Rafa Benitez the new Inter coach
Inter confirmed the agreement with Rafa Benitez.
The Spanish coach signed a two years contract this morning that will keep him at Giuseppe Meazza until 30 June 2012.
Benitez replace Mourinho who left for Real Madrid after a fantastic season in which Inter won Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League.
Benitez trained so far Liverpool 2004-20010, Valencia 2001-2004 and Tenerife 2000-2001. During this time he won Primera Division two times,Uefa Cup, Champions League,FA Cup, Uefa Super Cup and FA Community Shield.
Benitez was also awarded with the Uefa Manager of The Year in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons.
The Spanish will be officially presented on Tuesday 15 June.
Mourinho prepares a new era at Inter
Inter dominated the last couple of seasons in Serie A, winning the scudetto three time in a row and on course for the fourth one, but they failed every time in Champions League.
jose mourinho
This was the main reason why Mancini was sacked and Mourinho was brought in at the end of last season.
Bad luck and injuries have made Inter leave Champions League early again this season and Mourinho is determined to change that.
There were speculations that Mourinho will leave Inter at the end of the season and he will return to Premier League. But the Portuguese technician has dismissed the speculations and declared that he will stay for at least four or five years at Inter and build a long term successfully team.
The first step will be to ensure the future of the key players. Cambiasso signed a new contract these days and is expected that Ibrahimovic, Samuel and others to follow.
Another important step will be to improve youth department and training facilities. Mourinho gave Santon and Balotelli as examples and declared that would like to have four or five youth players with the same potential every year.
Also another important aspect will be reducing the squad. Mourinho wants to sell the old players and bring four world class players. Currently 12 of players from Inter squad are over 30 years old. Crespo, Cruz, Materazzi, Vieira are among the players that might leave at the end of the season.
Also changing players mentality is very important, but this task is one of the favorites for Mourinho.
Sampdoria 3-0 Inter video
Inter 3-3 Roma video
Why Inter could sign Aguero
After months of speculations Inter is final closer on taking Aguero from Atletico Madrid.
Although declaring several times that he is not thinking of leaving Atletico and that he feels really good and loves the club , it seems that the things have changed lately and Aguero would be willing to experience another league.
The main reason is that Abel Moreno, the coach, accused him for missing too much and that he doesn’t concentrate enough in front of the goal. It looks that this words have mad the Argentinian international and made him think about leaving. The most possible destination for him would be Inter where he is wanted by Mourinho and Moratti.
Inter already tried to take the 20 year-old forward this winter but without success. Also Aguero would be delighted to join Inter saying that he would make the best couple of attackers with Ibrahimovic.
Another decisive factor could be the strong relationship between Maradona, his father-in-law, and Massimo Moratti. On the other side one important aspect would be the amount of money that Inter should pay Atletico to convince them to let him go.
Aguero was bought by Atletico at only 18 years old from Independiente for around €20 millions and is considered one of great prospects for World football. Aguero has a minimum realease clause of €55 millions.
julio Cesar, one of the reasons for Inter success
Few people know that one of the strengths for Inter in the last couple of seasons was the Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Julio Cesar was signed by Inter in 2004 but made the first appearance for “the nerazzurri” only in 2005.
The Brazilian was brought at San Siro as a backup for much more valuable at that time Francesco Toldo.
Julio Cesar had an impressive series of evolutions and Mancini decided to offer him the starting role in Inter’s team. Since then Cesar contributed decisively to the success of the team.
The Brazilian offered security and constancy for Inter’s defence.
Besides the fact that he is a good shoot stopper Cesar is recognized for playing the ball well with his foots and more then that he likes to take penalties.
The 29 year-old goalkeeper proved again how important is for Inter this week, in Champions League match against Manchester United, having some great saves that could prove to be decisive for the qualification into the last eight.
At the moment Julio Cesar is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and if we consider his age we can say that he can remain on top for a long time.
Bologna 1-2 Inter video
Is Daminuta the next youngster on Mourinho’s list?
After Santon, who already established into the starting line-up for Inter, Daminuta could be the next youngster to make the big step to the first team.
Daminuta who was signed by Inter last year made some excellent games at Inter Primavera and is closely watched by Mourinho.
His last notable performance was yesterday match in Viareggio Cup, Primavera beat Vicenza 3-1, when Daminuta opened the score after a superb free-kick. Daminuta was also part of the Mourinho extended squad into the training tournament along Santon and other few talented youngsters.
If he will continue to play like that then Mourinho could give him the chance to make the debut into the first team at the end of the season. Inter are 9 points ahead Juventus and 11 ahead Milan and in the last stages they could be champions already.
Daminuta is the leader of the Romanian U-18 team and is regarded as one of the prospects of European football. The 18-year old Romanian is a versatile player who can play anywhere at midfield or defence.
Daminuta is currently playing as central defender but is equally adept as defensive midfielder since he was playing at Poli Timisoara II.
Daminuta goal in Viareggio Cup
Inter 2-1 Milan video