Inter 2015-16

Inter's season ended last, last Saturday (7th or 8th May) with the 3-1 win over Empoli at San Siro which confirmed Inter's passage into Europa League 2016-17. Last night/early yesterday morning (14th or 15th May)'s match against Sassuolo was nothing but a dead rubber. By the way, after two 7-0 wins over them in 3 matches, Sassuolo have now beaten Inter for 3 consecutive matches.

Inter started the season very well, exceeded expectations, made fans dream and then tumbled down from the top but managed to control it's fall to finish fourth. Fans are disappointed at the decline in form and results in the second half of the season. However, I would just like to point out that Inter had a similar kind of a decline under Andrea Stramaccioni and Walter Mazzari in their first full season in charge. In both cases, Inter's decline in form and results were far worse than they were this season. Therefore, all things considered, Inter have actually done better than they have in recent seasons. It's not ideal for a club of the size, following, prestige and stature to be glad with qualification into the Europa League but under present circumstances, it is acceptable.

In my personal opinion, based on performances, I feel Inter has done very well to finish fourth. The football we have witnessed has been awful. Imagine waking up at 2.45/3.45am and watching that. Your passion and love for the club aside,your body will naturally give up and your eyes will close shut. I tried to sit through such matches in the early part of the season but I really struggled to stay awake. I gave up watching Inter play "live" at those hours unless it's a big game against Milan or Juventus. I did record the repeat telecasts of matches that I missed to catch up.

The previous paragraph just leads me to question the manager, Roberto Mancini. As a player, he was an attacker with flair and creativity. As a manager, he played some of the best, most attacking football I have witnessed as an Inter fan in his first 2 seasons in charge. Then as a rival at Manchester City, I had witnessed him play attacking, open football. What possessed him to bring back Catenaccio to present day Inter? Inter bought attacking players, Stevan Jovetic, Adem Ljajic, Ivan Perisic and Jonathan Biabiany but for most of the season they spent most of their energy defending rather than attacking. I agree and understand that in modern football, every player has their share of defensive work to carry out on the pitch but I feel our attackers had to be more concerned on what the opponents did and were going to do rather than focusing on the damage they can inflict on their opponents. It's no surprise that aside from Perisic and to an extent Biabiany, Palacio and Icardi, none of Inter's attackers flourished in the present tactical set-up.

Mancini had organised the team very well and made them tough to break down in the first half of the season. He did very well to fully utilise the squad and keep everyone on their toes and he kept the opponents guessing on how they would line up but again that was in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, mistakes crept into their game. Our defenders were losing focus, the lack of a playmaking midfielder was painfully obvious and teams were wisening up to our tactical set up. Interestingly enough, Inter played more openly in the second half of the season and started creating more but were profligate in their finishing too.I know due to Atletico Madrid, the gritty, dogged, defensive game is in vogue but that was something Italian football used to do for ages. Italy pioneered Catenaccio in the 1960s and Inter were one of the main contributors to that style of football. However, since then, Arrigo Sacchi changed the playing style with his Milan of the 80s and 90s and Italian football has moved on from those days. Atletico's football is not attractive to watch which is why I am not in the favour of Diego Simeone taking charge at Inter even if he was a great player for us in his playing days.

I guess the writing was already on the wall when Inter agreed to sell Mateo Kovacic and Mancini so desperately wanted to sign Felipe Melo like as if he was Socrates. We have seen how Melo plays from his time at Juventus, Fiorentina and the Brazilian national team. He loves cracking bones more than creating chances. He was a ticking time bomb and it was clear to see but yet Mancini was desperate to sign him. We have already got a defensive midfielder who can offer a lot more than Melo in Gary Medel. I understand that Inter were tempted by the amount Real Madrid were willing to pay for Kovacic, influenced by the need to observe Financial Fair Play rules but it was a move that has not benefited the player or Inter in the footballing side of things. Kovacic hardly features at Real Madrid and Inter lacks creativity in its midfield. It would actually make sense for both parties to try if Inter re-sign him even if its on loan during the summer.

A lot was made of the signing of Geoffrey Kondogbia. Fans crowded to welcome him but I didn't quite understand the hype around him. We weren't signing a player of the calibre of Ronaldo. I hadn't watched him play before so I couldn't understand the hype. After watching him this season, I still don't understand the hype around him. I felt the hype was largely a victory of ego as we beat AC Milan to signing him but based on the season that has just passed, I don't feel Milan regret not signing him. He has lost his place in the French national team after joining Inter and that's an indication of how bad it has been. A signing has to be made to reinforce the team and boost the quality of the squad. From the signings at the start of this season, only Miranda, Jeison Murillo and Ivan Perisic has positively reinforced the team and this is an area where Inter has proved to be inadequate resulting in the lack of results on the pitch.

Inter lacks proper planning and scouting. Instead of spending 29 million Euros on Kondogbia, it would have been wiser to have spent much lesser to purchase Marco Benassi and Alfred Duncan, two players who were part of our Primavera, know what it means to play for Inter, the weight of expectations that come with it and have youth on their side. They are also familiar with Italian football and wouldn't need much time adjusting to the rigours of it. We could have kept Kovacic too. Medel is a strong enough leader to lead the midfield. This is an Inter team that had no midweek European commitments. They had a lot of time on their hands to prepare weekly for a Serie A match. Instead of signing Jovetic, we should have kept Xherdan Shaqiri. He had only spent half a season at Inter, he hadn't properly adjusted to Italian football yet and Inter sold him for a profit of 1 million Euros. It would have made greater sense to have kept him and let him play in Jovetic's role and not spend on 3 million Euros for signing Jovetic on loan. Quite simply, if Inter reduce its need to sign players, we don't need to sell too much and can keep the squad intact for longer to reap its benefits. Everyone would just need to learn to be more supportive and patient to see its rewards. The Inter youth set-up has been doing well for some seasons now but not much faith is placed on these youngsters. It seems like the loan policy is to just loan them out to anyone who is interested. There doesn't seem to be a follow-up on how they are coming along and there is no great faith placed in them which is exactly what Inter should not do if they are trying to cope with Financial Fair Play and trying to balance it with the expectation of success on the pitch. On top of these youngsters, it would be wise to sign quality players with experience, winning mentality and character. This would help the team take the next step when challenging for major honours. The case in point being Miranda. We need to make more clever signings like him, players aged between 26-32 with experience, maturity and winning mentality.

It would also help a great deal if Mancini just broke the shackles off the team and decide to take the game to the opponents. Against most opponents, a team with the quality of Inter can take on teams on the front foot. In certain cases, I understand the need to be more cautious and defensive. I understand the need to be gritty. You can't win league titles by playing attacking football and being positive all the time. There will come moments in the season when a team is required to grind out 1-0 wins. That's the mark of a champion team, the ability to win when not playing well but it doesn't harm anyone if Inter looked to take the game to their opponents more often than not. A lot of Inter fans are stuck in the past, myself included, we just need to face the reality that Inter can no longer afford to sign the best players in the world like we used to. In general, Italian football no longer holds financial muscle in European football and has lost its appeal. The Serie A has become a league for players to come to nearing the end of their career or when they are at the beginning of their career. That is the reality. I understand the reality but I reminisce because Inter excited me a great deal in the past even if we did suffer lots of disappointment and under-achievement. At least the team played much better than they are doing today.

Another area I feel Inter has to look into is signing more Italian players. The Italian players that are currently at Inter play a bit part role. Danilo D'Ambrosio is the closest to a first teamer amongst all the Italian players in the squad. Eder is a naturalised Italian and he was signed during the winter transfer window but has not had the desired effect because he is doing a lot of defensive work which leaves him blunted as an attacker. Davide Santon has declined in form since he was discovered by Jose Mourinho. He has never looked the same since Mourinho left. He had a brief renaissance at Newcastle but not been the same since. Andrea Ranocchia's errors has led to the signing of Miranda and Murillo and his departure albeit on loan to Sampdoria where he has not set the world alight either. I understand that Inter in its formation was a club that included foreigners into the team and has always been welcoming for foreign players but with Italians, they understand what Inter as a club means, its expectations and they understand Italian football much better. You reduce the need for a player to adapt to Italian football and Italy when you sign an Italian player. I admit there isn't a big enough talent pool like there used to be of Italian players but Inter can always look to develop on their own.

Those who know me, know that I hate our captain, Mauro Icardi. I hate him for personal reasons and not what he does on the pitch. I started disliking him after he stole his best friend's wife and his class-less reaction to it. I felt it was all in poor taste. It is true that whatever anyone does in their personal life is none of our concern as fans and we cannot judge because we do not know the full extent of the story and that is something I am coming to terms with now. However, if I take the moral equation out of it and judge him primarily as a footballer, I don't feel that he has what it takes to captain the side because he doesn't seem to have natural leadership qualities and he is not a great striker. He has a great conversion rate and I got to acknowledge that and he is a very good striker but he is ill-fitted in Mancini's current tactical set up. In general, Mancini's tactical set up suits no attacking player but for a player like Icardi who has no pace to outsprint a defender, no power to bulldoze past a defender, no body strength to hold up play and no skills to dribble past an opponent, it is not ideal. He relies on chances created for him and he is most dangerous in the box. There is nothing wrong with that but it's rare to find a modern attacker who is only a goal poacher that comes to life only in the box which is again nothing wrong but for a player like that to be effective, you need the entire team to play proactively and feed him which is what they are not able to do this season.

For next season, I am pretty sure Mancini would remain Inter's manager unless he receives an offer from the Italian national team or has a falling out with the owner and/or director or has a general change of heart. I just hope that if he stays, he brings back attacking football. I have no faith that Inter's directors would take my heed and start putting faith in players developed at Inter but I do hope they have the sense to try and re-sign Kovacic. Handanovic seems likely to leave after being reportedly unhappy at Inter not qualifying for the Champions League, which is a pity because he has been our best player for so many seasons now. Inter should get some good money if they do sell him and I hope Mattia Perin is signed in his place. I hope Icardi is removed as captain and hopefully sold but I doubt either would happen. I would just need to make peace with myself on Icardi. I hope more Italians are signed. Jovetic is another player that is reportedly unhappy and could leave and something just doesn't seem right in the dressing room with a lot of reportedly unhappy players. More than Icardi, I hope Felipe Melo is sold. We'll see now what unfolds during the summer. I do hope as well that if Mancini stays, he doesn't get desperate to sign more of his former players who are now over-the-hill (eg. Yaya Toure). Stop acting like a lover that misses his ex Mancio.


The best thing about Inter in 2015-16, Inter's home and away jerseys. :-)

Inter That No Longer Excites

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.

Troubles At My Club: Inter

Inter is free-falling and rather dramatically. There's no signs of arresting this slide despite the occasional glimpse of promise when there is an odd win to interrupt the run of draws and losses. It is particularly depressing because the run that has seen Inter drop from top to 5th and 13 points behind current leaders and champions, Juventus has included resounding defeats against arch-rivals AC Milan and twice against Juventus. This alarming slump of form in the second half of the season is not a new phenomenon though. It happened in 2012-13 under Andrea Stramaccioni and 2013-14 under Walter Mazzari. Stramaccioni couldn't keep his job and was sacked at the end of the season while Mazzari did just about enough to ensure Inter qualified for the Europa League and keep his job for at least one quarter of the following season. As Inter approached the end of the first half of the season on a high, I was interested to see if Inter could bring this form into the second half of the season or collapse the way Stramaccioni and Mazzari's Inter did. At the moment, it is proving to more of the latter than the former.

Roberto Mancini was given an almost free reign in building a squad with the ultimate objective of qualifying for the Champions League in mind. Inter had a rather impressive transfer campaign and the team did well for the first half of the season but the reality was that the football on display didn't match the results achieved by the team. For most parts of the season, Inter relied on dogged defending, defensive organisation, brilliant goal-keeping by Samir Handanovic, a mixture of clinical finishing, mistakes in the opposition defence, great goals and set-pieces to win matches. Inter displayed great determination, team-spirit and resilience to get their results. It was not beautiful to watch and widely-criticised by the media but most importantly, as far as Inter were concerned was that they got the wins and were on a run. Their confidence was on the rise and the noise emanating from the Inter camp was that of who cares about the style of football as long as we are winning. As a fan, the football was not enjoyable to watch at all. I struggled to stay awake to watch late kickoffs and gave up watching late matches "live" altogether except for big matches against Milan and Juventus. I could understand the rationale if it had been to bring about stability and get on board some positive results and go on a positive run to give a newly formed team some confidence. However, as the season went on, it became apparent that Inter's strategy is only to play defensively and kick lumps out of their opponents.

The strategy employed by Mancini was backward and perplexing at the same time. I wasn't in favour of it then and now it is getting exposed. I am perplexed because in Mancini's first 2 seasons at Inter, he had Inter playing some of the most exciting and entertaining attacking football seen at Inter in recent times. He became rather one-dimensional and physical in his approach in the post-Calciopoli era but it was still more attacking than what we have witnessed for most parts of this season. At Manchester City, he had them playing attacking football too and had always imposed their style on their opponents which is why I do not understand why he had imposed such backward and cowardly tactics. He is not only getting his team to play defensively but he is also looking to mirror the opponents' formation to counter them. These were tactics and strategies that belonged to the foregone days of Italian football. Football has moved on since then and more Italian teams now look to impose their style of play onto their opponents and play a more expensive brand of football. Inter, being a big club and like all other big clubs, should be looking to impose their style of play. If Mancini is not able to be progressive in his tactics and strategy, he could at least match the norms of modern football. Granted that in the first half of the season, he had successfully implemented the tactic to mirror the opponent's formation but in Italy, where almost every coach is tactically astute, you can't get away with a single approach and tactic if it is not overly dominating and powerful.

In the first half of the season, he had successfully rotated the squad without any European football but he is not able to get the best out of his players now as the players playing are no longer able to match the levels of the first half of the season and in the case of some players, they have either not shown their true value yet or are getting their limitations exposed now. On the matter of the squad he has built, I don't understand why he has built a midfield that is devoid of creativity and based it entirely on physical strength and on players that have greater interest in stopping a player than creating play. Felipe Melo brought character, leadership and a winning mentality but he also brought in a world of trouble. At the age of 31 or 32, he has still not learnt how to tackle and how to tackle cleanly. He has still not learnt when to be aggressive and when to stand off. He is a ticking time bomb and Mancini chased him like as if he was after a midfield God. Inter's decision to offload Mateo Kovacic is biting the team badly and this is a point that I have raised repeatedly in previous posts. I understand the decision to offload him was to raise some money for the signing of other players but the decision not to replace him with a player of similar ilk is a bigger folly. When Inter signed Geoffrey Kondogbia, it was heralded like as if we had signed Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo but honestly, who is Kondogbia? I have never seen him play before so I was not excited at all about signing him and after watching him this season, I don't understand what the hype was all about. I felt the hype was more about beating Milan to his signature but if there's anything we need to beat Milan on it would be results on the pitch and not signings made off the pitch. At the moment, it looks like once again we have made a big blunder in the transfer market and made everyone at the club look like fools especially those that negotiated the transfer and the manager that wanted him and Milan have come up trumps once again. Inter bought creative, attacking players in Stevan Jovetic, Adem Ljajic and Ivan Perisic. All these players play further forward or on the wings. Jovetic showed promises of rediscovering his form at Fiorentina but has fallen out of favour now because his performances has not picked up or been consistent enough. Ljajic started the season slowly but slowly got stronger and he too has fallen off the boil in recent games. As for Perisic, we are still waiting to see the Perisic we saw at Wolfsburg and Croatia. He has looked a pale shadow of his normal self.

Jonathan Biabiany was re-signed and has not been used quite as often. He was devastating against Sampdoria but didn't start against Juventus. He hasn't played often enough for me to pass a judgement on his performances this season. I understand the need to ease him back into playing competitive football after his heart scare last season. Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo were our signings of the season in the first half of the season but both have looked out of form since the turn of the year and mistakes have crept into their game which has resulted in Inter dropping points and conceding goals. However, they still remain Inter's best signings. Martin Montoya was so awful and out of favour that he was sold during the January transfer window and Alex Telles hasn't quite looked good enough. Our best full-back is still Danilo D'Ambrosio, who I feel is under-rated. In the case of players like Jovetic, Ljajic and Perisic, I feel the manager's tactics and strategy is not conducive and helpful for attacking players to perform at their best. In the case of Perisic, he might not have fully adapted to Italian football. Jovetic has lost touch, spark and confidence after his unsuccessful spell at City. He would need to be humble to rediscover himself. Ljajic, I feel is having a blip in form. He has been excellent for most of the season. Inter added Eder during the January transfer window when wisdom would have dictated the need to sign a creative midfielder as the priority. I am not opposed to signing Eder as he is a good forward that can give us a hand and offers something different to the forwards we have but we needed a creative midfielder first to provide the attackers a platform to attack and score. Eder has worked really hard as has Rodrigo Palacio but their hard work in doing their defensive duties and in building up play has somewhat blunted their attacking prowess.

Marcelo Brozovic has been our most attack-minded midfielder and he has gone off the boil too but there is no-one else to take over the mantle from him after the sale of Fredy Guarin who was the other attack minded midfielder. Kondogbia has the built of Patrick Viera, Paul Pogba or Yaya Toure but has the influence of neither on the game. He looks perpetually like a lost tourist on the pitch. The examples of illustrious players like Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane have been given of other foreign players (coincidentally French) who struggled in their first season and then exploded. We shall see if that is indeed the case with Kondogbia. Mauro Icardi is a player I hate for moral reasons but as a player he is ill-suited to play in the present tactical system. He is not strong enough to hold up the ball on his own, he is not fast enough to get past his man, he can't dribble past his man and he is not capable of doing the extraordinary out of nothing. He is a plain poacher that relies on chances created for him. I don't rate him too highly as a player as well but my judgement of him as a player could be clouded by my opinion of him as a man and it is very embarrassing and an absolute disgrace to see the captain armband on him. Objectively, I can't see him as a leader or possessing any leadership qualities.

At the moment, with the way the team is built and the players at Mancini's disposal, the rest of the season looks doomed and we would be lucky to even qualify for the Europa League let alone the Champions League. Milan's rise is in direct contrast to Inter's fall and theirs is the triumph of good football as they persevered and stuck to their manager who adapted to the squad at his disposal and turned their form around. Good football always prevails and that is my belief. I don't think a week of ritiro will help, rest of the season in ritiro might help. Mancini has to find the answers to arrest this slide and get the team to win again. It's ironic but at times like this, a string of hard fought, backs-to-the wall 1-0 wins would help restore confidence. However, my fear is that if that happens, all will be treated as good again and as fans, we would need to endure some terrible football for a long time. Mancini's second coming has been very disappointing. He has keep calm and get the players to calm down on the field and not get tied down with hounding the referee over every refereeing decision against the team. That just adds to the image of a team that has been built to intimidate which I feel is unbecoming of a big team like Inter and a waste of energy.

My final word is on the owner Erik Thohir. I feel he is more a businessman than an Inter fan. He claims to support Inter but does he really understand football? He is looking almost entirely at the business aspect of the club. I don't feel the passion for the club the way I felt it from Massimo Moratti who we felt is a fan like the rest of us. He made some bad choices and mistakes in the past in terms of his hirings, sackings, signings and sales but all is forgiven because whatever he did, he did it almost firstly as a fan. At least during his reign, he brought fantasy to the fans. I understand and agree that Italian football is no longer what it was in the 90s and doesn't have the financial muscle to compete with other leagues and as such Moratti can't bring fantasy to the fans like he used to but at least he was like one of us and we felt it. It was a big mistake to completely remove Moratti from his role as the owner. It was progressive and humble of the great man to move aside but for the club it hasn't been a great change. One other thing, the team needs identity. We don't have identity if we keep signing foreign players who don't understand what it means to play for Inter and the jersey. We need to have Italian players who understand what it means to play for Inter and to play in the Italian league. It's one thing to say in press conferences that "it is your dream to join Inter", "I know/love Inter" and rattle off names of legends but another to actually know what it means to have the jersey on your back when you step on the field.

Assessing Inter's Rough Patch Of Form

It is never ever acceptable for Inter to lose to Juventus in any match regardless of its nature and the 3-0 humbling Inter took from their arch-rivals away from home will not be easily digested by Inter fans the world over. The defeat just underlines and increases focus on Inter's poor patch of form. It's the first time this season that Inter have hit a rough patch.

All throughout the season, Inter hasn't received much plaudits for their style of play or the manner with which they achieve results. I feel it is fair criticism for Inter have not played very well for much of this season and yet have managed to scrap out wins to reach the higher regions of the league table and for a period of time were top, closing 2015 in top position. In this period, Inter were very solid, tough to break down, determined and united. However, there were also games where Inter played more freely to get their wins by and large though, Inter's football this season have not been pleasant to the eye and it's tough to imagine a side that largely scrapes it's way to the league title in modern football even in a country renowed for tactical football like Italy. Granted, a team worth its salt in emerging as league champions would be one that is solid in defence and is able to scrape out wins or results when the going gets tough and that is a vital component in emerging as champions of Serie A. In those aspects, Inter are on the right track but I personally don't feel a team can play like that for most of the season and win the league title.

The positives that were prevalent in my previous post on Inter. Defensively, Inter are still solid and hard to break down. Inter still remain very well organised and tenacious. Mancini has rotated his squad well and kept everyone on their toes. He has made the side a chameleon, rotating formations to match their opponents. However, individual mistakes are creeping into the defensive third which is one factor why Inter have been dropping points and not winning matches. In the match against Sassuolo, they had to face up to a stupendous display by Antonio Mirante in goal. Inter had enough chances and shots on goal to win two football matches but it wasn't to be in this one. They were caught out on the counter attack as they tried desperately to get one goal at least to win the match, the otherwise excellent Joao Miranda giving away a penalty in stoppage time for Sassuolo to score and condemn Inter to their first defeat of 2016. In the match against Atalanta, Jeison Murillo, another excellent acquisition scored an own goal before Inter grabbed an equaliser ironically through an Atalanta own goal. The team offered little going forward to warrant a win or score a second goal and had the heroics of Samir Handanovic to thank for the win. Inter then beat the impressive Napoli in the Coppa Italia quarter finals for only their second win of 2016. In the match against Carpi, Inter had a good first half where they were in the lead but were slightly lucky that Carpi's first chance of the match was pulled back for a perceived foul on Murillo. In the second half, Roberto Mancini's change of formation disrupted the team's flow and they couldn't adjust as they struggled to create anything of note. A further change to the formation did little to help Inter rediscover it's attacking purpose. Despite that, Inter did create some clearcut chances and there was a particularly clear chance that fell to Mauro Icardi who took too long to get his shot away. Carpi then hit Inter on the counter attack deep in stoppage time to grab an equaliser and set up a variety of puns that were born out of the name of the Carpi goalscorer, Kevin LASAGNA. Finally, there was that heavy and sickening defeat to Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi finals.

Mistakes are creeping into Inter's defence and for a team that has largely depended on its defensive solidity and the excellence of their goalkeeper to win matches, it is proving to be costly mistakes as Inter can't seem to win matches or hang on to leads. The second contributing factor has been apparent all season and that is the lack of creativity in midfield. Mancini had built the midfield to be gritty and workmanlike in the summer. In this aspect, Gary Medel has done very well and he has even dropped back to be an auxiliary centre back with equal comfort and excellence despite the presence of centre backs like Andrea Ranocchia and Juan Jesus in the squad. Felipe Melo has done well as long as he has his head screwed on but unfortunately he has shown to be a ticking time bomb that can explode at any time. Geoffrey Kondogbia who arrived amidst much fanfare in the summer, has been disappointing. I didn't understand the hype over his signing then having not seen him play much previously and I don't understand it now having seen him play. Marcelo Brozovic has been the most potent attacking threat from midfield while Fredy Guarin has just been his usual hit and miss self. Inter has desperately missed the drive and creativity of Mateo Kovacic, who I always felt was going to be a big loss to Inter as he wasn't adequately replaced in the summer. The decision to have a workmanlike, gritty and tenacious midfield is now coming back to bite Inter.

In the attack, Ivan Perisic hasn't looked like his normal self. He has only displayed glimpses of what we know of him in terms of assists, getting past his man and getting shots on target. He has down well in his defensive duties though. Stevan Jovetic started the season explosively but has fizzled out. He is not a number 9 and his natural tendency is to drop back into the number 10 role but yet Mancini plays him as a number 9. He has not developed a good partnership and understanding with Icardi. He did little in the match against Atalanta where he was used from the start but played a crucial part in Inter's Coppa Italia quarter final win against Napoli. His form has been inconsistent and he is not having the impact that is expected of him. Adem Ljajic has been a revelation. He played little early in the season and looked like he was on collision cause with the manager at one stage but he has performed very well recently. He has created a lot of good opportunities for his team-mates and himself and not neglected his defensive duties. Jonathan Biabiany hasn't featured much for me to give an opinion on him, Rodrigo Palacio is the best striker we have got to play the number 9 position offering greater mobility and dexterity than our current number 9, Icardi. Icardi is an over-rated striker. I had stated over the summer that I would have rather Inter cash in on him. He doesn't offer much except waiting for the ball to come to him and that too he is making a royal mess out of getting his shots away or on hitting the target. It has been so frustrating watching Inter squander chances that Mancini offered to show his strikers how it is done and I reckon even at 50, Mancini would be the team's best centre forward if he played.

Overall, the defence is making individual errors, the midfield is not creative enough and the attack is toothless which is why Inter have reach a rough patch. Out of these factors, two factors existed from the start of the season. Inter's midfield was built not to be creative and the attack was always toothless because despite last season's Capocannoniere, Icardi is not a good enough forward to get goals on his own like Ronaldo, Hernan Crespo, Adriano, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Diego Milito were in the past. He plays an old-fashioned game where he needs chances created for him on a platter and it doesn't suit him to play in this team for this Inter is more focused on keeping out their opponents than imposing their game on their opponents and creating their own chances. It's inexplicable why Inter are resorting to play in such way and I have bemoaned the fact all season. I believe football matches are won when you take risks, go forward and create chances to score. It is out of fashion for a team to play ultra-defensive, looking to hit their opponents on the counter and forcing them to make mistakes to score. Such approach is not suitable to be used in modern football and certainly not the way a big team like Inter should be playing. I believe in each season, each team has it's fair share of luck that eventually evens itself out at the end of the season. Inter has used a sizeable chunk of its luck to get to where it is now and it is equalising itself now. Moreover luck favours the brave and if Inter are not brave enough to go forward and create chances, how do they expect to get a little lucky when trying to force a result?

At the onset of the second round of fixtures, I was of the opinion that this would be Mancini's real test this season as Inter tend to struggle in the second half of the season in recent seasons. Inter had a great first half to the season in Andrea Stramaccioni's first full season in 2012-13 and Walter Mazzari's first season in 2013-14 but they struggled badly, failing to qualify for Europe in 2012-13 and just about qualifying for the Europa League in 2013-14, in the second half of the season. It has not been a great start for Inter in the second half of this season so far and you would think that the present squad has more quality than the ones Stramaccioni and Mazzari possessed and would pull through it soon but football is not won on paper. This is the first real challenge for Mancini this season and he has to steady the ship and rediscover the team's form to qualify for the Champions League. Anything short of that would be a failure. All throughout the season, the manager and the Inter hierarchy has downplayed Inter's Scudetto hopes and that should be help to avoid placing more pressure on the team in this rough patch but the team's free fall has seen them slip out of the Champions League positions albeit on goal difference. Time will tell if this is only a temporary blip or a permanent slump and the teams need to win more than one game to be able to get back into the position it wants to be.

In the winter transfer window, Dodo has left to joined Sampdoria on loan which is a valid move because the left full back position has at least 3 options for Mancini to choose from and it could do him some good to get game time elsewhere. Ranocchia's time at Inter was up when Medel was favoured over him in the early parts of the season in some matches when Murillo or Miranda were missing due to injury or suspension. He too has moved on to Sampdoria on loan in his bit to regain his place in Italy's squad for Euro 2016. I feel at this point where Miranda and Murillo are going to be missing through suspension and mistakes are creeping in the defence, he could have been able to lend a hand in shoring up the defence especially with a point to prove in his mind. Guarin has finally left Inter after going close to an exit for the past few transfer windows but there has been no indication at all that Inter would sign someone creative to replace him in this transfer window. There has been talk about signing Roberto Soriano but it doesn't look likely to be concluded in January. Inter is expected to invest on the amount received from Guarin's sale on signing Eder, a signing if it is successful, I would be excited about as Inter would finally get a modern centre forward that can score goals on his own and works for the team (and an Italian international albeit an Oriundi).

Inter has another big match coming up against AC Milan and both teams head into the derby in indifferent form. In such matches, form goes out of the window and this match has draw written all over it on paper. It is a big match for Inter on the back of their poor form. AC Milan needs the points to stay within reach of their objective of at least qualifying for the Europa League and grab some bragging rights as well. Let's see what the derby throws at us.

Assessment Of Inter, The Winter Champions Of Serie A

This is my assessment of Inter's 2015-16 season as of 2015. At the start of the season, I have regularly voiced my displeasure at the style of football I was witnessing, on some of the signings made and on the choice of captain. My views have since changed but not completely.

First, let me speak on the strength of the team, the defence. At the start I have championed the cause of including Andrea Ranocchia as one of the centre backs as a rare Italian player in the team but I hold my hands up and say that the form and quality of Miranda and Jeison Murillo has merited their inclusion. They have formed a great partnership and after so many years, Inter have finally got a solid, stable and sound centre back pairing. Ranocchia's time is likely to be up because Gary Medel has been preferred to play as a centre back whenever Miranda and Murillo been missing through suspension or injury. Miranda, Murillo and Samir Handanovic behind them aside, the team has done very well to defend as an organised unit, making them tough to break down.

I feel Roberto Mancini has done very well to make Inter a tactically flexible side displaying traits of a chameleon. I really admire what Mancini has done tactically and in doing so, he has kept the players available to him on their toes as he has rotated the team from one match to the other to suit the characteristics of their opponents and to enable Inter gets a win. He has been clever in managing a squad of 25 players without any European commitments in midweek. His rotation has had a desired effect with players that were seemingly on their way out of the club performing as well as anyone in the squad when given the chance.

Inter is not playing the most fluent and beautiful football in Italy but have improved in their style of play since the start of the season. It's particularly delightful to see Adem Ljajic, Ivan Perisic, Stevan Jovetic, Rodrigo Palacio and Jonathan Biabiany combining up front because they are all mobile and can interchange positions easily and fluidly. Inter lacks a playmaker in centre midfield which is why the football has not been the most beautiful to watch. It is a deliberate ploy of Mancini to have a gritty, workmanlike and physical midfield. I would still have preferred it if Inter kept Mateo Kovacic and cashed in on Mauro Icardi but I am not Mancini so my opinion on this matter doesn't count. Marcelo Brozovic is the most attack-minded centre midfielder in the squad but he doesn't possess the most creative brain in midfield and has traits that are different to Kovacic.

On Felipe Melo, my opinion on him was changing until he reminded me in the last game of the year why I was upset and apprehensive when he was signed. For a player that is established and experienced at the age of 31, he should have known better on keeping his wits and keeping calm. The foul he gave away for the penalty was needless and really silly. You would expect such an error from an inexperienced player not someone with his experience. He then made things worst by losing his cool and going into a ridiculously high challenge to get himself sent off. To give him credit, he immediately realised his error and apologised but this was the kind of shenanigans we have already witnessed of him during his time at Juventus, Fiorentina and the Brazil national team. He remains a liability. I can understand why Mancini was so desperate to sign him. It is certainly not for his quality as a footballer but for his leadership skills and winning mentality however it's of no use if he is a liability and always capable of getting sent off when he plays. The sending off against Lazio was his second of the season. My opinions on Mauro Icardi has not changed. To his credit, he did well against Udinese and deserved to be dropped in the matches he was dropped. I just hope Inter cashes in on him and sell him. The sooner, the better.

Inter are the winter champions but it means little at this point of the time as winning the Scudetto in May is what matters the most. The expectations in the club are still modest and that is of Champions League qualification. We shall see where Inter are when they reach March. In the last few seasons, Inter have struggled the most and not done too well in the second half of the season so this season's second half of the season will be a good indication of the team's progress under Mancini.

1-0 To Inter Again.

As I settled in to watch Inter take on Torino in the week's early kickoff (7.30pm in Singapore), I knew I wasn't expecting to be entertained. I knew both sides would look to hit the other on the counter attack. If anything, Torino were more likely to be dominant and attacking in its style as they were playing at home. What I didn't expect though was that Inter would have the ability to put me to sleep by the end of the first half even for a match that kicked off at 7.30pm! The first half was that boring as both sides waited for the other to attack. I am putting the blame on Inter because they are my team and I expect them to do better even if it's silly of me to expect Inter to be an attacking and entertaining side after what I have seen of them so far this season.

Remarkably, Inter had taken the lead in the first half with their first shot on target and it was a well-worked move. Yuto Nagatomo's free kick was flicked on by Rodrigo Palacio for Geoffrey Kondogbia to volley in his first goal for the club. A few minutes prior to that, former Inter youth product, Marco Benassi curled a brilliant effort from the edge of the box but was unlucky to see the shot crash off the crossbar. In the second half, Torino decided to take initiative of the game to increase their tempo and attack more. Inter held firm as a defensive unit and were happy to just sit back and defend, showing no desire to go forward and get a second goal. Whenever, the defence was breached, Samir Handanovic was there to thwart Torino attacks and performed his customary superhero act once early in the second half. He saved twice in quick succession from Fabio Quagliarella and Andrea Belotti. His displays remind me of Francesco Toldo, the other superhero Inter goalkeeper that I know of and have seen. Whenever the ball did break for an Inter counter-attack, Inter's attackers especially substitute Ivan Perisic didn't look interested to score. There was a point when Gary Medel was playing further forward closer to Perisic and Adem Ljajic but not exactly in his ideal position. In the end, Inter held firm in defence to keep out Torino rather comfortably and defy all logic to rack up 3 more points and go top temporarily at least pending Fiorentina's result against Sampdoria later in the day.

First let me address what I feel is good about this Inter side. Roberto Mancini has really worked on the defensive organisation of this team. It is very difficult to breach the Inter defence conceding only 7 goals all season. I have to admit that Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo have been excellent signings so far and they have contributed to Inter's excellent defensive record this season and their solidity as a pair and the presence of players like Felipe Melo and Medel in front of the defence has assisted them too. Individually and collectively, the team has defended robustly and stoutly and overall, the team has looked really solid and it is breeding confidence in the team with each passing game. Next, I feel Mancini has done well to implement tactical flexibility in the side to counter different opponents. He has taken full advantage of not playing in Europe to do so. It is clear that this Inter is not built to take the initiative in games and attack therefore it's strategy is to adapt to the opponents and counter their threat. They have implemented that strategy well except in the only match they have lost this season, against Fiorentina. Finally, I like what Mancini is doing with the squad by giving everyone some game time, fully utilising the squad despite not having any European games in midweek and everyone is kept on their toes. The only player that has not played a part yet or from the start at least is Martin Montoya. By doing this, he has also helped raise the level of players that were previously on the transfer market like Nagatomo and Danilo D'Ambrosio. I favour Andrea Ranocchia as a rare Italian in the squad but to be frank, his performances last season hasn't helped his cause. Let's see if and when he gets the opportunity, would he be able to take it and show his improvement or is he permanently doomed due to Miranda and Murillo's performances this season.

Now on what I don't like about this Inter side. I feel the team is too passive in its approach. I feel the team has been lucky so far to score whenever they have scored. The goals have been either spectacular, well worked, scrappy, through a penalty or from taking advantage of an opponent's error. We have not seen Inter as an attacking force at all and according to what we have seen, it looks unlikely that we shall see it this season. Inter looks content to go through the entire season winning 1-0. Whatever I have read from Inter's coaching staff, Mancini, owner, Erick Thohir and directors, seem to suggest an acceptance of the present style of play. It seems to suggest that entertaining the fans and playing attacking football is far secondary to obtaining results. The criticism of the Inter side doesn't bother anyone as long as the team keeps winning. I feel it is unbecoming of a big side like Inter to play in such an unadventurous style and rely solely on its defence to win. It is provincial and backward mentality. For all the quality amassed in the squad, Inter should be more than capable in playing a better style of football. I can't understand why on earth would Mancini resort to playing in such a way. There have been parallels drawn with the Manchester City side that he managed to the Premier League title due to the physicality in the Inter side but that is where the parallels end. City were more attacking and actually won the title due to a better goal difference. This Inter has not managed more than a goal a game.

On the owner Erick Thohir, I feel he is not good for the development of Italian football. He is clearly in it for financial gains. All he cares about is that Inter meets the goal its been set regardless of how its achieved. What he fails to realise is that if Inter keeps playing like that, they will not gain many new followers. They might achieve the goals and objectives of the project which is namely Champions League qualification this season but no-one would want to follow a side that bores spectators especially not in modern-day football where every side worth its salt as a big team is playing or looking to play an attacking style. He wants to make the San Siro Inter's but that is something a lot of Italian clubs are working on after Juventus managed to do it. A lot of Italian clubs know that they need to privatise their stadiums for greater monetary gains as well as for modernisation purposes. Thohir doesn't care about the development of Italian football from its youth level. He doesn't care about having local players in the team, he doesn't care about having local representation in the team from the youth ranks. He just wants the best people on the job which extends to the boardroom regardless of nationality which is fine on a meritocratic level. I cannot just blame him only for doing that because many other clubs have the same mentality. Most have the mentality of just wanting what is best for their club and have no thought on what is good for the development of the game on a national level. It is fine as well if he thinks about the good of Inter as a club because that has to be the objective but the football business cannot be run in the same way as other businesses. I get a feeling that he is less a football person and more a businessman which unfortunately is the stereotype of an Asian football owner.

Defence 1 Attack 0

To be honest, I did not expected Inter to beat Roma on Sunday. I had expected a draw or a defeat on the back of another boring, laboured performance against Bologna last Tuesday. It has been uninspiring for most or all season, not inspiring enough for me to wake up in the wee hours of the morning for the second time in a week. I was surprised to find out when I woke up that Inter had beaten Roma. I was not surprised at the scoreline though. Upon further investigation (pardon the police lingo), I was pleasantly surprised to note that Danilo D'Ambrosio made his first start of the season and more importantly (for me at least), there was no Mauro Icardi! I felt like an idiot for missing the match. Icardi didn't even come on in the second half so that's no Icardi at all for the entire game. It called for something I rarely do, record the re-run of the game.

After watching the re-run, these are my observations, it was pretty equal between Inter and Roma in the first half until the screamer from Gary Medel. The identity of the goalscorer was unexpected. I had never seen him try something like that at all from watching him at Cardiff City, Chile and then Inter. I didn't think he was even capable of that but it was a great goal nevertheless and I was delighted for him. He has been a great signing for Inter. He is tenacious, reads the game well and does a great job as a defensive midfielder. A great replacement for Esteban Cambiasso with the difference being that the Argentine legend was always capable of popping up with a goal occasionally and he has scored some great ones along the way. Inter clearly had a game plan to counter Roma. In attack, it was 4-3-3 and while defending it was 4-5-1. The discipline of Ivan Perisic and Adem Ljajic to drop back into midfield to defend was impressive but I was particularly impressed by Ljajic. I was surprised at his display. I didn't expect him to defend so well and with such discipline. He did well to assist D'Ambrosio on the right wing to counter the threat of Gervinho and Lucas Digne.I was not surprised with D'Ambrosio's performance as I have seen what he is capable of last season. He slotted in at right back almost seamlessly in his first start of the season. On the opposite flank, Yuto Nagatomo made his second start of the season but it was one thing to play against Palermo and another to face an Inter legend, Maicon and a speed demon in Mohamed Salah. He had help from Perisic who I was not surprised of because he looked like the type of winger who would track back and help in defence. Inter sat back and invited Roma on to them, looking to hit them on the break. They made it tough for Roma in the first half to gain much headway going forward largely due to the defensive shape and organisation but sat too dangerously deep in the second half.

The front three of Balkan/Eastern European talents in Perisic, Ljajic and Stevan Jovetic were refreshingly mobile. It was the most exciting we have been in attack all season although neither scored. There was obvious potential in the trio but unfortunately not much was seen of them as an attacking force due to the defensive duties they had to carry out. Inter vs Roma pitted the best defence in Serie A against the best attack in Serie A and in the second half it was literally defence vs attack something one would have seen practiced on the training grounds. Nagatomo had a great game. He dealt with the threat of Salah first and when he didn't get much success on that flank, Gervinho switched flanks to try his luck and he too failed to get the better of the Japanese. It was a blow for Inter to lose the goalscorer, Medel and the team did look a little disjointed while trying to cope with his lost. Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo did the best they could in central defence but Edin Dzeko did manage to get the better of them on occasions but thankfully he didn't cause any lasting damage on Inter.

Then came the outstanding performance of Samir Handanovic. There were some speculative attempts that was easily saved by the big Slovenian and then he had to make some tougher saves but the pick of the bunch was when he made four saves consecutively in a minute. Super Handanovic
Inter have relied heavily on him for the past two seasons and his quality came to the fore again for Inter. Handanovic was again absolutely crucial in helping Inter get a big win (not in terms of score but in terms of value). The sending off of Miralem Pjanic did help Inter's cause as Roma lost arguably their most creative source and a great threat from set pieces especially directly from free kicks. Inter won once again thanks to a great goal and great tactical, defensive display. Every player played their part. My star men were Handanovic and Nagatomo. Defence won on the night. It was not the most attractive or entertaining football we would watch all season as Inter fans or as neutrals but strangely enough, I feel contented at the end of the match considering the fact that I have been complaining/moaning all season on the defensive, boring displays of the team. Maybe the absence of Icardi had something to do with it.

Next for Inter is a lunchtime kick off against Torino at Stadio Olimpico. The timing of the kickoff and the quality of the opponents will pose a stern challenge and I wouldn't be surprised to see another display of defensive discipline looking to hit on counter, relying on a scrappy or marvellous goal to win it. There is a doubt on the fitness of Medel and I am afraid that in his absence, Felipe Melo will be reinstated. Fredy Guarin is suspended so there is vacancy for one midfielder and that could be between Melo and Geoffrey Kondogbia if Medel is fit enough to start. I am not sure if D'Ambrosio and Nagatomo would start although based on their previous performance, they deserve to start as does Marcelo Brozovic. I hope the Balkan attacking trio of Perisic, Jovetic and Ljajic keeps their place instead of seeing Icardi reinstated in the starting lineup.

Another Boring Win But Yet Exciting Elsewhere In Serie A

Bologna vs Inter at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara always reminds me of the match on the second week of the 1997-98 season, an exciting thriller that ended 4-2 in Inter's favour. The match on Tuesday was anything but a thriller. Inter had possession, Bologna had possession but both teams hardly created much of note. Ivan Perisic was getting into good positions on the wing due to his pace but he was putting in bad crosses that created no danger at all for Bologna's defence. He had a great opportunity to give Inter the lead but he headed wide when it seem easier to score. It was evidently not his day. The closest Bologna came to scoring in the first half was through a mazy dribble from Alex Ferrari who beat a few players only to have his shot blocked.

In the first half, it had seemed that if he is not careful, Geoffrey Kondogbia would get sent off for collecting 2 yellow cards as a result of his repeated fouls but in the second half, it was his midfield partner, Felipe Melo who was sent off for collecting 2 yellow cards in 7 minutes. Inter reacted by playing better and scored the only goal of the game when Marcelo Brozovic's pass was not cut out by a Bologna defender and it went through to Adem Ljajic who set up his captain, Mauro Icardi for a simple tap in. There was no real danger to Inter's goal despite being down to 10 minutes until the last minute of the match, in injury time when a former product of Inter's youth set-up, Mattia Destro found himself in acres of space yards away from goal, volleyed at goal only to be denied by a splendid save by Samir Handanovic.

Once again, it was far from fluent Inter going forward but rock solid at the back and hard to penetrate. Ljajic made his first start and was the most vibrant and dangerous Inter attacker. Being objective, Icardi is a striker that thrives on supply. He is not a player that can create chances on his own like Ronaldo or Adriano did in the past. He is most dangerous in the box when chances are created for him. He is not in the same mould as Christian Vieri, Hernan Crespo or Diego Milito who could do something even with half a chance or out of nothing at all. A player that I feel is similar to Icardi would be Giampaolo Pazzini, another striker that relied a lot on the service he got to score. Pazzini, being an Italian was sold after a poor season while Icardi at the moment is the Inter captain and has kept his place in the starting line up so far. The Inter captain is struggling to score because Inter as a whole has struggled to create chances as an attacking outlet going forward. This is an area that Roberto Mancini has to fix and find the solution to because at the moment, Inter is relying on scrappy goals, mistakes and great goals to score.

Melo's sending off comes as no surprise to me as he has shown himself to be more interested in kicking his opponents than playing the ball. I still don't understand what Mancini sees in Melo. I can understand what he brings in terms of personality and character but in terms of his quality as a player, he is by no means like Claude Makelele, Patrick Viera, Roy Keane, Gennaro Gattuso or our very own club legend, Esteban Cambiasso. If he has been signed for the reason of injecting some personality and character into the team, then I feel Mancini should keep him as part of the squad and not as a starter as Gary Medel has superior quality as a defensive central midfielder. Medel is less prone to kicking his opponents as he reads the game well but yet isn't afraid to put himself about if he needs to.

This season, Serie A has been refreshing and interesting as there are more teams capable of winning the title. Teams have taken advantage of Juventus' struggles this season. It is refreshing to see an actual contest that could hopefully go down to the last day of the season instead of witnessing one side being the ultra dominant force, running away with the title. Juventus deserves credit for winning the last 4 Scudetti and for the unrelentless pace and high level of consistency set by them from the start to finish. The chasing pack in those seasons deserve criticism for not being consistent enough and being incapable of sustaining the intensity and pace to match Juventus. They deserve the criticism for bottling it. In my opinion, Napoli are flying at the moment, playing very good football and scoring lots of goals. They have never been goal shy but the difference is that I feel Maurizio Sarri is doing a good job to keep them grounded and added some steel into the team as well as getting the team to enjoy themselves on the pitch which is something they evidently did not do last season under Rafa Benitez. Roma, have started well in Italy but their struggles in Europe leaves some doubt in my mind on their ability to sustain their leadership. I feel Roma is missing some solidity in defence and are perhaps lacking in their ability to cope with pressure and seeing out games. They have done pretty well in Italy but got to improve in Europe. Their performances in Europe have had no effect on their form in Italy so far so let's see how they do as the season unfolds.

Fiorentina have played good football but seem to have something missing in their side. They have been punished lately for not finishing chances and have conceded goals on the counter attack to lose games. You can say they might not have the rub of the green in their favour but you could also argue that they have not actually created their own luck and have only themselves to blame. They are only a couple of points off the top so they are still in with a shout but they got to start finishing better while being mindful and solid in defence. Mancini has built an Inter team that bullies and is physical. It is not attractive but the solidity at the back has helped keep clean sheets and eke out points. It is far from the complete or finished Inter side as it is a team with a lot of newcomers over the summer. This Inter team is a team that has not fully gel yet. I can only hope as a fan, that Inter will play better in the near future because it has been boring to watch so far. I find it odd that Mancini would build a team to be physical when he was an attacker that had creativity and skill as a player. He played for teams that played good football and yet is building a team that relies on its physique and defensive strength. Perhaps his earlier experiences of not winning while playing good football has shaped his ideology to be as such today.

I will not discount Juventus just yet but it will require an almighty collapse from the leading pack as well as great powers of recovery from Juventus to win their fifth Scudetti in a row. Overall, I hope we witness an exciting Serie A title race that is won by the team that plays the best football.

Draw Derby

The latest edition of the Derby D'Italia took place last Sunday on the 18th of October 2015. Inter entered the match as favourites due to a better start to the season compared to their fierce rivals. However, realistically, with the quality that Juventus possess as well as the fact that in derbies, the form book goes out of the window, I found it tough to feel comfortable with the favourites tag attached to Inter. I also found it odd that at such an early stage of the season, the media and pundits were billing this tie as a must-win tie for Juventus and a defeat would mean an end to their Scudetto hopes. It's only the 8th league match of the season not the 36th or 37th.

The choreography from the Inter fans was fantastic and commendable. It caught the eye of Inter players that had newly joined the club and I was very impressed by it. Inter had a good first half but sat back too much in the 2nd half to have any meaningful impact going forward. Overall, it was a fair result with a half dominated by either side. In the aftermath of the match, Cesare Prandelli had said that both teams played with the fear of losing. I feel Juventus were probably more fearful to lose than Inter. In Inter's case, it was just another game of a team finding its feet with the plethora of changes in personnel in the summer.

I would commend Roberto Mancini for dropping Geoffrey Kondogbia who has been underwhelming so far, a fact recognised by his national team manager Didier Deschamps who dropped him for the latest round of France's international matches. Marcelo Brozovic played in his place and came close to scoring with a great effort that was tipped onto the bar by Gianluigi Buffon. However, I don't feel Brozovic had a great impact on the match to do his chances any good. With the partnership of Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo reunited, Mancini fielded Gary Medel in midfield alongside Felipe Melo and Brozovic. In my opinion, there should be space for only one defensive midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation that Mancini used and that midfielder should be Medel as he is a much better player than Melo is (or ever will be). Stevan Jovetic had a great game but unfortunately the players around him were either too defensive minded or didn't have the desired impact. I was very impressed and pleased with Jovetic's performance.

Ivan Perisic didn't do much and I was very impressed by how he was marshalled by the older and slower Andrea Barzagli. Barzagli not only dealt with the threat of Perisic but he pushed forward to support the attack in the second half. The lesser said about Mauro Icardi the better. If you have read my past posts, you would know by now that I don't rate him highly as a person or a player. Put this into perspective, he was the Serie A top scorer last season but didn't make it into the Argentina squad for the Copa America over the summer even I do have to admit that Argentina is presently blessed with riches up front. He still couldn't make it into Argentina's latest squad despite Lionel Messi's unavailability. Perhaps, Argentina are making a moral decision not to call him up but hey, at least someone has the balls to be morally right. It is embarrassing that Inter have not only kept him at the club with a new contract, they have even made him the club captain!

Adem Ljajic was dropped completely from the squad and I wonder why. He seems to be trouble from the time Inter signed him and something doesn't seem right between him and Mancini. On Inter's performance, I was pleased with Jovetic's contribution and creativity. At least someone is providing some creativity in the team. I am waiting for Perisic to start performing because with him and Jovetic in full flow (and maybe Ljajic if he can sort things out), Inter could become exciting to watch again. One defensive midfielder should be dropped between Melo and Medel (Melo! Please drop him!) unless Mancini plays with a 4-2-3-1 (even then Melo shouldn't start!). In a 4-2-3-1, I feel Kondogbia should start as the one of the 2 alongside Medel and could be very beneficial as the box-to-box midfielder breaking up attacks in his own half and going forward to support the attack in the opponents' half. I was surprised to see Juan Jesus start in place of Alex Telles and Jesus did very well defensively.

To be fair, I feel Inter is playing better now than they did early in the season when they were winning matches but logically, it will take time for the team to gel and play better. Let's see what Inter are capable of achieving as the season transpires. Next would be a trip to Palermo. It is a tricky match because no-one knows what to expect from them and they seem to do better when they play against bigger clubs.

Inter WLD

Following on from my post yesterday on Manchester United, this is my review on Internazionale Milano. 

Inter played Hellas Verona and won 1-0 to stay top with 5 wins out of 5 matches. A perfect record and a new club record. It sounds pleasant but the football has been anything but pleasant. The Inter camp were pretty bullish about the football played with a devil may care attitude. Who cares about entertaining, good football as long as we win. That's what they say but it grated at me because I know Inter can't go on playing like that and getting away with it. Things got to change before Inter are caught out.

Next for Inter was an early top-of-the-table clash against Fiorentina. Inter's next big test after the Milan derby. I didn't watch the match as it wasn't shown "live" in Malaysia. I wasn't surprised to know that Inter lost but I was rather surprised at the scoreline. I would say it was coming as Inter have been getting away with it from the start of the season.

I can't comment on the football played as I didn't watch the match but based on what I have read, Fiorentina deserved the win as they played better. In a strange way, I was happy because good football prevailed and I hope it serves as a lesson to Roberto Mancini and his coaching staff that they got to play better if they are to win matches and trophies. Victories can be eked out when the going gets tough and it's not exactly your day, that is a sign of a champion team. You can get lucky in some matches but you can't eke out results every single game and get lucky all the time.

Finally last weekend, I managed to catch Inter play against Sampdoria away at the Luigi Ferraris stadium after missing the last 2 matches. From the start, Inter were on the backfoot and Sampdoria hit Inter with rapid counter-attacks. Inter lacked the ability to retain possession and the guile or pace to create chances at the start. Slowly, Inter grew into the match and got better but Sampdoria continued to create better chances. Sampdoria had an incredible miss in the first half through Joaquin Correa who somehow put his shot wide in front of a gaping goal. Inter had a good chance too when Fredy Guarin lacked the awareness around him to rush an acrobatic volley over when in acres of space, yards away from goal.

Sampdoria then took a deserved lead on another of their rapid counter-attacks through Luis Muriel who had already fired one effort wide before scoring minutes later. Inter to their credit got a deserved equaliser after huffing and puffing for the most of the second half. There was no better person to score than Ivan Perisic who was arguably Inter's best player. He put in a great shift and I was particularly impressed by the effort and commitment shown to track back and break up attacks. Overall, I feel it was a deserved result and if anything, Inter were more likely to grab the winner the longer the match went. It was probably as good as I have seen Inter play all season but with lots of room for improvement. 

Adem Ljajic had a good cameo appearance but I have read that he was punished for lack of effort in training which is why he only got 5 minutes against Sampdoria. For a player that has a bit of a reputation of a troublemaker with a contentious past, that doesn't bode well in the dressing room especially if it's not dealt well internally. 

After the international break, Inter face Juventus and it doesn't come bigger than that. More than performance, a victory is needed in this one. It would be a bonus if victory is achieved with a good performance. Mancini would have to take stock of the internationals coming back from international duty before making plans to face Juventus.

Final word on Mancini, I love the style of football he employed early in his first stint at Inter before resorting to a more physical approach in his later years to win the Scudetto which to be honest was not hard to achieve when your rivals are severely weakened due to the Calciopoli sanctions. I would want him to return to that style of football with steel added to the side to avoid conceding so many goals. Unfortunately, I don't think it's possible as Mancini has the belief that football and trophies can be won through a physical approach. 

In the larger scheme of things, I don't mind if any team outside of Juventus or AC Milan win the Scudetto as long as they achieve it with good football. I wouldn't even begrudge Juventus or Milan if they can win the Scudetto with good football. I genuinely believe a team that plays attacking football with intensity and tactical flexibility can win the Scudetto. The league needs a revolution like that to make others sit up, take notice and follow suit.  

Boring, Boring Internazionale!

After watching Inter extend its winning start to the Serie A season which equals the previous best start to a season (under Hector Cuper in the 2002-03 season), a penny dropped in me on what to expect of Inter 2015-16. I found contentment at the end of the match replacing the frustration and dismay I felt since pre-season. It was like I had reached enlightenment. We shall go through more of that later but first my views on the match.

As an attacking force, Inter offered little. It was nothing more than what we have seen in the previous matches, some dangerous forays into the opponents half and some nearly moments. I struggle to think of any clear-cut chance we created until the goal before half-time. It was a goal scored by my enemy in my colours and that too with a hint of luck as the ball could have very nearly not got through to him. It wasn't exactly an inch-perfect pass but Mauro Icardi deserves credit for making the most of it to score. That goal just epitomises his talent in the box. Geoffrey Kondogbia deserves the credit for picking him out. It wasn't Pirlo-esque but efficient. I was pleased to see Inter score and take the lead but honestly, the identity of the scorer didn't leave me feeling pumped. Defensively, we were rock solid and steady especially in the second half when we didn't give Chievo even a sniff at our goal. Samir Handanovic had an easy outing. In the absence of Joao Miranda, I would have preferred to see Andrea Ranocchia given a chance to play and stake a claim in the side but the performance of Gary Medel in the last two matches vindicates his inclusion as a centre back. Medel was brilliant in his defending and especially his reading of the game. Murillo put in a more solid performance than he did against Milan but had to retire from the match earlier than expected due to an injury. Ranocchia did finally make a appearance as Murillo's replacement but he looks like a player short on confidence and feeling sorry for himself. If I could, I would just like to say to him that this is not the time to feel sorry and wallow in self-pity, it's time to prove the manager wrong and the only way he can do that is to be brilliant in every moment he gets on the field. He might just finally get his chance this midweek against Hellas Verona with Miranda and Murillo likely to be out injured.

How Felipe Melo was not even yellow carded in the game it beats me, pun intended as that was his objective. He was aggressive throughout,sometimes a bit more so and one day, someone will notice it and it could land the team into trouble if he is not careful and is more interested in kicking lumps out of his opponents. To be fair, he wasn't very dirty against Chievo. He was fine except on a few occasions but I still feel he could have got a yellow card for at least one of his challenges. I was most impressed by him when he went over to Stevan Jovetic, who looked frustrated and unhappy at being brought off, to calm him down so that he doesn't speak out of turn to the manager or displays an ugly behaviour in public. That was a mark of a leader and a strong character. Kudos to Melo for that but I am not impressed by his footballing ability. Ivan Perisic went on a great run in the second half, bursting with pace and leaving defenders in his wake, to remind us why he was bought. I hope to see that more often because that was the most exciting thing an Inter player did all game in the attacking third. Jovetic, looks a little lost and frustrated with what is expected of him tactically which is a shame as a player like him needs to be free to create and be a thorn for the opposing defenders. Kondogbia, has gone about his job quietly but for a player that was bought for such a high fee, he is offering little. What is he supposed to do on the field? I haven't fully figured that out. He looks like a box-to-box midfielder but hasn't made the impact expected of such a player. He wears the look of a man that is just there to do his job as well as wearing a quizzical look on his face almost wondering what is he doing there and how did he get there. It doesn't look like he speaks much and commands much on the pitch but that could be down to the lack of proficiency in the Italian language. I still feel he is over-rated especially for the price we paid for him. Maybe he has been made to wear the proverbial tactical shackles and if he is unshackled we will see an explosive player. At the moment we are seeing a tame and timid player. It was nice to see Palacio play a cameo role and do well. It's wonderful to see Santon doing well, oddly enough (or not), the only Italian in the starting eleven for the first 4 matches of an ITALIAN club. I would want to see Adam Ljajic play and from what I have read of him, he is not someone who will take kindly to being left on the bench for long so man-management is going to be important here for Roberto Mancini and the good of the squad.

Now back to the point of enlightenment, Inter 2015-16 is not built to excite with its style of play. It is build to grind out results. It has been built to be dogged and determined. It has been built to be solid at the back first. It is meant to be efficient and muscular which is why players like Melo and Kondogbia were bought. It also explains why Guarin starts over Brovozic and why Kovacic was sold instead of Icardi. Excitement of any kind going forward will be provided by Perisic, Ljajic, Jovetic, Biabiany and Palacio. It looks like any major threat going forward and the most beautiful pieces of play will come down the flanks and not through the centre. When Roberto Mancini won the Scudetto post-Calciopoli, he had built a muscular squad then that played to the strengths of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Icardi doesn't have the talent of Ibrahimovic to win matches on his own with a piece of magic but it looks like he is building a muscular side again but this time to feed Icardi with opportunities to score.

The challenge Mancini would face is in keeping the players motivated, fresh and to keep spirits high in the dressing room. Besides involvement in the Serie A, Inter would only be involved in the Coppa Italia and that in itself will ensure Inter is fresher than its opponents as they have only one game a week to prepare for. Mancini is right not to rotate the squad too much and to retain the players in the starting line-up base on merit but with the quantity and arguably even the quality in the squad, it will be difficult to keep everyone motivated and happy if he doesn't rotate players around a bit. It might have a negative effect on the team as well as it could cause someone to upset the apple-cart, causing friction in the dressing room. Rotating would also help keep everyone on their toes as well. Spirits are high in the dressing room because the team is doing well now. We will only see the true spirit, strength and character of the squad of when the chips are down.

So far Inter have been grinding out results without looking particularly pleasing to the eye but the objective doesn't seem to be to entertain but just to win. However, Serie A is a tactical league and before long, the team's tactics will be figured out and if there is no Plan B, it could backfire very badly when the flaws of the system had been found out by the opponents. It's tough for me to see Inter just grinding out results for the rest of the season. We have been winning by the odd goal in matches by creating little. Inter cannot go on creating little if they are to win football matches because there will come a time when Inter has to chase the lead or break the deadlock and by creating little, Inter will not be able to achieve either. It is still a team settling in but I hope the team starts creating and scoring more soon. I doubt the team will be pleasing to the eye and exciting to watch though but it still needs to do more going forward.

I wouldn't say I am delighted with the direction Inter is taking despite my enlightenment. I still feel it is not the right way to go about it but if Inter win the Scudetto in May or at least wins the Coppa Italia, I would have lesser to complain. For now, while they are still successful, all hail Boring, Boring Internazionale!

On Roberto Mancini, he had built exciting sides when he first took charge of Inter in 2004-05 and 2005-06. However, the lack of Scudetto successes (courtroom awarded Scudetto notwithstanding) and a multitude of draws has lead to a more pragmatic approach. He builds teams to win by buying players. He doesn't exactly patiently develops players as youngsters which is not exactly the kind of profile of a manager I would employ. Unfortunately, I am not Erick Thohir and I am not rich enough to buy over the club and run it my way. I am just a fan voicing my views through my blog.

Back On Top But I Remain Upset

Internazionale vs AC Milan, the Milan derby, known in Italy as the Derby Della Madonnina used to be a match that showcased some of the best players in the world. It is a derby unlike any in the world. It is probably the only derby in the world where the fans arrive and leave together on derby day with a rivalry and intensity that lasts for 90 minutes only. It is not uncommon to see Inter and AC Milan fans go back to the same home after the game. It is a derby characterised by a majestic show of choreography by the fans in the stands before the match mocking each other in a good natured manner.

Sunday saw Inter play the role of hosts in a stadium shared by both teams. Inter had won 2 out of 2 and Milan had won 1 and lost 1 in their respective first 2 matches of the season. Both teams have had a number of mediocre seasons and had undergone major rebuilding during the summer transfer window to promise a return to their glory days in the near future. Most of the match was contested in the midfield and in all fairness, a draw would have been the most deserving result. Inter had a nervy start with new signing Jeison Murillo in particular making some mistakes to allow AC Milan a glimpse at the goal but Samir Handanovic pulled off a couple of great stops to keep Inter in the game as he had done for a lot of the last two seasons.Overall, AC Milan had created clear-cut chances albeit capitalising from mistakes made by Inter. Inter in contrast lacked creativity and fluidity to create any chances. The nearest they got to scoring was a long range effort from Stevan Jovetic. Inter started to threaten more in the second half and Fredy Guarin had a couple of half-chances, one saved by Diego Lopez and another headed over before scoring the only goal of the game out of nothing with a shot from distance. Milan didn't threaten an equaliser until the introduction of the enigmatic, moody but talented Mario Balotelli who had a free-kick saved by Handanovic and another effort that crashed off the bottom of the post. Inter won 1-0 relying largely on a gritty performance and moments of individual quality at both ends of the field.

I have a lot to be upset and even disillusionised with the current Inter squad and the summer transfer dealings of the club. I am even losing my connection to the club and it is a testing time for me at the moment for my allegiance and loyalty to the club. I describe myself as an unique Inter fan. I don't know many Inter fans personally and I doubt they would share or understand my sentiments now and from listening to me, you might think I am a fan of a club that has started the season poorly. Inter might be top but we have won all matches so far by a slender margin without playing particularly well. Looking at it positively, winning this way is a sign of a champion team and champions have to be able to win without playing well. However, if this continues, Inter will get found out and get caught, the bubble will burst and when that happens, it will all come crashing to the ground. At the moment, almost everyone of Inter persuasion and allegiance is on the moon and excited at the start we have made but honestly, I feel we have been lucky. Results matter the most in Italy thus the optimism and excitement. For me, results and performances are equally important. I don't mind losing by playing well because sooner or later, we will start winning and when we start, we would be difficult to stop. I understand that it is impossible to play well in every game of the season and there could be matches where you would need to eke out results but playing well is important. I understand that this is a new Inter team that has lots of new arrivals and would need time to gel and maybe then we will see Inter playing well. It's great that Roberto Mancini recognises that the team has not achieved anything and not reached its maximum potential yet. It is expected of someone with his experience. Let's see if the performances get any better in the coming weeks

Back to the issue of my disillusionment and lack of connect with the club. Let me just briefly state the points. First, I have been upset for many seasons now at the lack of Italian representation in the first team. We have not signed many Italians and many Italians have not made it into the first team through Inter's youth team via loan spells elsewhere. It just feels that Italians are purposely marginalised and foreigners are favoured in the club's signing process. I am a fan long enough to know that the club's foundation is based on the concept of internalisation thus the club name and accepting foreigners into the team but it remains an Italian club and it needs to have Italians in the team.

Secondly, was it really necessary to sign and sell all these players in the summer. The sale of Xherdan Shaqiri and Mateo Kovacic in particular were upsetting and I feel they were totally unnecessary. We have replaced Shaqiri with the signing of Ivan Perisic, Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic but Kovacic has not been replaced and we might suffer from the lack of creativity in midfield. Perisic, Jovetic and Ljajic are creative but none of them operate as midfielders. Signing Geoffrey Kondogbia was fine but for the sum that he was signed for, considering the club is in debt, I feel was excessive. He hasn't set the world alight yet with his performances and has looked pretty ordinary. The signing of Murillo has been a good decision but he should have been paired with Andrea Ranocchia. Joao Miranda has done well too. Nemanja Vidic, with all due respect and fondness I have for him, could have been an option to be sold not Marco Andreolli. Martin Montoya looks like he was signed to be an understudy which is fair enough because he was signed on loan and Inter needs cover at right back. Was the signing of Alex Telles really necessary? Maybe it is because the manager doesn't have faith in Yuto Nagatomo, who for all my fondness for him, should have been sold. I agree with the sale of Joel Obi, Ruben Botta and Hernanes. Perhaps Fredy Guarin should have been sold too if we needed more cash to reduce debts.

Now to my main beef from the summer transfer dealings, the signing of Felipe Melo and not selling Mauro Icardi. Why was Melo signed for? The real reason would be that he adds experience in centre midfield, brings personality and character to the team and dressing room and has the faith of the manager. He did do a good job in midfield until Balotelli came on but I don't have faith in his qualities and after selling Kovacic, signing another defensive midfielder who is mainly going to kick lumps out of his opponents is not the way to go. Gary Medel our number 1 defensive midfielder can kick lumps out of his opponents and is intelligent enough to read the game well. We should be looking to sign a deep-lying playmaker. In the first place, we shouldn't even sell Kovacic. If there was someone that we should have cashed in on for a big sum, it would have been Icardi. He finished last season as Capocannoniere but he is not a striker that can get goals on his own. He needs the supply to score. This season he has looked very ordinary having played one full game in the pocket of Alessio Romagnoli and another for a short while after he got injured minutes in the first half. If the creative talents of Perisic, Ljajic and Jovetic work, he would get chances to score if not, he would been starved and ineffective. A striker that relies solely on chances created for him to score can be replaced easier than a creative talent like Kovacic thus making it wiser to sell Icardi instead of Kovacic. To add salt into my wounds and to rub it in for me, he has now been made club captain. MAURO ICARDI! THE CAPTAIN OF INTER?! It is an absolute disgrace that the captaincy that was worn with great honour by great men not just footballers like Giacinto Facchetti, Giuseppe Bergomi and Javier Zanetti is now worn by an immoral man like Icardi. It is a disgrace! At the moment, the jersey still remains the best thing about this season. It is testing for me but I will keep pledging my allegiance to the club.