Phalanx Prophecy: Steady Eddy Javier Zanetti To Miss First Match In Three Years

Posted Saturday, April 03, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

This weekend, for the first time in three and a half years, Javier Zanetti won't play for Internazionale in a Serie A match.

To find the last time this happened, you'd have to build a time machine and travel back to Oct. 25, 2006, when Inter crushed Livorno 4-1. But then you'd have to worry about time-line tampering, so PP can't recommend it. Just know that Zanetti sat the bench that day as Maicon and Fabio Grosso manned the fullback positions. Since then, the Argentine has reinvented himself as a midfielder to make room for Maicon's development into one of the most explosive rightbacks in the game.

In the 133 games since then, the 36-year-old hasn't suffered an injury, suspension, or dip in form bad enough to see him sit out a league match.

Usually as players age, they move deeper and more central to compensate for a lack of mobility. Not so Zanetti. He covers as much ground as ever, still bursting into the attack with his trademark mazy runs.

His positional relationship with Maicon is especially beneficial to Inter. As the Brazilian careens forward, the Argentine plugs up the gap left behind. In fact, Zanetti's most telling contributions come when he foresees danger and slots back into the defensive line to compensate for out-of-position teammates. That sort of shrewd cover is what has helped Inter concede the least goals in the Serie A this season.

Last season Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Cesar earned all the individual plaudits for some exceptional form which carried the Nerazzurri to the title. This year Wesley Sneijder is the media darling. But no one has been as crucial to Inter's form and identity as the captain in his 15 years with the team.

Now we'll just have to see if Inter remember how to win without Zanetti on the pitch. It has been three years after all.

Last two weeks: 3/7 (43%)
For the season: 39/72 (54%)

Centurion - AC Milan at Cagliari
9:00 a.m. EST, Sunday, April 4
Fox Soccer Channel

A series of Milan players came forward this week to reiterate that the club is still in the scudetto race. That's all fine and good given the slim three point gap between the Milan clubs, but now those players need to make that same point on the pitch. A tame draw against Lazio last week allowed Inter to keep its wiggle room.

A trip to Sardinia isn't the easiest place to right a title challenge, but it'll have to do. At least Cagliari's seven match winless streak should help matters.

Milan welcome back Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho, both of whom should go a long way toward smoothing out the wrinkles in attack. With Mathieu Flamini suspended, an all-Italian trio of Gennaro Gattuso, Pirlo, and Massimo Ambrosini should start in the midfield.

Key man: Ronaldinho (Milan) has nine goals and 13 assists on the season, meaning he's had a hand in half of Milan's 49 goals. Milan looked uninspired and toothless without him last weekend. Any title hopes rest firmly on Ronaldinho's form in the next two months.

Prediction: Milan win.

Optio - Palermo at Catania
2:30 p.m. EST, Saturday, April 3
Fox Soccer Plus

From the island of Sardinia we head down to the isle of Sicily. The play in Italy gets more exciting and attacking as you head south, so no surprise the Sicilian derby should offer some of the most scintillating stuff in the league. As an added bonus, these clubs hate each other! So in addition to goals, you just may see a red card or two.

If you offered PP the choice between a red card or a goal, PP will pick the card every single time. Nothing gets a game going like a nice testy challenge and subsequent ejection.

Last season, Catania won both these derbies by an aggregate score of 6-0. Now that Palermo is pushing for a Champions League place, another humiliation to its rivals won't go down well. And with Catania diligently fighting off relegation, Sanisa Mihajlovic's men won't let points slip away without a little blood drawn.

Key man: Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo) wants to go to South Africa. On top of reaffirming that fact in every interview he gives, the pacy midget went ahead and scored a hat-trick last week. A few more of those and Marcello Lippi won't be able to ignore Miccoli much longer.

Prediction: Draw.

Decurion - Bologna at Internazionale
2:30 p.m. EST, Sunday, April 4
Fox Soccer Channel

All four of Inter's Serie A losses this year came in matches directly before a Champions League game. Jose Mourinho's priority is clear. So if Bologna ever had a chance to beat the reigning champions, this is it.

That said, Bologna don't have a chance. Mourinho went into full-on attack mode with the press this week, announcing that Italy doesn't like him and suggesting (again) that referee corruption persists. The players know the only way to get the negative press to go away is to win and keep winning.

Besides Zanetti, Mourinho will lack Lucio, Maicon, Davide Santon, and Samuel Eto'o. Look for Cristian Chivu and his silly-looking helmet to play a key role in defense with all three other fullbacks missing.

Key man: Mario Balotelli (Inter) finally apologized this week for donning an AC Milan jersey on camera. Without Eto'o and with the rest of the squad tired, Balotelli could provide the spark needed here.

Prediction: Inter win.

Legionary - Juventus at Udinese
3:00 p.m. EST, Saturday, April 3
Fox Soccer Channel

Juventus has seven away wins this year, equal to its amount of home wins. Traveling doesn't phase this squad. A run of good form, however, scares it feces-less. So it's nearly impossible to tell what will happen in a Juve game. The squad boasts enough talent to grind out results, but the form and chemistry are bad enough to undermine any positive showing.

Hosting the Old Lady will be Udinese. Four points separate Udine from the relegation spots, so there's no room for error there.

Key man: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) leads the goal-scoring charts by three strikes with 21. Take away his goals from this side and it loses 11 points, which would pit it dead-last in the Serie A, four points behind Livorno.

Prediction: Draw.

Zac Lee Rigg is an associate editor of Goal.com. Phalanx Prophecy appears, dutifully, every Friday. You should probably read it.

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