Maicon sounds Panathinaikos warning

Maicon has warned that, while he may be in "the form of my life", FC Internazionale Milano will need to be at their best when they host a Panathinaikos FC side fresh from a 3-0 victory at Werder Bremen.

Bremen surprise
Before their trip to northern Germany on Matchday 4, only the most optimistic Panathinaikos supporters would have harboured hopes of a positive result at the Weserstadion. With just one Group B point to their name and without even a draw away from home in the competition since December 2003, the Greens' UEFA Champions League campaign appeared doomed for another season. Yet they travelled back to Athens with a resounding win and, as they prepare to face Inter at San Siro, Maicon knows they are back in contention.

'Front foot'
"I expect them to start on the front foot," said the Brazilian international defender. "They won their last European away match and played very well; we're expecting them to play the same way against us. That result did not surprise me because when we played them in Athens they played very well. We only won [2-0] because we played better. But winning away from home against a side like Bremen will have given them a huge amount of confidence."

'Bad night'
Maicon is keen to stress that his team cannot expect to get away with playing as poorly as they did in their last UEFA Champions League outing, the entertaining 3-3 draw with Anorthosis Famagusta FC in Cyprus. "We need to be on our toes because we played very badly last time out – it was a bad night for the whole team," said the 27-year-old. "We didn't play as we had planned and it's just as well that we managed to get a draw, because now we've got a great chance to qualify."

Rare setback
The Anorthosis result was a rare setback in an otherwise promising season for the Nerazzurri, who are three points clear at the top of both Serie A and their UEFA Champions League section, with Maicon one of three players ever-present in each. "I've never thought as myself as untouchable," said the right-back. "I'm feeling really good but I know I need to keep working hard at my game to keep my place in a side as strong as Inter. I'm definitely in the form of my life; feeling good, playing well and appreciating the faith that's been put in me. I'm improving with every training session and match that I play. But I know I need to keep working as hard as I have been to remain at the highest level in world football, because it is something truly wonderful."