut the difference, 3-2. Inter tried to control the ball after that, offering a solid defense that blocked the Biaconeri’s attacks. The Zebrette tried their best in the final minutes; a final shot from the Swiss Gokhan Inler passed Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar but hit the crossbar, bouncing out. The Udinese couldn’t get a draw and in the end, lost the three points at home, 3-2. At the end of the match, Inter Milan coach Leonardo complained that his team’s intense schedule had affected its performance. aEoeToday we had our difficulties. We tried to start the game with some real intensity, but we had a tricky spell and used up a lot of energy. We took advantage of two good chances and were able to raise our game,aE� said Leonardo. Inter technical director, Marco Branca, stated that although the game wasn’t an easy one, he was proud of the players’ effort. Brana also praised Udinese’s efforts and said that the Bianconari were excellent players on a great team. aEoeIt wasn’t easy winning here. Udinese is an excellent team that doesn’t deserve to be where it is in the table. We showed what we can do.

We had an excellent first half and it allowed us to stay in control when Udinese came back at us. It’s a very important three points. It was a team victory and came after a tough week, physically and mentally,aE� said Marco Branca. Inter keeps leadership of the series with 58 points; AC Milan is second with 54 points, followed by AS Roma with 51 points. Inter’s next game will be against Genoa on March 7th; the Udinese will face Atalanta on the same day. AC Milan and AS Roma will face each other on March 6th in a key game for both teams.

Inter Milan is enjoying an incredible winning streak recently, extending its advantage over second place AS Roma to 8 points and now third place AC Milan to 10. The victory also ended Cagliary’s six-game winning streak and gave proof of Inter’s dominance. Inter has won all of its league games this season and its last eight games at home. The team is rapidly becoming one of the best in Europe, with a solid system and a great group of players led by Samuel Eto’o and Maicon, among others. The game was clearly led by Inter from the beginning. Cagliary had a few opportunities, but Inter showed its superiority throughout the match. The first goal came at the beginning of the game, in minute 6, when Pandev received an open pass from Javier Zanetti to score from close range. Cagliary responded quickly to the first goal. The team saw a great opportunity with Daniel Conti and his 25-yard shot that forced Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar to pay attention. Nonetheless, Cagliary was unable to even the score. The team, moreover, suffered from defensive problems, a weakness that Inter quickly took advantage of. The leaders in the Italian League had clear opportunities aE” as in minute 14 aE” but it wasn’t until minute 20 that Inter was able to complete a play and score the second goal of the game.

A corner shot from Maicon was headed by Walter Samuel into Cagliary’s net. The second goal was a surprise for Cagliary, whose energy seemed to run out after a false goal in minute 33. The shot was deemed offside by the referee, although there were doubts about who touched the ball last. Inter seemed likely to score again before halftime with a free kick from Esteban Cambiasso, shooting the ball straight into Cagliary’s arc, but goalkeeper Agazi saved it. However, Inter recovered after the second half to make up for the missed opportunity. Just two minutes in, Eto’o gave the ball to Pandev, who sent a wide pass to Milito, who took the ball and scored from close range. Nor was this Inter’s last attempt, despite the crushing 3-0 score. The team searched for more opportunities but was unable to complete. Cagliary also looked for points, but was unable to score. The players were close at the end, but Inter’s defense, including goalkeeper Cesar, put up a strong block.

Calgiary was left with no further options, and the game fell to Inter with a convincing 3-0 victory. aEoeThis win against Cagliari is very important because it puts us 10 points above second place,aE� Inter coach Jose Mourinho said. aEoeToday we started the match trusting in our offensive mentality. Cagliari isn’t an easy team to play against and even when 2-0 up its players didn’t collapse and tried to make chances, but we were solid and compact.aE� Mourihno and his team are looking forward to their next Scudetto, with an 8-point difference from the second place and 10-point difference from their all-time rival AC Milan, which was unable to win its game against Bologna. The game ended up in a draw and Milan dropped to third. AC Roma defeated Fiorentina 1-0.

Inter Milan stretched its lead in the Italian Serie A after beating Lazio 1-0 at the San Siro Stadium on sunday. Inter now has 39 points, eight more than its closest pursuer, AC Milan, which has one game less, after its match against Fiorentina was suspended due to bad weather. On the other hand, Juventus is third with 30 points just above Roma which has 28 points, the same as Parma. Inter Milan started the first half taking the control by applying good passes from one side to another, without allowing the Lazio to be in possession of the ball much. And just at minute 14, the Nerazzurri’s Samuel Eto’o finished off with an accurate shot inside the area and put the game 1-0. That goal forced Lazio to move its lines up to become more offensive. After the 0-1, Lazio began to generate dangerous plays on the rival’s goal, which was guarded by Brazilian Julio Cesar. This plays were created by Mourad Meghni, Tommaso Rocchi and Stefano Mauri, but the lack of definition did not allow the draw in the first half for the Eagles. Entering the second half, the Nerazzurri again took the initiative in the midfield trying to reach that second goal that would give them a little peace of mind. But as time went by, and no goals were scored, their desperation grew.

Esteban Cambiasso was close to scoring with a free kick and Diego Milito fired wide from the edge of the area, but it just seemed that Internationale would not score again in the second half. However, the team kept trying and kept up a good defense so that Lazio couldn’t have any chances to score. As the time passed by, Lazio got more desperate. It has to be mention that this game was filled with long range shots going well wide, wasted possession, and some sloppy defending. At the end of the game, Internationale’s defender Ivan Cordoba said that despite the bad weather and not scoring a second goal, the performance of his team was good and the important thing is that they got the win to extend their lead at the top of the standings. “If we’d scored another goal it would have been better, but the important thing was to get the three points. The weather influenced the movement, the pitch; all those factors are going to influence the game. It’s having an influence now, just speaking,” said Cordoba. On the other hand, Lazio Coach Davide Ballardini, stated that his team is passing over some tough times but hopes that by supporting each other and having this winter break they could reorganize their way of playing and the tactics he wants to apply for this second part of the season. “This is Lazio, and the total point’s we have now is what we have deserved. We have difficulties at the moment, but these are difficulties we will overcome together,” expressed Ballardini.

Samuel Eto’o announced through his agent on Thursday that the player reached an agreement with Inter Milan: Barcelona would exchange the Cameroon player for striker Zlatan Ibrahimovicl and E45 million. The deal has been in negotiation for several days.

A meeting between Barcelona and Inter representatives ended on Thursday with a press conference, at which the reps announced the conclusion of the deal for both sides. Eto’o's contract is for five years. Now Inter simply must wait for Barcelona to release the player, an issue as yet unresolved.

The move will be a dramatic change for the 28-year-old player, who has spent his entire professional football career in Spanish football. Nevertheless, Eto’o is purportedly very excited about the move. Eto’o first joined Real Madrid back in 1997; two years later, he joined the first division of the RCD Mallorca, becoming the club’s all-time leading domestic league scorer with 54 goals.

In 2004, he was transferred to the FC Barcelona for a E24 million deal, although at the same time he was negotiating with Real Madrid as well; in fact, Florentino Perez from Real Madrid wanted to buy Eto’o's full transfer rights. In the end, the deal was much more lucrative when he was sold. In 2004,

Eto’o made his debut with stardom while with the FC Barcelona, winning the 2004-05 La Liga title. In the 2005-06 season, Eto’o helped his team win the Champions League title, then personally won UEFA Best Forward of the Year, as well as African Player of the Year for the third time in a row. Let’s not forget to mention his third place for the FIFA World Player of the Year. In 2006, Eto’o injured his meniscus and had surgery; as a result, he missed 5 months of play. He started training again for the 2007-08 season, but in August of 2007, the Cameroon player was injured again, and thereafter sidelined indefinitely.

It was months later, in December of 2007, when Eto’o began playing again. He then brought his team to the 2009 UEFA Champions League title and won the La Liga title again too. Eto’o's weakness became evident with Barcelona this year, with Barcelona’s head coach, Pep Guardiola, placing him on the transfer list. The Barca boss Josep Maria Mesalles stated that his feelings for Eto’o were the same. “Eto’o has been an important player in Spanish football,” Mesalles said. “A player who wants to remain at big clubs. Did Guardiola undervalue the Cameroon striker? It’s true that with the change of coach at Barcelona it was difficult for the player to do well. The player then showed a good performance. The contract will be for five years. The players want to do well at Milan and Inter showed a lot of interest for Eto’o. The player is happy.”