Not only does Luciano Spalletti unequivocally know his best starting 11, he is also seeing them stay relatively injury free and what’s more, they are performing. With these factors in place it is easy to see why some on the fringes of the Inter squad may become despondent as their comrades in arms take all the credit for their lofty second place standing. The Coppa Italia may offer some hope however, as especially in the early rounds it will allow some of those in the shadows of San Siro to eventually show what they are made of.
Not many eyes would have been fixed on the game at the Sardegna Arena this week as Pordenone took on Cagliari. The Serie C side came with few fans and even fewer hopes but there was to be an upset on the cards. A 2-1 away win for the away side set up a tie with Inter in San Siro on Dec 12th. Not only will this be an experience for Pordenone, but it will also allow Spalletti to look to his bench as he will be hoping to keep his main squad injury free.
Inter’s bench is certainly not littered with rubbish, on the contrary, it has experience, misunderstood talent and promise. Perhaps some of the most recent omissions from Inter’s starting eleven are the full-backs and none more so that on loan Joao Canelo. The right-back who arrived from Valencia has endured a slow start in Milan and in fairness this has been mostly down to injury. He hasn’t made a single start and has only seen action from the bench, but this could be the opportunity to get him back up to speed. Quick, physical and arguably Inter’s most technical full back it will be interesting to see if Spalletti allows him to maraud down the flanks come December.
As Inter take on lesser opposition, the ‘mister’ may also look to Dalbert Henrique do the same attacking from left back. The Brazilian endured a difficult move from French side Nice as he reveled this week that both him and his wife received death threats after he revealed he wanted to move. ‘The new Roberto Carlos’ tag didn’t last long as despite some promising moments the full-back didn’t impress the coach enough to see him as a defensively stable option and because of this his chances have been few. Also, quick and with a good passing range he will be eager to prove he is worth the 20m Euros spent on him.
Perhaps the most interesting an important player who may feature will be 18-year-old Andrea Pinamonti. The young forward may be given this chance to prove what his potential suggests he is capable of and if he is given this chance it may just be the most important chance offered out by Spalletti. Mauro Icardi is carrying Inter in many ways and his 15 goals in 14 games proves as much. The problem with this is that if anything should happen to him then the only other option is Eder and whilst he is industrious he is not as clinical.
Pinamonti, whilst he has proven himself as one of Inter’s brightest primavera graduates has also represented Italy since the U-15’s and was given his debut last term against Sparta Prague under Stefano Pioli. His two appearances have resulted in competent displays and arguably should have seen him feature more that season. What is more being that he is a huge fan of Icardi and desperately works to learn from the assassin like scorer. His movement and runs often look like Icardi’s too, although he has a very long way to go to even resemble the Argentinian. Even so there is an argument for his inclusion, as this could be the kick start to a promising career.
The fixture against Pordenone may not have many who are not Nerazzurri gripped to it but for Inter the tie is an important one. The team will want to go deep into the competition as they have no European distractions and therefore it will allow them to push some responsibility onto those who have fallen temporarily out of favour, are returning from injury or just want a chance to prove themselves. This is a chance for the coach to assess his options without disrupting the Scudetto campaign and maybe even uncover a gem in the process.
