Our first eleven?

[Adam]

Who should start for us when it really matters? The reason I'm asking is because with most of our injured players coming back I have no idea what Mancini is thinking.

The way I see it there's a couple of players that are sure starters for the time being.

Julio Cesar
Maicon
Cordoba
Materazzi
Cambiasso
Zanetti
Ibra
Cruz

That leaves three spots open.

Vieira or Chuvu in midfield? Stankovic or Jimenez behind the strikers? Is Maxwell a starter now, or should we move Vieira into midfield and place Chivu at Maxi's position?

I would play

---------Julio Cesar
Maicon-Cordoba-Matrix-Maxwell
--Zanetti-Cambiasso-Chivu
----------Jimenez
----Ibra--------Cruz----------

I think that's our strongest lineup, and the one we have played the best football with. What do you guys think? Is Vieira and Stankovic good enough to play in the first team in current form?

 

[Adam]

Oh sorry, maybe this should be moved into games & tactics. I'm such a moron.

 

[Alex de Large]

I think that since the beginning Mancini idea was:

Julio Cesar
Maicon
Cordoba
Samuel * injured (Matrix)
Chivu / Maxwell
Zanetti
Vieira
Cambiasso
Stankovic
Ibrahimovic
Cruz / Crespo

If Vieira and Stankovic are fit and in form they will be starters over Chivu, and Chivu returns to LB fighting a spot with Maxwell.
with Crespo, Maxwell and Figo as a first subs. but with all the injuries he never had all his player in all the season, i hope we have this team for Pool in CL...

 

[Ziyad]

I would put Figo ahead of Stankovic any day..Especially if the player behind or alongside him are Viera-Cambiasso-JZ

 

[rockball]

I would surely not leave Vieira out of the starting XL.

 

[Enricos]

I think we already have a thread for this, I'm gonna go dig a bit

 

[Adam]

I'm not convinced of Vieira nor Stankovic. Vieira is very slow lately and when Chivu was commanding our midfield not only did we pressure our opponents but also managed to pass the ball around well. And Stankovic is one of my favourites when he's in form but he's really looked out of shape all season. Also Jimenez has shined in his absence.

I would give both of them a couple more matches and if they fail to not just improve but also show they are better then the aforementioned players, I would definitly bench them against Liverpool. Also anoter thing to consider is that our team just looks so damn old with some of these lineups. IMO with Chivu and Jimenez we look that much more lively.

 

[Handoyo]

I have to agree with Rockball. When Vieira is fit, he gives us such safety in the middle of the park. He is, alongside Figo, our most experienced midfielder and his presence there is invaluable. Chivu might have played well during Vieira's and Dacourt's absence but when the going gets tough, you really need someone who's used to it and that is why I think Paddy would be better than Chivu.

With regards to Jimenez or Stankovic, in their current form and physical condition, I'd start the former right now but there is no doubt that when Deki goes back to his form, that spot is his.

 

[bennyblanco]

Regarding Viera,lets remember this isnt the Viera of Arsenal where he was pretty much average in attack....besides the Supercoppa and his dominant display that day when he scored 2 goals i cant recall of his dominance in attack..in defence sure he is proven but who isnt in this Inter..

that defensive role could fall into anyones hands and they would surely deserve it of we judged our players on proven history and passion towards Inter.

by no means is this a personal attack on Viera but its funny how so many people have blind faith in him especially since his time with us....maybe its a French persona and their way of communicating and expressing themselves(im not taking the piss out) but to me he doesnt or has ever looked happy with us

 

[Ziyad]

Viera is definately more talented..That along with professionalism should be the criteria Mancio should choose.
I would rather a cold hearted experienced player than a hot headed one in the big games.

 

[rockball]

Benny..Vieira is not great in attack...but has good composure in front of goal if that chance ever comes. And his strength at set pieces cannot be ignored.

 

[Jimmy]

Vieira is an asshole, but crucial for this team. Just look at how Maicon has played this season compared to last.

This is by far our best eleven:

Julio Cesar

Maicon - Cordoba - Samuel - Chivu

Vieira - Cambiasso - Zanetti

Stankovic

Cruz - Zlatan

Cruz edges out Crespo in terms of current form, and I choose Stankovic ahead of Figo, due to that I only see Figo as a set-piece player thesedays. Jimenez is knocking on the door though.

 

[Suneet]

Figo?? Currently our 1st 11 should have him. He can give the extra quality with the assists.

I will Deki in Vieira's place and bring in Figo as the AM. And Matrix instead of Cordoba.

 

[bennyblanco]

what im saying about Viera is that he doesnt give us many offensive options
and id rather someone in the midfield that can provide us with both attack and defence...

i know that he can contribute alot to this Inter but my assumptions say that everyone from Chivu to JZ to Pele can play his role and play it aswell as Viera has..

 

[Hasan]

Vieira is an asshole, but crucial for this team. Just look at how Maicon has played this season compared to last.

This is by far our best eleven:

Julio Cesar

Maicon - Cordoba - Samuel - Chivu

Vieira - Cambiasso - Zanetti

Stankovic

Cruz - Zlatan

Cruz edges out Crespo in terms of current form, and I choose Stankovic ahead of Figo, due to that I only see Figo as a set-piece player thesedays. Jimenez is knocking on the door though.

I think this is a first time that I completely agree with you.

 

[rockball]

i know that he can contribute alot to this Inter but my assumptions say that everyone from Chivu to JZ to Pele can play his role and play it aswell as Viera has..

None of them are 10% of Vieira is at set pieces

 

[CafeCordoba]

what im saying about Viera is that he doesnt give us many offensive options
and id rather someone in the midfield that can provide us with both attack and defence...

i know that he can contribute alot to this Inter but my assumptions say that everyone from Chivu to JZ to Pele can play his role and play it aswell as Viera has..

Well, I'm not so sure are you watching the games when Vieira is playing since he is very good at offensive play. He can give good passes and we all must remember last season, when Vieira and Maicon dominated the right flank so damn well. His positioning, passes and generally right decisions are very crucial to Inter when it comes to tough games which Handoyo mentioned. They all come with the experience.

Figo has experience too yes, but his physical attributes aren't anymore at the required level. Figo is clever and he has the sense when it comes to passing etc. but he is so slow that it slowens Inter's game too much. Like Jimmy said, he's just a set-piece guy.

 

[bennyblanco]

None of them are 10% of Vieira is at set pieces

sorry what does that mean?,that he takes better free kicks than the named trio? or does he assist with precision headers in the opposition 16 yard box?
maybe you meant in defending set pieces?bit even that id prefer the trio o stated

and id love to see Vieras ratio of completed passes as he isnt all that compared to anyone in the squad...
personally id take this Chivu and his contribution this year over Viera's of last term anyday

Cafe,if you based your first theory on Figo id agree with you as Figo played more on the right than Viera did last term and i have more memories of them two combining than the Maicon Viera combinations...so maybe you didnt watch the games i did...

was Vieras dominance ever flowilng last year?i dont think so

and Maicon generally dominates the right flank regardless who is infront of him
Figo,Dejan,JZ or Viera

 

[rockball]

Vieira'a passing accuracy is very good. And Chivu may have performed well in passes, but you will not see many incisive passes from Chivu.

And at set pieces, I meant the goals Vieira can score from headers. This year we have hardly scored from set pieces, though Figo's and Matrix's absence are also reasons for that..another important factor there is absence of Vieira.

Chivu is as good DM, but he isn't as complete a midfielder as Vieira is.

 

[Choppin Onions]

I don't understand the hype about Vieira. He's barely played for us and when he has, he's been rather average most games. It seems people are blinded by his reputation in England because fact of the matter is, he's been shite in Italy, with Rubentus and now us. Frankly, I can't wait till he's gone.

Our best lineup (at least for this season) is easily the one XL posted and the one I would prefer against Liverpool. I would only play Deki behind the strikers if Jimegol and Figo were unavailable. He's simply been too inconsistent the last few seasons.

Chivu at LB is too defensive because he doesn't push forward like Maxwell and leaves the opponents right side trouble-free allowing them to focus on Ibra and Cruz and whoever else is pushing foward. We need attacking fullbacks or else the attack is one-dimensional because of the 4-3-1-2 that Mancio employs.