Even those who swing precariously on the bars of Inter’s Curva Nord, would not have predicted that Inter would challenge for the title this season. In fact, they are probably the most pessimistic of the lot and would have instead told dark tales about the season ahead. Luciano Spalletti did however, not only oversee the Nerazzurri’s initial bounce into the season but until December, he helped them look like Scudetto contenders. Despite a poor festive season all is not lost and with some minor tweaks, they have a realistic chance of making the Champions League, the goal set by the club.
The Champions League is not a new goal for the Nerazzurri, it is one set in most seasons, albeit one must think on occasions it has been tongue in cheek. At the start of this campaign however, hopes were genuinely high, especially as Spalletti started to see his talented squad start to look like a serious team. With no Europe and Juventus starting slower than normal, the Nerazzurri started to make people ask if they could challenge for the title, rather than just achieve entrance into Europe’s premier competition.
Udinese and Sassuolo then dented these hopes but all is not lost. Spalletti still has the same group of players and it is not unfair to think that he can get a tune out of them again. The problem their ‘mister’ has, is that his philosophy was similar to that of Roberto Mancini’s. Both game plans are built around solid defences and midfields that primarily look to protect them. Then the wide men have been often the only way of supplying Mauro Icardi who admittedly can win any game with only a half chance. The issue here is that like Mancini, neither have found a good enough trequartista to give another option creatively. The plan can work for long periods of time and whilst Inter have been good this season, many games have seen them win games that they certainly haven’t dominated.
Ultimately this plan is flawed, and not just because the coach cannot find creative player to add goals and assists. Firstly, this deep midfield often means that the wide men must push out onto the touchlines to stretch the play, a task done well this season thanks to the sublime passing range of Borja Valero. What this does in turn however, is limit the danger and the collective goals that need to come from a team that is much too over-reliant on Icardi. Finally, the team has fallen apart defensively before when Joao Miranda is absent. Even looking back to recent seasons, it is surprising how much Jeison Murillo or Juan Jesus looked to him for guidance, only Milan Skriniar has bucked this trend but there is still an argument that Inter’s defensive stability needs all four or their mainstays to play, a luxury Spalletti had earlier in the campaign
If Inter’s coach can rediscover that winning mentality and get some of his players back to full fitness, then 2018 could potentially start well. Miranda is back for Roma as is Danilo D’Ambrosio and there is talk of Candreva moving behind Icardi with Cancelo moving to the right wing. With FFP looming over the club it may well be a quiet market and the Tuscan tactician has made it clear that his biggest fear is losing players from the squad and not replacing them. The most recent summit between Inter’s hierarchy (according to FCInterNews.com) indicated that any business must be done on a minuscule budget unless players move on.
It is therefore not doom and gloom in the blue and black half of Milan although the coming weeks will be testing. Games against Fiorentina and Roma will need to be navigated but after this, the team will see a fair run of games against SPAL, Crotone, Bologna, Genoa and Benevento before the Derby Della Madonnina arrives at the beginning of March. There is work to do and the draw against Lazio as a start, yet with little activity in the window and if Spalletti can find a way for Inter to play a more expansive game, then the Champions League Anthem may yet again be heard in San Siro.
