FC Internazionale Milano - PSV Eindhoven MATCH PRESS KIT Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan Tuesday 2 October 2007 - 20.45CET Group G - Matchday 2 Contents 1 - Match background 7 - UEFA information 2 - Match facts 8 - Match-by-match lineups 3 - Squad list 9 - Competition facts 4 - Head coach 10 - Team facts 5 - Match officials 11 - Competition information 6 - Domestic information 12 - Legend Match background Italian giants FC Internazionale Milano will be looking to get off the mark in Group G after their Matchday 1 away defeat by Turkish champions Fenerbahçe SK while PSV Eindhoven will be in confident mood following their 2-1 home victory over PFC CSKA Moskva. • This will be the first time these two clubs have met in UEFA club competition and the Milan outfit will be aware that they have struggled to exert consistent superiority over opponents from the Netherlands. That dates all the way back to 1971/72 and Inter's first-ever meeting with Dutch opposition when, in the European Champion Clubs' Cup final staged in Rotterdam, AFC Ajax won 2-0 with Johan Cruyff scoring both goals. • In those bygone days the Italian club had very little joy in these head-to-heads, losing three of the first four contests with the other game drawn. Their recent record is much improved however, winning three of the last five contests with two ending as draws. In a total of 15 fixtures their statistics have a neat symmetry: W5 D5 L5. • At home the Nerazzurri have won four of the seven ties with two defeats. The best victory margin came when they beat FC Groningen 5-1 in the 1983/84 UEFA Cup second round in a game played at the Arena Della Vittoria. • Last year's UEFA Champions League campaign began on a disappointing note for Inter as they lost both their first home and away games without managing to score a single goal. But after allowing FC Bayern München to return home with a 2-0 victory on Matchday 2, Roberto Mancini's team repaired matters significantly, beating both FC Spartak Moskva (2-1) and Sporting Clube de Portugal (1-0) to help them take second place in Group B. • Their attempt to win a third UEFA European Champion Clubs' Cup, and their first since 1964/65, foundered in the first knockout round when after a 2-2 draw with Valencia CF at San Siro, their Spanish opponents progressed on away goals with the return leg finishing goalless. • The loss to Bayern was only Inter's second at home in the competition in 16 matches, including qualifying, a sequence in which they have won eleven with three draws. The other reverse came at the hands of city rivals AC Milan in the 2004/05 quarter-final second leg. Last updated 01.10.2007 11:08:47CET Match background 1 FC Internazionale Milano - PSV Tuesday 2 October 2007 - 20.45CET Eindhoven MATCH PRESS KIT Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan • PSV are still looking for their first win in Italy, after two draws and five defeats, though their more recent results encourage the view that the elusive victory is not far away. Their first visit came in the 1969/70 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round, when they lost 1-0 to AS Roma and they followed that with three more defeats. In the last three trips however, PSV have twice returned with draws while at home against Italian foes they reign almost supreme – just one defeat (to AC Milan) in seven fixtures. • They know the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza pretty well having faced AC Milan there twice in the last three seasons. Their 2004/05 UEFA Champions League semi-final was an epic affair. Two goals put Milan in pole position after the first leg at home, but in Eindhoven Ji-Sung Park and Phillip Cocu levelled the tie at 2-2. After Milan had regained the advantage, Cocu then made it 3-3 but the away goals rule put the Dutch side out. The following season they were paired in the same section as the 2005 runners-up and this time held the Milan team 0-0. • Last season Ronald Koeman's side, who are on an unbroken run of eleven appearances in Europe’s premier club competition, made it to the quarter-finals before losing in both legs to eventual finalists Liverpool FC – a team they had also met in the group stage. The two defeats at Anfield were the only blemishes in the campaign away from home – they recorded victories at FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Galatasaray SK, and then gained a creditable 1-1 draw at the Arsenal Stadium to remove the London team from the first knockout round. Match facts Inter • Zlatan Ibrahimović celebrates his 26th birthday the day after the PSV game, on 3 October, while Santiago Solari is 31 four days later and Julio Cruz turns 33 on 10 October. • Iván Córdoba and Julio Cruz will complete their two-game bans against PSV, while Maicon is serving the second of a three-match ban and Nicolás Burdisso the second of his five-game suspension. • Inter defeated ten-man AS Roma 4-1 on Saturday to go three points clear of the Giallorossi at the top of Serie A. The visitors took the lead on 28 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after Ludovic Giuly handled Ibrahimović's header. The Roma midfielder was sent off, while Ibrahimović made no mistake from the spot. Simone Perrotta equalised for the hosts on 53 minutes but a quick salvo from substitutes Hernán Crespo and Julio Cruz (57 & 60) sealed the points. Córdoba rounded off an emphatic win on 68 minutes. • Inter assistant coach Siniša Mihajlović said: "It was a very important game because we needed to regain confidence. This result and this performance is very important also for our future both in Serie A and in the UEFA Champions League." • The Nerazzurri started without the injured Marco Materazzi and Patrick Vieira (both thigh) and Cristian Chivu (shoulder) while Maicon was suspended. Roberto Mancini moved Javier Zanetti to right-back and fielded Ibrahimović as a lone striker in front of a five-man midfield. • "We were missing several important players and we decided to field three central midfielders instead of two as usual to have control of that crucial part of the pitch," Mihajlović said. "The tactic worked well. We are a physically strong side and it is taking a bit longer than others to reach peak form but we are on the right path." • The penalty was Ibrahimović's seventh Serie A goal of the season. • Ibrahimović and Olivier Dacourt were both substituted with injuries six minutes into the second half. The Swedish striker received a knock on his left foot while the French midfielder limped off with a groin problem. They will both undergo further tests alongside Chivu, a doubt for the PSV match with a shoulder injury. Last updated 01.10.2007 11:08:47CET Match facts 2 FC Internazionale Milano - PSV Tuesday 2 October 2007 - 20.45CET Eindhoven MATCH PRESS KIT Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan • Nelson Rivas lost consciousness in training last weekend yet club doctor Franco Combi insists it is not serious, saying: "He's fine. The tests we have carried out so far are reassuring. For me, it's just a blackout. We have completed the neurological tests and they're fine." • Inter returned to Serie A action on 23 September with a 2-2 draw at AS Livorno Calcio. Ibrahimović scored both goals for the Nerazzurri as Roberto Mancini's side twice came from behind to earn a draw despite ending with ten men following a late red card for Maicon. • "We wanted to win and we would have if we had taken full advantage of a few of the many big chances we created in the first half," said Mancini. "However, it's normal to have difficult moments during the season. We have to try to improve and correct the mistakes we have made. We have great margins of improvement as we have great champions who are reaching peak physical condition. We know our strength and we will get back to winning regularly." • Chivu (shoulder) as well as Materazzi and Vieira (both thigh) were all absent, although the first two are expected to return to action shortly. César Aparecido started on the right wing instead of Luís Figo while Adriano, who was not included in the UEFA Champions League squad, started in attack alongside Ibrahimović. • "I have had a terrible 18 months so hearing the fans give you strength on and off the pitch is very important," Adriano said. "I know I can do a lot more and am working hard to do better and better. I'm sad because I can't contribute to these initial Champions League games, but now I will work hard to return." • Chivu missed Inter's defeat at Fenerbahçe after dislocating his left shoulder during Romania's friendly international against Germany earlier this month. "Chivu, with a bit of pain and suffering, should play [against PSV]," Mancini said. • Materazzi, meanwhile, suffered a thigh injury in August and was initially expected to be sidelined for four months after surgery although he could make an early return. "He is making progress but his muscle has to regain tone," Mancini said. "We will not take any risks with him but he could be ready to play against [SSC] Napoli on 6 October, or at least after the break for internationals." • Three days after the Livorno draw Inter returned to winning ways with a 3-0 league defeat of UC Sampdoria.