MILAN – Coach Walter Mazzarri has called up 23 Nerazzurri players for Lazio v Inter, tomorrow evening’s Week 18 Serie A clash at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome (kick-off at 18:30).
Goalkeepers: 1 Samir Handanovic, 30 Juan Pablo Carrizo, 12 Luca Castellazzi;
Defenders: 2 Jonathan, 4 Javier Zanetti, 5 Juan Jesus, 6 Marco Andreolli, 18 Wallace, 23 Andrea Ranocchia, 25 Walter Samuel, 31 Alvaro Pereira, 35 Rolando, 55 Yuto Nagatomo;
MILAN – The groups for the 66th edition of the Viareggio Cup were announced. The tournament will take place from 3 to 17 February, and the fixtures will be announced on 27 January. The group stage will begin 3 February and run until the 8th.
The top finishers in each group will advance, along with the four best 2nd-placed teams. These twelve teams will end up facing Inter, Juventus, Fiorentina and AC Milan, who are already through to the round of 16.
Here is the complete list of the eight groups, in two divisions:
DIVISION A
GROUP 1: Atalanta, Nordsjaelland (Denmark), Rappresentativa Serie D, Guaranì (Brazil)
GROUP 2: Napoli, Anderlecht (Belgium), Palermo, Apia Leichhardt (Australia)
GROUP 3: Roma, Benfica (Portugal), Livorno, Envigado (Colombia)
GROUP 4: Torino, Stabaek (Norway), Siena, Santos Laguna (Mexico)
DIVISION B
GROUP 5: Sampdoria, Rijeka (Croatia), Reggina, Congo U-17 (Congo)
GROUP 6: Lazio, Belasica Strumica (Macedonia), Varese, Club Nacional (Paraguay)
GROUP 7: Empoli, PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Hellas Verona, L.I.A.C. New York (USA)
GROUP 8: Parma, Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), Spezia, Desportivo Brasil (Brazil)
MILAN – As well as the first team, Inter’s Primavera side also return to action today following their fantastic cup win over AC Milan before the Christmas break. Salvatore Cerrone’s youngsters host Genoa for a friendly which is due to kick off at the Centro Sportivo Torriani (Via Torriani 2) in Novate Milanese.
ROME – "I couldn’t wait to get back on the pitch after so many months out – it felt great. But I’m disappointed about the result. It’s a tough defeat to take because we didn’t deserve to lose, but we must move on." That’s how Diego Milito began his interview with Inter Channel after the Lazio game.
"How are we to interpret the refereeing decisions that are going against us? It’s really hard. We keep saying the same things. They haven’t given us a penalty yet and I don’t think that’s normal. There was that foul on Rolando, Guarin’s burst forward that might have changed the game – episodes like that are penalising us at the moment. As I said, it was a bad defeat but we have to look forward. This team is alive. Hopefully we’ll put in a good performance on Thursday in Udine and we’ll go through to the next round of the cup."
El Principe went on: "We’re still having an excellent season. We’ve said lots of times that we’re building a team here with a new coach, so you expect ups and downs. It takes a bit of time and patience but I think we’re heading in the right direction. We can’t let up now. We have the players and the team, we’re training really well and I hope we can keep having a good season, then we’ll see where we’re capable of finishing come the end of the campaign.
"What can I offer Inter? I hope to give the coach an extra option. Both Icardi and myself have been out for a while. I really want to do my bit for the team after spending so long on the sidelines."
Serie A Standing AFTER the game:
Lazio, 10th position with 23 points and a negative goal difference of -3
Inter, 6th position with 31 points and a positive goal difference of +15
Bad start for Inter on their quest to battle towards the third position. Lazio starting 2014 with a smile thanks to forward Miroslav Klose scoring the only goal of the match. It’s a positive start for new coach Edy Reja on his second term after replacing coach Vladimir Petkovic. Not everything is bad for Inter. There was the joy to see the return of “El Principe” forward Diego Milito after a 3-month injury. Milito played 15 minutes after replacing midfielder Fredy Guarin in the 75th minute. Inter went down from the 6th to the 5th position.
Klose scoring in the 81st minute defeating Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic with a right footed shot in the center.
Here is LAZIO official starting line up by coach Edy Reja:
Here is INTER official starting lineup by coach Walter Mazzarri:
INTER (3-5-1-1)
Handanovic; Ranocchia, Rolando, Juan Jesus;
Jonathan, Kuzmanovic, Cambiasso, Alvarez,
Nagatomo; Guarin; Palacio.
Disciplinary Situation before the game: 1 suspended player LAZIO: 6 Mauri (until 2 May 2014)
1 suspended player INTER: Campagnaro
Stats AFTER the game. Top scorer LAZIO: Forward Miroslav Klose and Antonio Candreva with 5 goals each
Top scorer INTER: Forward Rodrigo Palacio with 10 goals
By Anna Italia 
What do you think of the results? Which players surprised you or disappointed you and why?