Inter Milan Sack Claudio Ranieri

I don't know how many clubs, especially big clubs, have fired two different managers in the same season before, but tonight it's happened. Inter Milan have sacked manager Claudio Ranieri. Inter had only won 1 of it's last 10 league matches and crashed out of the UEFA Champions League.

They have confirmed that youth manager Andrea Stramaccioni will take the helm of the club on an interim basis, but you've got to think they'll be looking for a bigger name come next season. A couple of articles I've read are suggesting former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas. As both a Chelsea and an Inter fan, I really hope not.

Ranieri, who has formerly managed clubs such as Roma and Chelsea, and won the Copa del Rey with Valencia. He was hired after Gian Piero Gasperini was fired last September. Stramaccioni becomes Inter's 5th manage since Jose Mourinho departed for Real Madrid after the 201o season.

Puddle's UCL Recap: A Week of Stunners

Edinson Cavani after scoring against Chelsea: AP Images

So it turns out that the UEFA Champions League isn't necessarily as predictable as one might think, judging from this last week's results. I think one wouldn't be blamed for picking Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter, and Bayern Munich to go through from the teams that played this week, but they all either lost or were drawn into a late draw. Here's my recap of the action for the week.

CSKA Moscow vs. Real Madrid
I think Madrid knew they were in for a tough match in Russia against CSKA. All one has to do is look at the Zenit vs. Benfica game last week to tell how difficult the conditions are in Russia this time of year. Even so, Madrid controlled the match fairly easily. Cristiano Ronaldo scored first on 28 minutes, blasting a shot in after a cross from Fabio Coentrao. In the second half, Madrid had several chances to put it away, notably from Ozil and Ronaldo, but couldn't get the ball into the back of the net again.

This set up the week's first dramatics. Late in stoppage time Aleksei Berezutski passed up a shot on target and passed over to Pontus Wernbloom, who shot before the Madrid defense could switch over and beat Casillas from 7 yards to seal the draw, 1-1. Still Madrid have the away goal, so one would suspect with the next leg of the tie in Spain, they should still advance.

Napoli vs. Chelsea
Okay, this one was tough to even watch the highlights of, let alone write about as a Chelsea FC fan. I'm not sure what's going on under AVB, but it's not quality football. Especially at the back. The Blues actually jumped on top first in this one, with Juan Mata snatching a goal on 27 minutes. After that, Chelsea's defense fell apart, and the match became a nightmare.

Napoli equalized in the 38th minute. Ezequiel Lavezzi blasted home a shot from distance after being left totally alone by the Chelsea defense. Edinson Cavani gave the Italian side the lead right before half time, with a header/body shot that could have been a handball. David Luiz cucked up yet again in the 65th minute by kicking the ball right to Cavani, who passed to Lavezzi. Lavezzi then completed his brace by tapping into the relatively empty net to make the final 3-1.

This result and player selection has finally turned me totally against AVB. He is just not ready for this type of pressure yet, in my opinion. Still, the Blues aren't out of it, if they can get their defense to get better. A 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge would see them through, and they are more than capable of that.

FC Basel vs Bayern Munich
This one was really the shocker of the week, as Basel absolutely STUNNED the German giants. It really was a good match, with Basel showing a lot of attacking intent despite the edge in possession for Bayern. Basel in even hit the woodwork twice in the first half.

Both defenses tightened down in the second half, allowing for far fewer chances. Still, Basel found their breakthrough in the 86th minute. The German defense collapsed a little bit, and Jacques Zoua was able to find Valentin Stocker unmarked on the left side. He nutmegged Bayern 'keeper Manuel Neuer to give the Swiss side a 1-0 win. Still, Bayern should feel fairly confident heading home as well.

Marseille vs. Inter Milan
It's always tough to play Marseille in France, but one has to think Inter should have done better here. They too were shocked late. Inter was anxious all night long and allowed Marseille plenty of looks. Both Forlan and Schneider had major chances as well, but once again Inter was not amongst the goals.

The French took the win literally on the last kick of match. Andre Ayew snuck away from Chivu and headed in a corner kick to make it 1-0 and disappoint Inter once again. Still, like Bayern and Madrid, Inter should fancy their chances going back to the San Siro, but they'll need to tighten things up quite a bit.

Italian Match Thoughts: Inter Milan vs. Fiorentina

I'll be the first to admit as an Inter supporter that there hasn't been too much to cheer about with the Nerazzurri this season. Despite the early coaching change, they've been mired in the bottom half of the Serie A table all season. Now, maybe things are looking up just a bit. Inter won passage into the knockout round of the Champions League, and have strung together a couple of wins in Serie A. One of those came against Fiorentina last weekend at the San Siro.

Really this game was all Inter. Fiorentina never did muster much of a fight, but they did outlast a furious storm from Inter in the opening minutes. Giampaollo Pazzini got one of the best chances in the game in the 4th minute. Coutinho put a great ball in for him and he sliced a shot through at the 'keeper, who barely held on. Pazzini tried again with two headers in the 10 and 18th minutes, both of which narrowly missed wide.

After that it looked like Pazzini was going to be in the goals for Inter. He finally found the back of the net in the 41st minute. Coutinho again put in a ball for him, a ball that honestly wasn't as good as the 4th minute chance. However, Pazzini got to it and just managed to tap it past the 'keeper to make it 1-0 to Inter, which held until the interval.

The traffic in the second half wasn't quite one way like the first, but Inter wrapped up the three points fairly early on. In the 49th minute, two Fiorentina defenders collided going for the ball. That left it easily for Yuto Nagatomo, who calmly tapped it by the thunderstruck 'keeper to make it 2-0 Inter and seal the three points.

That win took Inter a ways from the relegation zone. Then on Tuesday they beat Genoa 0-1. That result puts them all the way up to 7th in the crowded Serie A table.

UCL: CSKA Moscow vs. Inter Milan

Inter Milan got their new Champions League campaign off on the wrong foot on match day one with a loss to Trabzonspor at the San Siro. That was one of the big factors that got Gasperini canned. Inter needed a result in Moscow to keep the quarterfinals in sight.

One of the biggest problems they had against the Turkish side was that they failed to come out and take control of the match. That was not the case in Moscow. Inter jumped on the Russians right away. Lucio took advantage of horrible gaff at the back for CSKA to notch the first Inter goal on 6 minutes. The Milanese continued their all out attack through the opening 25 minutes. Joel Obi had a great header that was well saved in the 11th, and Diego Milito sent a screamer in on 14 minutes that was barely held on to. Finally Inter capitalized again in the 23rd minute when Pazzini volleyed home a cross from Nagatomo to make it 0-2.

Then for some reason, Inter took their foot off the gas. They went into a defensive shell, which doesn't always work when there's still 2/3 of the match left to play. CSKA got one back at the stroke of half time off of a free kick by Dzagoev to make it 1-2 at the interval.

The goal did not really wake Inter up much either, and CSKA continued to claw their way back in the second half. Finally in the 78th minute, Wagner Love took a ball in from Aldonin and slotted it home to equalize the match at 2-2.

That woke the Italian giants up, finally. Just less then 2 minutes later, Zarate slammed in a goal for Inter from outside the 18 to make it 2-3. Inter killed the match off after that and held on for all 3 points. 3 crucial points for advancing in the Champions League.

Inter Milan Fires Gasperini

From the "Well Duh" department: Today Inter Milan sacked Manager Gian Piero Gasperini. Under his short 5 game reign, Inter drew 1 and lost 4. The losses included a home loss in their Champions League opener and a Serie A loss to newly promoted Novara.

Gasperini tried playing with a 3-4-3 look that just was not working with Inter's players.

Later tonight, Inter announced that former Chelsea, Juventus, and Roma boss Claudio Ranieri, who had been working as a broadcaster for Italian State TV, would take over as the new manager.

Italian Match Thoughts: Palermo vs. Inter Milan

I am an Inter supporter. All I have to say is.....ouch. There's a part of me that thinks that this is going to be a long season for them. I know they got a ton of money for the deal, but I wouldn't have sold Eto'o. That's just me. That being said scoring goals wasn't our problem today. Giving them up was.

Diego Milito scored two for Inter, including 1 from the penalty spot. Both kicks gave Inter leads. The second putting them up 1-2 at the interval after Miccoli had equalized for Palermo.

It didn't take longer than a few minutes for Palermo to equalize again after the break. This time Miccoli was the provider as he got the ball to Hernandez, who smashed it past Julio Cesar to equalize.

For most of the rest of the match, it looked like it was going to end in a draw. I'm sure a point away to Palermo would have suited Inter just fine. However, Palermo would have none of it. In the 86th minute Miccoli struck again. This time from a free kick that seemed to baffle Cesar. 3-2 to Palermo. Then the nightmare continued for Inter as just two minutes later Mauricio Pinilla slammed another past Cesar to make it 4-2.

Diego Forlan, who played a pretty good game got his first Inter goal in stoppage time. That made it 4-3. However, there was not a total comeback in the cards, and that was the full time score.

I'm not sold on Gasperini as coach, and he's got some work to do. However, it's safe to say that Cesar didn't have a great game in goal. To his credit, he took responsibility for it. He's going to have to be better. Not a good start to the new Serie A campaign for Inter.

Diego Forlan Joins Inter Milan

Last week Inter Milan, my favorite Serie A side, sold Samuel Eto'o to a Russian club for a whole ton of money. This kind of irked me, as Inter needs the firepower to keep up with AC Milan.

Well, they've reinvested some of that cash. Yesterday they announced that 2010 World Cup hero Diego Forlan will join the side from Atletico Madrid. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but I bet it was pretty hefty all around. Forlan didn't have a hugely stellar season last year in La Liga, but he can still be top class.

Only time will tell if this was a good move for Inter, who were also supposedly trying to pry Carlos Tevez from Man City.

Aguero in with City? May Appear This Weekend.

A lot of the transfer buzz this week concerned Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero. The last few days, Aguero has been in Manchester taking medicals and working out the final details of joining City.

While there still seems to be a little hesitancy in saying the deal is done, Aguero himself has said that much. Also, City have left a spot open at forward for this weekend's Dublin Super Cup. This has lead some to wonder if he will make an appearance.

The squad does contain Carlos Tevez, who has said he wants out of Manchester. One of the teams linked as a possible new home for Tevez is Inter Milan, who will also be participating in the tourney this weekend.

New Man In Charge at Inter Milan

Inter Milan have announced that former Genoa manager Gian Piero Gasperini will be their new manager next year. He is expected to sign a two year deal. Gasperini lead Genoa into the Europa League in 2009.

Inter won the Coppa Italia last season under Leonardo, but he is set to become the new manager at PSG in Ligue 1.

Serie A: Inter Milan vs. Lazio

This was a really fun match to watch, and as an Inter supporter, I'm sure glad they ended up winning. Leonardo has been under pressure as Manager, and a loss would have surely put them out of the Scudetto picture.

The match was nice and wide open early as both clubs had something to play for. Inter is still barely chasing the title, and Lazio, once considered contenders, are fighting for a spot in Europe. Lazio got a nice on goal in the 5th minute that forced Cesar to make a save. In the next minute Samuel Eto'o curled a shot just wide. Nice end to end stuff. In the 11th minute, Eto'o roared up the pitch on a break, only have the ball taken off him at the last second. Replay showed that it should have been a free kick. Lazio responded in the 15th with a nice run by Zarate, but Ranocchia made a gorgeous tackle in the area to spoil the chance.

Then the goals started. In the 22nd, Zarate broke 1 on 1 with Cesar. The Inter keeper brought him down in the area resulting in a penalty kick and a red card. Zarate scored on the cold Inter back up keeper, 0-1 to Lazio.

Inter put together a response though. They really started to build and put pressure on the Lazio defensive third. Sneijder had a shot saved in the 28th minute, and he managed to equalize in the 40th with a gorgeous bending free kick that was a great crowning moment on all the Inter pressure. We went to the half tied at 1-1.

Lazio tried to hang in there in the second half, and had some chances. Inter had the better chances though, and finished off their impressive performance. Zarate had to settle down after a hard tackle on Maicon earned him a yellow.

Inter took the lead in the 53rd. Samuel Eto'o made his presence felt yet again. Taking the ball up the pitch, he ran rings around the Lazio defense and slotted the winner home. Great finish, 2-1 Inter. Mauri got sent off in the 66th minute, putting both sides at 10, and Inter held on for the three points at home. A great win for them versus a good side, but the hole they're in now is probably too deep to get out of. They still might win the Coppa Italia though.

UCL: Real Madrid & Schalke 04 round out semifinals.

Two more births in the UEFA Champions League finals up for grabs today, so there had to be drama, right? Not on your life. Both Spurs and Inter stunk it up so bad their respective first legs that Real and Schalke had easy passages in the second leg.

In London, Galacticos sat back and had a vacation. Gareth Bale had a goal called back for offside, but that was pretty much the highlight of the entire tie for Tottenham, who just look like the fixture congestion and injuries are starting to catch up with them. Gomes fumbled a Ronaldo shot over his own line for the games lone goal. Madrid advances to face Barca on a 5-0 aggregate.

Who knows what was up with Inter Milan? I'm an Inter supporter and I can't figure it out. Perhaps they took Schalke and Raul way too lightly? Perhaps the German side was pissed for being written off before tie? Perhaps Inter isn't much without the Special One at the helm? No secret Inter struggled in the Champions League all year, and never looked to be really serious threats to defend their title. Lame. All the credit to Schalke. Good look against United. Inter needs to settle down and chase the scudetto now.

Great run for Spurs though, in their first campaign. Had Crouch not gotten the red in the first leg, things might have been different. Still, credit to Tottenham and their fans.