Former Lazio and Sampdoria defender Dario Marcolin is not necessarily expecting this evening’s Champions League round of sixteen first leg match between Inter and Porto to provide much in the way of spectacle.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, via FCInterNews, the former teammate of Nerazzurri coach Simone Iznaghi and his Porto counterpart Sergio Conceicao gave his predictions for this evening’s match.
Inter have approached matches with both an intent to dominate the game and impose themselves, and a more cautious tactic of sitting back and waiting for opportunities to counterattack this season.
Meanwhile, Porto are in a similar position, a team noted for a versatile approach which, particularly in the biggest matches, is centred mostly around nullifying their opponents’ strengths.
Whilst both teams certainly have the quality to produce moments of excitement, Marcolin expects that given their respective tactical approaches, it will not be an end-to-end spectacle for ninety minutes.
The former midfielder predicted that “I don’t expect it to be spectacular.”
“Conceicao knows how to motivate his team and they tend to allow very little, whilst Inzaghi is also very attentive to how important the mental side of the game is.”
He noted that “Both coaches are extremely focused on the defensive phase.”
Of Inzaghi as a coach, Marcolin said that “I like his ideas of football a lot.”
“His 3-5-2 formation is very attacking, they bring six players into the attack.”
“I think that in Italy, only Napoli manage to get so many players into the opposition penalty area.”
