Club Focus - Inter - Snow game this weekend

Despite a protective sheet being laid down for the specific reason of saving the pitch from the elements, the game between Parma and Inter on Sunday was called off. The safety of the fans was also taken in consideration because a large amount of the stands in the Ennio Tardini stadium were covered in ice, and had the game had been sold out, it could have caused serious problems. This has given both sets of players a weekend off, and gives José Mourinho an extra few days to prepare his side for next week’s game against Cagliari.

Yesterday marked the close of the January transfer window, and, as this club focus was written, only two pieces business had been confirmed by the Nerazzurri. Firstly, the sale of Amantino Mancini to rivals Milan. The Brazilian will move to the Rossonero side of the city on loan at first, with an option to be bought at the end of the season should he impress. As talented as the winger clearly is, this could well be his last chance at a top club should he leave his new tactician Leonardo unimpressed, so he has a huge incentive to give everything for the rest of the season. The deal was originally thought to include Marek Jankulovski moving to Inter, but the versatile Czech player will stay with the Diavolo.

It seems as if the Cristian Ledesma to Inter story has finally ended, because the Lazio player saw his bid to have his contract terminated fail, and President Claudio Lotito (who is making a strong attempt to be the worst President in Serie A) rejected a bid rumoured to be around €15m from Inter. It seems as if the Argentine will be left to sit on the Biancocelesti bench for the rest of the season. In his place, la Beneamata have signed Parma youngster McDonald Mariga, whose move to Manchester City had to be cancelled as he could not obtain the required work permit. The move is a co-ownership deal, costing the club around €4.5m for half of the Kenyan’s contract. There was also the rumour (once again proving just how convoluted deadline day gets) perpetrated by Ledesma’s agent that Palermo’s Fábio Simplício had joined the Nerazzurri. Ledesma and Simplício share the same agent, Vincenzo D’Ippolito, who claimed that the deal could be considered done, even if it was not yet official, but the lack of noise emanating from the Giuseppe Meazza about the deal suggests that this is not the case, especially considering the arrival of Mariga.

Another midfielder that had been expected to join the champions was Valencia’s former Everton and Benfica man, Manuel Fernanades. He was in Milan having a medical, but did not pass for reasons undisclosed. His agent claims that Fernandes is in perfect physical condition and it has been speculated that the deal was cancelled for other reasons. Either way, his transfer has been called off and he will remain at Valencia for the foreseeable future.

Inter’s next fixture is a home game against Cagliari, whilst Milan and Roma both face away ties at Bologna and Fiorentina respectively. This could well be another chance for la Beneamata to open the gap yet wider at the top of the table – and now that they also have the game against Parma in hand – the title rests firmly in their own hands. It would be forgivable if José Mourinho was already looking forward to the ties against Chelsea in the Champions League and devising a strategy to beat his old club and former Milanese nemesis, Carlo Ancelotti. The lack of significant transfer activity this month suggests that Mourinho feels that he has a team capable of challenging in Europe, and now is the time he begins to think about how he can prove it.