European Football

Ranieri's revitalised Nerazurri take on champions Milan in this weekend's most eagerly-anticipated clash as they look to reduce the gap at  the top to just 5 points

By Mark Sheehan

That's something you would not have thought possible back in October, as AC Milan started that month languishing in 15th position in the league table while their city rivals Inter finished that month in an even poorer 17th place. Milan at least had the excuse of a horrific injury list which had thrown their early season line-ups into disarray.

Across town, Gian Piero Gasperini's coaching and tactics - especially his 3-man defence - were held responsible for Inter's sluggish start. Fast forward a few months and both sides have surged up the table. Milan welcomed back many of their established stars while Inter welcomed in new coach Claudio Ranieri following the eventual dismissal of Gasperini after 5 games without a win.

Ranieri's impact at Inter was not immediate, however, with two losses in his first three games. Better was to follow in November with two wins from two against Cagliari and Siena but this was followed by a reverse against high-flying Udinese in a bizarre game where Javier Zanetti received his first ever red card and where both sides missed penalties in the final minutes of the game, Giampaolo Pazzini wasting an 89th minute opportunity to give Inter a share of the spoils.

Yet four league wins in a row followed in December against Fiorentina, Genoa, Cesena and Lecce, followed by a 5-0 drubbing of Parma last weekend means that Inter head into this weekend's derby higher up the table than the much-heralded Napoli and only 6 points off the Champions League places with Juventus and Milan 8 points ahead at the top of the table.

According to Ranieri, hard work has been the answer, as the coach said: "If you ask me why the Inter fans have taken to me so quickly, all I can think of is that they must like my attitude to hard work: I've got my head down and focused on sorting Inter out.

"I have a strong character, I say what I think and with age my defects have worsened... I joined Inter at a difficult time when the team were up to their necks but I also saw determination and a sense of belonging. It annoyed me when I heard people saying these players were old and wise, and I remained calm even when we lost because I could see how they worked."

The resounding win over Parma was also achieved without key players such as Chivu, Stankovic, Forlan and Sneijder, who were left out with Ranieri explaining: "I decided to select the players who were fittest. The others will have more time to work on their fitness in order to be in perfect condition for next Sunday's derby."

One Inter stalwart who did feature in that victory offered their own thoughts on their difficult start to the season, as Javier Zanetti stated over the Christmas break: "We started the season with a few problems, mainly due to the change in coach and because we had so many important players out injured. But over the past month we've won six out of our seven matches."

"We’re on our way up again. We know there's still a long way to go, but we hope to be one of the protagonists until the end of the season. We’re still in the race to win three competitions. But we know that we need to catch up in Serie A and know it will be tough, as the sides above us are playing extremely well at the moment. But we have faith in our ability."

History points to Inter victory

Inter have the edge over their city rivals when it comes to past derby wins, the Nerazurri with 64 to the Rossoneri's 60 but Ranieri wouldn't be drawn into making any bold claims about this weekend's fixture, stating: "I don't think there are any favourites in the derby. It's a level playing field. You just have to prepare for it properly and give your best on the pitch.”

Meanwhile his opposite number, Massimilano Allegri, understands that a victory for Ranieri's side would open up the Scudetto race beyond the two current leaders, Juventus and Milan, and would bring Inter, as well as Udinese and Lazio, right back into the frame: “Can Inter get back into the scudetto race? I hope not! But I do believe they'll be there or there about come the end of the season. It'll be a very competitive derby, they've a very competitive squad.”

We'll leave the last non-prediction to Rino Gattuso, who should be back playing soon following his serious eye injury: “Derbies are always strange games, just take a look at the Barcelona-Espanyol game yesterday (which ended 1-1). There are never clear favourites in them: playing in a derby match gives players extra adrenaline.

"Either side can win a derby. And Inter are a fantastic team, hats off to Ranieri. We all already know his ability. He’s a coach with a tremendous amount of experience and understands a lot about football: he’s a cunning old fox and we have to be very wary of him and of Inter."

AC Milan will be the designated 'home' team in the San Siro on Sunday night but home advantage is of less significance when both sides are equally familiar with their surroundings. Milan won the corresponding fixture 3-0 last season but it was a 4-0 win for the 'away' side, Inter, the season before with Motta, Milito, Maicon, Stanković all on the scoresheet and all still with the Nerazzurri.

For the sake of a wide-open Scudetto race, fingers crossed for the cunning old fox!

Weekend Results

Udinese 4-1 Cesena, AS Roma 2-0 Chievo Verona, Atalanta 0-2 AC Milan, Bologna 2-0Catania, Cagliari 3-0 Genoa, Lecce 0-1 Juventus, Novara 0-3 Fiorentina, Palermo 1-3 Napoli, Siena 4-0 Lazio, Inter 5-0 Parma

Weekend Fixtures

Saturday, January 14

Catania v AS Roma

Sunday, January 15

Lazio v Atalanta

Cesena v Novara

Chievo Verona v Palermo

Fiorentina v Lecce

Genoa v Udinese

Juventus v Cagliari

Parma v Siena

AC Milan v Internazionale (7.45pm LIVE on Setanta Ireland)

Monday, January 16

Napoli v Bologna