Pendulum swings Inter's way

Inter fans at the San Siro on Sunday thought their team was down and out after going two goals behind against in-form Sampdoria. But, they were eventually proved wrong as the team made an astonishing comeback to turn the tide in their favour with three goals inside the last few minutes of the game.

Determination, rather than quality, was the key behind Inter's unlikely success at that stage.

For a team that was ridiculed in the media and drawn out of contention by the critics in the wake of their numerous drawn results, Inter are lately showing true signs of being a top-class team.

Sunday's dramatic victory, a necessity to keep Inter's faint hopes of entering the championship race, was an injection of confidence for the players and coach.

At 2-0, Sampdoria were looking to secure their fourth straight win. That would have enabled them to go three points clear of Inter in fourth place. But two minutes from time Roberto Mancini's team pulled one goal back through Obafemi Martins. The goal proved to be a turning point and not mere consolation for the hosts.

In the little time that was left, dark clouds suddenly hovered over Sampdoria who had done so well in the game to kept Inter's formidable attacking line-up at bay.

In a matter of seconds, the visitors' defence turned from solid into frenetic and vulnerable, paving the way for Inter to overturn the result in their favour courtesy of the sheer quality of their strikers and the great self-belief of the team in general. This comeback victory - the third in a row - confirmed Inter's resurgence after a stuttering start to the season.

Sampdoria fielded a team designated to frustrate rather than entertain. Indeed, it was no surprise that Inter experienced a great deal of difficulty in breaking down their opponents' block.

Before this game, Sampdoria boasted the third best defensive record in Serie A. For almost 90 minutes they confirmed their strong set-up at the back, including the fine form of veteran keeper Francesco Antonioli.

The pace was frenetic. The ball kept flying from one end to the other. Due to home advantage, Inter commanded operations but Sampdoria responded with some effective counter-breaks. The game was only in danger of going to sleep after Sampdoria's second goal seven minutes from time.

At that point, the scoreline was too harsh for Inter who had played well only to be let down by their finishing. The fear for the home fans was that if ever this direct clash for the fourth place came down to a dogfight, then their 'pedigree' players would be found wanting.

But in actual fact, the exact opposite happened as Martins, Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba helped the team's cause with a goal each.

Unpredictable Recoba

Recoba's case is emblematic. Highly criticised and very often left on the substitutes' bench at Inter, the Uruguay playmaker is continuously being linked with a move elsewhere this month, particularly Sampdoria.

If he joins Sampdoria, Recoba would renew ties with Walter Novellino, the coach who has brought the best out of his immense talent since moving to Italy in 1997.

Recoba was the main protagonist for Novellino's Venezia in the latter part of the 1998/99 season, as the team miraculously survived the drop to Serie B.

At Inter, Recoba has proved to be a player without half measures... he either leaves his mark on the game or he does not. This is not an isolated case at Inter as several other players and coaches have performed below par during their time at the San Siro.

Perhaps what is really different between Inter and the two most successful Italian clubs in the past decade or so - Milan and Juventus - is that these two have the guile to win certain matches which seem lost.

Inter do not have this quality as yet. In their off-days, they drop various precious points whereas Milan and Juve do reap dividends from certain games without making a great impact.

What Mancini and the Inter supporters augur is that Sunday's comeback win helps to instil a new mentality in the players... never give in even when faced with the most adverse situation.

Also, the players still have to gain the killing touch so typical in title-winning sides. Once Inter attain these qualities, they will then be able to launch a creditable challenge for the scudetto and perhaps put an end to a 16-year drought.

Serie A statistics

1ST win for Messina since beating Reggina 2-1 on October 31 as the southerners grabbed a vital win against Brescia that revived their hopes of salvation. Parma, too, returned to winning ways after a dark patch as they beat Siena 1-0 in another basement clash. Early in the game, Siena had to renounce to two of their most influential players, Tore Andre Flo and Daniele Portanova. Their lack of strength in depth and Alberto Gilardino's decisive goal, midway through the first half, did the rest as Parma started showing strong signs of recovery. The defeat proved costly for Siena coach Gigi Simoni who lost his job with the club appointing Gigi De Canio as his successor. Udinese, meanwhile, consolidated their third place by beating Cagliari, who continue to travel badly - 0-2 at the Friuli Stadium. Lecce's negative track continued as they could only collect a 1-1 home draw with Reggina. After a brilliant start to the season, Lecce have lately fallen off the pace. Zdenek Zeman's side have bagged only two of the last available 12 points. Moreover, they have managed only one win in their last 11 outings. Luca Campedelli's decision to sell Chievo is leaving a truly negative effect on the team as on Sunday they were soundly beaten by Bologna 3-1 at the Dall'Ara Stadium. It was Chievo's third consecutive defeat.

2 wins in as many outings (vs Roma 3-1 and Fiorentina 3-2) for Lazio since new coach Giuseppe Papadopulo took over from Mimmo Caso. Lazio continued where they had left off against city neighbours Roma as they came from behind to snatch an important success that enabled them to join the hunt for a UEFA Cup berth. As for Fiorentina, who have suffered three defeats in their last four outings, they continue to travel in circles. The change of coach - Sergio Buso on for Emiliano Mondonico - did not leave the desired results. One would not be surprised if eventually Buso would be shown the backdoor as well. With the players in their ranks, Fiorentina can do a lot better than they have done so far. Roma bounced back from their opaque performance in the derby by beating bottom side Atalanta 2-1. The race for the third and fourth positions in the standings will surely dominate the proceedings of the second round. Roma, along with Udinese, Inter, Sampdoria, Lazio and rank outsiders Palermo, will all fight out for these two places.

3RD successive win (vs Brescia 1-0, Livorno 2-0 and Sampdoria 3-2) for back-to-form Inter as they came back from the death to overcome high-flying Sampdoria by the odd goal in five in a direct clash for fourth place. The Blucerchiati built a seemingly assuring advantage as they were leading 2-0 until the 88th minute. Inter's comeback came in the closing stages as goals from Martins, Vieri and Recoba turned an Inter first defeat of the term into a third league win in a row. As for Sampdoria, this was their first setback after a positive run of five games (four wins and a draw). Juventus were crowned winter champions as they returned to victory, after successive draws against Milan and Parma, by beating minnows Livorno 4-2 in Turin. At the same time, nearest pursuers Milan could only settle for a goalless draw in Palermo. Livorno coach Franco Colomba became another coaching casualty on Monday as he was sacked and replaced by ex-Milan stalwart Roberto Donadoni, himself a former coach of Livorno.

6 players - Pecchia (Siena), Lazzari (Atalanta), Iliev (Messina), Sculli (Brescia), Amauri and Franceschini (both Chievo) - were sent off by referees. In the meantime, four penalties were awarded and all were scored. Claudio Bellucci made Bologna's home win over Chievo an emphatic one from the 11 metres three minutes from time. Similarly, Mauro Camoranesi made Juve's home victory over Livorno more comprehensive by converting a last-minute penalty. At the time of the penalty, Juve's regular penalty-taker - Del Piero - had already been substituted. Alessandro Parisi made sure of Messina's home win over Brescia as he doubled his side's lead in the 70th minute from a penalty and on the stroke of half-time, Junior Mozart grabbed an important equaliser for Reggina at Lecce's Via del Mare Stadium, also from a penalty.

30 goals were scored on the 18th day: 19 coming from the hosts and the other 11 from the visitors, who managed only two wins. Foreigners contributed with only 10 goals while there were 13 first-half goals. Adriano (Inter) and Vincenzo Montella (Roma) top the goalscorers' list at present with 14 goals each. Montella, Fabrizio Miccoli (Fiorentina) and Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus) grabbed a brace each. Whereas the doubles scored by Montella and Camoranesi were instrumental for their respective sides to cruise to significant home wins, the same cannot be said of Miccoli. His two goals were not enough for Fiorentina to avoid defeat against Lazio. Five players - Vitali Kutuzov (Sampdoria), Alvaro Recoba, Obafemi Martins (both Inter), Goran Pandev (Lazio), and Andrea Zanchetta (Chievo) - came on as substitutes and found the net. Meanwhile, Cagliari defender Francesco Pisano committed the only own goal of the day.