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Sports

Saturday August 29, 2009

Baptism of fire awaits Inter’s new boy Sneijder

ROME: Wesley Sneijder (pic) could make his Inter Milan debut this weekend in the Milan derby against fierce rivals AC Milan.

Sneijder has completed a €15mil switch from Real Madrid and will go straight into the first team reckoning as the champions look to bounce back from their opening home draw against Serie A new-boys Bari.

The 25-year-old Dutchman insists he is not taking a step down in his career despite being practically forced out of Madrid by the Real hierarchy.

“I don’t feel like it’s a defeat leaving Madrid as Inter are one of the biggest clubs in the world and have been champions of Italy for the last four years,” he told a Dutch newspaper.

Wesley Sneijder

“It will be a pleasure to work with (coach Jose) Mourinho. As for the derby, it’s the boss who will decide but I’m ready to start playing right away, I have no fitness problems.”

Mourinho signed Sneijder specifically to play the former Ajax man at the tip of his midfield diamond formation, behind front pair Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito.

Although this match comes early in the season it is still being seen as the first potential title-decider but also, more importantly, a test of just how good Milan really are following a turbulent summer in which they lost eight of 11 pre-season matches and failed to replace the Real Madrid-bound Kaka with a player even approaching his ability.

Inter have been involved in some mind-games leading up to the match, in which Milan are the nominal hosts at the San Siro, a ground shared by the two teams.

Marco Materazzi claimed Milan are the favourites because they lead Inter in the table having won their opening match, 2-1 at Siena.

He may have been joking but Milan forward Marco Borriello believes a victory for his team would open up an morale-boosting gap on their rivals.

“It’s early days but to have a five point lead would be very important,” he said.

“That would be a useful advantage so we can go in to other matches feeling calm and it’s a possibility that might not happen again in this championship.

“Even so, they are the favourites but beating Mourinho is an extra motivation.”

The other big match of the weekend sees Juventus travel to AS Roma in a match that could say a lot about either side’s title chances.

Juve were wasteful in their opening day 1-0 home success against Chievo while Roma fell to a 3-2 defeat at Genoa.

The capital-based side need to bounce back quickly to avoid losing touch with the top sides while a repeat of last season’s 4-1 victory at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico would assert Juve’s scudetto credentials. — AFP

EUROPEAN ACTION THIS WEEKEND

FRANCE

TODAY: Lens vs Rennes, Nice vs Montpellier, Sochaux vs Monaco, Lorient vs Le Mans, St Etienne vs Grenoble, Boulogne vs Auxerre, Lyon vs Nancy.

TOMORROW: Paris St Germain vs Lille, Toulouse vs Valenciennes, Marseille vs Bordeaux.

GERMANY

TODAY: VfB Stuttgart vs Nuremberg, Schalke 04 vs Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen vs VfL Bochum, Hanover 96 vs Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich vs VfL Wolfsburg.

TOMORROW: Hertha Berlin vs Werder Bremen, Hamburg vs Cologne.

ITALY

TODAY: AC Milan vs Inter Milan, Bari vs Bologna.

TOMORROW: Atalanta vs Genoa, Cagliari vs Siena, Chievo vs Lazio, Fiorentina vs Palermo, Napoli vs Livorno, Parma vs Catania, AS Roma vs Juventus, Sampdoria vs Udinese.

SCOTLAND

TODAY: Aberdeen vs Motherwell, Dundee United vs Falkirk, Kilmarnock vs St Mirren, Rangers vs Hamilton.

TOMORROW: Hibernian vs Celtic, St Johnstone vs Hearts.

SPAIN

TODAY: Real Madrid vs Deportivo La Coruna, Real Zaragoza vs Tenerife.

TOMORROW: Malaga vs Atletico Madrid, Real Mallorca vs Xerez, Racing Santander vs Getafe, Osasuna vs Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao vs Espanyol, Valencia vs Sevilla, Almerma vs Valladolid.

MONDAY: Barcelona vs Sporting Gijon


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