Roberto Mancini vs Gennaro Gattuso

As you probably have heard, when Milan progressed into the semi-finals of this year's Champions League, the Inter sceptics started saying that Inter's inability to progress in Europe gestures towards the fact that they really aren't worthy champions.

Mancini retorted bitterly with "it is harder to win the Scudetto", ignoring the fact that Milan have CONSISTENTLY made it into the latter stages of Europe's premier competition.

Gattuso also responded with the following:

Gattuso: Euro harder than Scudetto
Monday 16 April, 2007
Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso does not agree with Roberto Mancini’s latest Scudetto claims. “The Champions League is worth three or four Scudetti.”

The Inter Coach had declared on Saturday that he believed a triumph in Serie A was a more difficult task compared to the European competition, which obviously remained a fascinating tournament.

“I guess me and Mancini have different opinions on this issue,” said Gattuso on Monday.

“I have always heard everyone say that the Champions League is worth three or four Scudetti,” explained the World Cup hero.

“I don’t want to be misunderstood, Inter have deserved to win this Scudetto, but I believe it is excessive to say that it is harder to win the Championship than the Champions League.”

Gattuso could not avoid questions on the 2004 match between Juventus and Milan, which was included in the latest list of incriminated ties after public prosecutors in Naples wrapped up their Calciopoli investigation.

“These events belong to the past. Our lawyers will decide if the club will appeal to have that title assigned to us, but we are talking about two years ago, now we are playing another championship.

“Of course I am mad to read about the phone calls made to the referees before the match, but what can I do? I have had the same number for the past 12 years and it is the only one I know..,” concluded Gattuso.

Milan leapfrogged Palermo in fourth place thanks to their win over Messina on Sunday and will face Manchester United in their third consecutive Champions League semi-final on April 24 and May 2.


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So despite their awesome season, are Inter inferior to Milan on the whole? What do you think?

Mancini's comments are a bit stupid...if the Scudetto is harder to win this must mean Milan are better as they've won it more...as well as their multiple European Cups.

I don't understand the point of Mancini's arguement...I think he has made these comments without thinking them through.

Lucas Deano Neill wrote:Mancini's comments are a bit stupid...if the Scudetto is harder to win this must mean Milan are better as they've won it more...as well as their multiple European Cups.

I don't understand the point of Mancini's arguement...I think he has made these comments without thinking them through.

there is should be little debat over this because wining cl means alot but it doesnt really reflect alot. i mean inter have been alot better then inter. they are unbeaten in the league! and milan have had a very poor season. i dont get gattusos comments because when italian sides were doing poor in europe people were saying it was because italian sides thought more of serie a title then cl. a good record milan has but they havent been great in all these years of reaching the semis and so. also porto and liverpool has shown that going far doesnt mean you alot of quality you just need good tactics,some luck or experienc which is the case with milan.
barcelona and roma are better sides then milan currently but they are out of the Cl.

supermadrid(zizou legend) wrote:there is should be little debat over this because wining cl means alot but it doesnt really reflect alot. i mean inter have been alot better then inter. they are unbeaten in the league! and milan have had a very poor season. i dont get gattusos comments because when italian sides were doing poor in europe people were saying it was because italian sides thought more of serie a title then cl. a good record milan has but they havent been great in all these years of reaching the semis and so. also porto and liverpool has shown that going far doesnt mean you alot of quality you just need good tactics,some luck or experienc which is the case with milan.
barcelona and roma are better sides then milan currently but they are out of the Cl.

Fair points.

But it is the consistency with which Milan have reached this stage that sort of weakens Mancini's claim.

If this season was a one-off, then sure we could agree with Mancini. But it has been the case for 5 years that we have out-performed Inter in Europe.
And the 2 leg format of the CL reduces the whole "luck factor", don't you think?

actually the 2 leg format is better for teams that seek luck. also i wrote you either need luck or experience or both. milan has the experience and they have had the luck too at times. over a longer period(like 4 years) of time milan have of course been better then inter. but not only in cl also in the league. no point in talking about that because inter is only really good this year. but this year inter has been stronger in cl imo which they showed against valencia but unlike milan they dont have the experience needed.anyway i think mancini is talking about this year. and if inter is not worthy champions then who is?

supermadrid(zizou legend) wrote:actually the 2 leg format is better for teams that seek luck. also i wrote you either need luck or experience or both. milan has the experience and they have had the luck too at times. over a longer period(like 4 years) of time milan have of course been better then inter. but not only in cl also in the league. no point in talking about that because inter is only really good this year. but this year inter has been stronger in cl imo which they showed against valencia but unlike milan they dont have the experience needed.anyway i think mancini is talking about this year. and if inter is not worthy champions then who is?

They are worth champions for sure.

He was saying that winning a scudetto is harder than doing well in the CL. I have my reservations about that.

Winning the league is always more difficult , consistent over 38 games is difficult but it depends on which league you are in.

Dark Savant wrote:Winning the league is always more difficult , consistent over 38 games is difficult but it depends on which league you are in.

In the league you have 2-3 good opponents for the title. In the CL you have the same opponents plus 3-4 good opponents from England plus 3-4 from Spain plus the ones from Germany, Portugal, France, etc. So CL >>>> any league.

Without going in-depth on the matter.

Both are important and you can't say one is much more difficult to win, as they are both difficult to achieve in different ways.

I think Mancio is being misrepresented here, completely out of context... he is basically saying that winning the league is more difficult coz you have to be consistant over 38 games and a whole season... while the CL is a KO competition, and hence there is more luck involved.

I don't think many people doubt that quality of a squad is better represented by how well they have done in a league than a KO competition.

The comments are not trying to say that Inter have been better than Milan in the last 5 years... and he never even suggested that the scudetto is worth more than the CL (so who is the stupid impulsive one now, Mancio or Gattuso??)...

I post Mancio's complete interview:

Milan are the only Italian team left in the Champions League. Will you be supporting them?
(Smiles) "This is going a bit far... They absolutely deserved to go through against Bayern Munich because they played better. As always, I won't be supporting anyone in the semi-finals. I will only be watching the Champions League because there are four strong teams left and I like watching good games. May the best team win."

There are those who say the best team in the Champions League is better than the best team in the championship...
(Smiles again) "This is like saying that we're winning in the championship because there's no Juventus... If it were the other way round they would have said the Italian championship is harder than the Champions League... Jokes aside, I think each person acts in their own interest."

But does Mancini think it's harder to win a longer tournament like the championship, or a shorter competition like the Champions League?
"There's no doubt that the strongest team always emerges from a very long tournament. The Champions League is a singular competition in which the strongest team can fall at the first hurdle, because you risk being knocked out if you get two matches wrong. The Champions League is undoubtedly very fascinating because it gives you the chance to play the Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup. But in the long run I think the championship is more difficult."

Three English teams have made it into the semi-finals. Is it because they are more competitive at the moment?
"They are all strong teams, and Manchester United and Liverpool have history and tradition. Besides being three great teams with the great economic strength that makes it possible for them to buy a lot of good players, I think credit should also be given to the three good coaches they have. They are teams with great spirit, and this is sometimes very important over two legs. For example, when I played at Sampdoria we were lethal over two legs, and we reached three European cup finals over four or five years."

Forza, that does not sound like a "bitter retort", does it??

bluenine wrote:
But does Mancini think it's harder to win a longer tournament like the championship, or a shorter competition like the Champions League?
"There's no doubt that the strongest team always emerges from a very long tournament. The Champions League is a singular competition in which the strongest team can fall at the first hurdle, because you risk being knocked out if you get two matches wrong. The Champions League is undoubtedly very fascinating because it gives you the chance to play the Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup. But in the long run I think the championship is more difficult."