When news broke of Alvaro Recoba's retirement from football, I was surprised to hear that he was still actively playing professional football and then later when I viewed highlight videos of his goals while with Inter, I was reminded again to the quality he possessed which was unfortunately not fully utilised and unleashed. In those videos, I was also reminded of the kind of players Inter had from his time at the club. I reminisced back to a time when it was actually exciting to watch Inter play. Inter didn't want many trophies and faltered to deceive for many seasons but they still excited through the signings made by Massimo Moratti. The managers in that period chose to play more expensively rather than sit and wait for the opponents to make a mistake or look to hit on the counter attack.
As a Singaporean Inter fan, it has become increasingly agonising with each passing season to watch Inter play and to look at the squad we possess with much excitement. Imagine waking up in the wee hours of the morning at 2 or 3 in the morning and watch this Inter play. I tried it in the early days of the season and I struggled to stay awake. Slowly, I gave up watching matches that kicked off late making the exception for matches against Juventus and Milan. I resorted to recording these matches and only watching those matches that kick off early at 6.25pm, 7.25pm, 9pm or 10pm. It hurts me as a fan because I feel I am betraying my club by not watching all their matches "live", if possible and supporting them albeit from afar. I feel increasingly detached from Inter. It feels like a period of separation from the Italian club that I love the most but not quite at the stage of divorce yet as there is still love for the colours and the club.
How the owners and directors tolerate the current style of football is beyond me. I understand that Inter is no longer able to attract big names like they used to in the past due to the club's current financial situation but the least they can do is to play good football and excite the fans. Inter's precarious financial situation wasn't a sudden bolt out of the blue, it was apparent from the aftermath of the historic Treble of 2009-10, that Inter needed rebuilding and to reduce its debts. With greater foresight, the club should have started to invest more in the youth academy so that quality players are scouted and developed. Italy is famed for not having faith and patience in youngsters as every mistake made is magnified a hundred times. To counter this issue, Inter should have been clever enough to allow players to leave on loan with an eye to bringing them back into the first team when they are ready. There are examples to follow in Europe of teams that go into debts and then rely on youth players from their academy coupled with shrewd signings made to become champions and competitive again. Case in point, Borussia Dortmund. Inter had the opportunity to go on that path which would have been unique for an Italian club but they didn't. With patience and perseverance, a player like Philippe Coutinho could have developed further at Inter. Jonathan Biabiany, went a full circle, out to Parma, very nearly sold to Milan and then back to Inter on a free transfer. Alfred Duncan at Sassuolo would have done a much better job than Felipe Melo is doing. Marco Benassi who is now at Torino could have done likewise and both these players could have done more. Inter were wrong to sell their young players like Coutinho and Mateo Kovacic. I understand they did it to raise funds to strengthen other areas of the team but they could have raised funds by sacrificing an older player. With smarter investment and transfer dealings, Inter could have overcome their financial problem to construct a team that excites and challenges for major honours every season.
On paper now, Inter has many attackers in the final third that either play on the wings, as playmakers or forwards but the team doesn't play beautiful football and excite because it is restrained from a leash by Roberto Mancini. I had supported the appointment of Mancini but what he has done this season in terms of tactics and strategy is perplexing and contrary to what we have seen from his first stint at Inter and later at Manchester City. I didn't expect him to play so defensively and cautiously. It's atrocious. I understand that in Italy results matter first followed by performance but Inter need not follow that mould. They can choose to achieve results by playing a beautiful brand of football and setting a good example to follow. Napoli, Roma, Fiorentina, Sassuolo have played some of the best football this season. The former two are in Champions League positions now with Inter trailing in their wake. Napoli are just 3 points away from the top and I hope with all my heart they win the Scudetto because that would mean upstaging Juventus which would give any Interista immense joy and the victory of good football. Perhaps then, more teams in Italy will start to be more courageous in the way they play.
I have been upset for many seasons at the path Inter has taken post-Treble. Initially, I had thought maybe it would be good for Inter to have a new investor in the form of Erik Thohir and he would be able to pump in greater investment into the club so that we do not need to keep losing our best players but I now feel I am wrong. All he talks about is increasing revenue which is important for the club if they want to compete in Italy, Europe and the world. A club of Inter's stature and prestige should always aim for the best so the increase of revenue in the club's coffers is vital but the Indonesian owner is severely lacking in the football department. I would be delighted if Massimo Moratti or his son Angelomario oversaw the footballing aspect of the club and let Thohir handle the business portfolio. I feel this would be an ideal solution. However, I know my opinions and thoughts are limited to this blog article and has no power to even shake a leaf in the tree of Inter's hierarchy. I am helpless as I start drifting away from my beloved Inter but with a heart still full of love and care for Inter. I hope one day soon, Inter begins to excite us all again with the signings made, an attractive style of football and a solid developmental program for the youths in the academy so that they can find space in the first team.
I end by listing down the names of players that I have excited me as a fan since I started supporting Inter: Nicola Berti, Ruben Sosa, Wim Jonk, Paul Ince, Maurizio Ganz, Marco Branca, Benito Carbone, Javier Zanetti, Roberto Carlos, Gianluca Pagliuca, Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Zamorano, Ciriaco Sforza, Diego Simeone, Francesco Moriero, Ronaldo, Alvaro Recoba, Roberto Baggio, Nicola Ventola, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Luigi Di Biagio, Adrian Mutu, Christian Vieri, Stephane Dalmat, Cristiano Zanetti, Sergio Conceicao, Emre Belozoglu, Mohamed Kallon, Obafemi Martins, Marco Materazzi, Hernan Crespo, Kily Gonzalez, Dejan Stankovic, Adriano, Julio Cruz, Francesco Toldo, Matias Almeyda, Edgar Davids, Ze Maria, Juan Veron, Esteban Cambiasso, Giorgios Karagounis, Luis Figo, David Pizarro, Santiago Solari, Maxwell, Julio Cesar, Maicon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli, Davide Santon, Lucio, Thiago Motta, Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito, Goran Pandev, Christian Chivu, Philippe Coutinho, Giampaolo Pazzini, Andrea Poli, Fredy Guarin, Samir Handanovic, Rodrigo Palacio, Antonio Cassano, Danilo D'Ambrosio, Mateo Kovacic, Gary Medel, Marcelo Brozovic, Jonathan Biabiany, Ivan Perisic, Adem Ljajic, Yuto Nagatomo
A special mention to the solid defenders we had who don't excite as much but are very much appreciated for the jobs they have done or are doing: Giuseppe Bergomi, Ivan Cordoba, Nicolas Burdisso, Walter Samuel, Miranda and Jeison Murillo.
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