On Thursday, the 1st of August by 8pm local time, the city of Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States of America will be electrified as they play host to two of European football's biggest and most successful brands. Playing at the Lucas Oil Stadium will be Italian giants, Inter Milan, and Europa League winners, Chelsea FC of England. It will be the biggest soccer event the city has witnessed since its incorporation. Both clubs will bring with them a glamourous and rich history as well as a huge loyal global fan-base. Both clubs have 10 major European trophies between them, and they lifted two of the last four UEFA Champions League trophies (in 2010 by Internazionale and in 2012 by the Londoners).
This is not the first time the clubs will be clashing. They have been involved in several top flight European and club friendly clashes in the past. The most recent high profile match involving them was the UEFA Champions League round of sixteen clash in 2010, when an indomitable Inter Milan had the better of the Blues over two legs. The Milanese would then go on to beat Bayern Munich in the final of the competition - the same team that Chelsea beat in the finals two years later in its 2011/2012 edition.
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| Inter Milan players |
But 2010 was a long time ago. The table has been turned and their fortunes have been reversed. While one club has been in the ascendancy, the other has been on a sharp decline. After their treble winning 2009/2010 season under the guidance of current Chelsea gaffer, Jose Mourinho, the Nerrazzuri has only managed to win three other competitions - the Supercoppa Italiana, the FIFA Club World Cup (both won in the first half of the 2010-11 season under the future-and-now-ex Chelsea boss, Rafa Benitez) and the Coppa Italia. They were beaten to the 2010 UEFA Super Cup by Atletico Madrid (who also walloped Chelsea in the 2012 edition); the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana was lost to city rivals, AC Milan; and the 2010-2011 scudetto was once again surrendered to the red half of Milan. The 2011 Supercoppa Italiana was the closest they have come to winning a major competition and it's been two years. Just last season, Inter had their worst league finish in recent times when they ended up in an unbelievable 9th position. On the other hand, Chelsea has lifted two FA Cups, one English Premier League trophy, one UEFA Europa League silverware and conquered the UEFA Champions League once since their last encounter.
The story between Chelsea and Inter Milan is not all about differences though, they have some similarities as well. Between June 2010 and now, six different managers have been in charge at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza-based club. Chelsea is not far behind in those statistics. Jose Mourinho is the 5th manager to hold sway at Stamford Bridge since June 2010.
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| Jose Mourinho, Chelsea |
So tomorrow, Chelsea will not be meeting the same team they met in 2010, and Inter Milan will definitely not be squaring up against the same team they beat home and away in 2010. Be that as it may, they will go head-to-head in what promises to be a hotly contested friendly match as egos will be at stake in both camps. Jose Mourinho, who managed the Milan-based club when they triumphed over the Blues will not want to lose to his old team, neither would Inter's new boss, Walter Mazzarri, be ready to throw in the towel. He would be looking to reaffirm Inter's dominance over the Blues and prove to the world that he is good enough to occupy the San Siro hot-seat. Each of the teams has taken a strong squad to the United States;
Chelsea on Tuesday named a 25-man list of players for the tour and
Inter was not to be left behind, coming up with the 25 best players at their disposal.
The Blues have a better record in their last games than the Nerrazurri. They
have won all their last 3 games, although those victories were secured
against less fancied opponents. Converely, Inter Milan have lost their last two matches and drawn the one before. They (Inter) will be entering the match as the underdogs while Chelsea will file out with soccer superstars, the likes of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Frank Lampard.
My Prediction: Chelsea will definitely win the match (I'm giving them 80% chance of doing just that), but I will not be tempted to predict the scores.
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