While the grand San Siro stadium the two clubs share sits idle in Milan this weekend, the fierce rivals will be playing in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium for the Super Cup — the traditional curtain raiser for the Italian season, played between the previous season’s Serie A winners and Coppa Italia victors.

Inter played in the same fixture at the same venue two years ago and lost 2-1 to Lazio, and the team’s new manager Gian Piero Gasperini — who has taken over from Leonardo — is aiming to go one better on Saturday.

“I don’t have a crystal ball but we are here to try to win the Super Cup that Inter could have taken home two years ago in Beijing. And to play against AC Milan makes the event even more prestigious,” Gasperini told SNTV.

Inter Milan and AC Milan jointly share the Super Cup record, both winning the cup five times.

Last season, AC Milan beat Inter twice in the league en route to taking the title, but manager Massimiliano Allegri said last season’s edge will not necessarily extend into the new campaign.

“Last season was the past. It doesn’t mean we have an advantage this time,” said Allegri. “Inter and us are considering the Super Cup match very seriously. It is an important trophy we are eager to win. We will do all we can do on Saturday.”

Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder has been linked with a move to Manchester United, but Gasperini played down the rumors.

“There is no Sneijder problem. He is playing for us, training with us and he will play on Saturday. That is all I can say about him.”

Inter captain Javier Zanetti, replacing the injured Yuto Nagatomo, joined in a training session in Beijing on Tuesday, but his fellow Argentines Diego Milito and Esteban Cambiasso were still on holiday after playing in last month’s Copa America.

Another Argentine, Ricardo Alvarez, joined Inter this summer from Velez Sarsfield, and the 23-year old midfielder is eager to claim his first trophy for his new club.

“It’s a hugely important achievement for me to be playing for Inter, and it’s an honor to be representing the club in China. I hope that Inter can do well in the Super Cup, in fact I’m sure they can,” he said.

Three of the next four Italian Super Cups will be played in China to help promote Italian football in Asia.
 
Italian players hint at strike as dispute resurfaces

Meantime, Italian Serie A footballers have hinted that they could go on strike this month after a dispute over players’ rights resurfaced.

The Italian Players Union (AIC) said the Serie A league has still not signed an agreement reached with the players last year after intense negotiations, during which strikes were twice narrowly averted.

“The collective contract must be signed and it needs to be done before the start of the championship,” said Damiano Tommasi, the new head of the AIC, in a television interview.

“It’s difficult for the players to not go on to the pitch, but it’s necessary to have this in black and white,” added Tommasi, a former Roma and Italy midfielder who played at the 2002 World Cup.

“I’ve visited 90 percent of the teams’ pre-season training camps and there is unity among the players.”

An old collective agreement expired at the end of the 2009-10 season and talks for its renewal dragged on for the whole of last season.

The union was especially unhappy about clubs trying to force players to move in the last year of their contracts.

The matter came to a head in September and December when strikes were called off at the last minute, in the latter case with only two days to spare.

A last-minute deal meant all players with first-team contracts would be allowed to train with the main squad while rules to avoid discrimination were agreed for unwanted players who are put up for sale.

The AIC said it had signed the deal then but was still waiting for the league to add its signature.

“I keep hearing them say that there what we’re nearly there, but that little bit that is missing on the League’s part never arrives,” said Tommasi.

“Last season, we decided not to stop the championship while it was still in progress but if we don’t arrive at a conclusion this time, it will not get under way.”