Since Roberto Mancini has taken over, Inter have underwent a bit of a rebuild in the defensive third.
On the 22nd May, 2010, Inter Milan reached the pinnacle of club football, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu. But as usual with Mourinho, the Portuguese manager had his sights set on a different animal with Real Madrid and left in the summer. However a critical error was made by Inter Milan in the ecstasy of European glory.
It’s incredibly difficult to stay at the top, very few clubs do it, it’s why no one has ever retained the Champions League. Italian football was not exactly the epitome of financial health but Moratti opted to try and continue in the win-now mode Inter had sustained for the past couple of years.
Of course, Inter hired Rafa Benitez and he didn’t last until the New Year. Leonardo came in and saved Inter’s league form but the writing was on the wall. Inter had not rebuilt, or even reloaded adequately and their aging squad was a problem. Finishes of sixth, ninth, fifth and eighth followed in the four subsequent years.
The average age of the 2011 Coppa Italia winning side was 29.6. A nice group of players who were entering their twilight years. But a huge mistake orchestrated by Moratti was that he didn’t integrate youth as Inter were winning. As Inter found out in the subsequent years, you can’t pile youth into one team with some experienced sprinkled sparsely. It’s a delicate operation.
This current Inter side reside in fifth place, just on the edge of the Europa League places. This could be considered disappointing accounting for the fact that in the opening stages of Serie A, Inter were considered title contenders. But the deeper numbers and the style in which Inter played football indicated that their early success was not sustainable.
But I believe a deeper look into Inter’s season offers a lot of hope for the Nerazzurri. For the first time since Mourinho left, the team has a stable identity. Under Stramaccioni and Mazzarri the club experimented with different styles but ultimately the club couldn’t fix itself on an identity. Under Mancini Inter have become an astute defensive team (albeit some silly hiccups have occurred in recent weeks), and this is the solid base they can build upon.
Perhaps this is hyperbole, or perhaps it’s wishful thinking if I stick my Inter cap on, but it’s similar to pre-Conte Juventus. The team was desperate for boardroom stability and a team identity. Agnelli and Conte brought this in abundance and of course, Juventus won the title in Conte’s first season. Juventus were by far the best defensive team during Conte’s first season, conceding just 20 goals (season before they conceded 47), the second best was Milan with 33. Juventus were by no means a defensive team, but there were, and still are, built on defensive stability.
Juventus benefited from everyone in the league seemingly becoming weaker over night so there was next to no growing pains with Juventus’ identity. However, this shouldn’t deter Inter. The back five of Handanovic, Nagatomo, Miranda, Murillo and Telles is a superb mix of youth and experience. Perhaps Nagatomo could be replaced in the summer but we’ll get to that eventually. A defensive base is arguably the best base to build on. Not conceding goals will keep Inter in games, as illustrated by eight 1-0 wins in their first 15 Serie A games.
What Inter need to do is recognise that the defense should not be altered and go out and improve the other areas of the pitch. It appears as though Mancini is finally recognising Marcelo Brozović’s potential as a midfield creator (he must’ve read my article) and that has at least solved some of their creative problems. Wing play is nice and all but it’s an outdated way of creating chances in today’s modern game and for the most part wingers need to stay secondary to creative midfielders in terms of chance creation.
However, Inter’s midfield still has huge issues. Neither Felipe Melo or Gary Medel are Scudetto winning anchors in midfield, and Geoffrey Kondogbia has raised a few eyebrows with his performances in the worst possible way this season. Still, the vision is there for Mancini. A trivote of a creative midfielder/#10 playing deep, a defensive midfielder/regista and a box to box player is how a lot of elite European clubs are playing (Real, Barca, PSG).
The vision is also there for the attack. Mauro Icardi has finally found his scoring boots in the league after expectations were probably set a bit too high after last year. Mancini has arguably been stubborn with his 4-3-3 but if you believe in something you must persist. I enjoyed the look of Adem Ljajic at the start of the season but as the season has gone on it’s more than apparent Inter should not exercise their right to buy him. If the 4-3-3 is going to lead Inter to the Scudetto aspirations they seem to have, there needs to be at least one elite Serie A winger either side of Icardi. Who? I’m sure we’ll be covering that as summer approaches.
Finally, a big variable that will play a part in Inter fulfilling expectations is the calm boardroom. Post Mourinho there were rumours about Moratti selling the club or Inter’s heavy debt clouding the club’s future. With Thohir that has all but disappeared. Financially Thohir has stabilised the club and made funds available for transfers that will help Inter fulfill their goals. Not only this but Thohir has intelligently kept a strong relationship with the fans by keeping on Zanetti on as club president.
To finish off, for the first time in quite a few years the future seems bright for Inter. Qualification for Europe’s elite competition would speed up the rebuilding process but it wouldn’t be disastrous if Inter missed out. It’s important to stay level headed and believe the club is on the right track.
Competition is going to be healthy for Calcio. Juventus’ dominance has been historic but boring for the average viewer, that’s why Napoli’s Scudetto charge has been so exciting. It’s different! Recent performances (last weekends Derby D’Italia) showed Inter can dance with Calcio’s dominant dog but they’re just not quite there. Last night’s game has a lot of variables to it but it’s evident Inter are a threat when all the cogs in machine are in sync.
Catch my Calcio ramblings at: @BilbertoSilva
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