In reality, September 18 2016 is not that long ago, but to fans of Serie A giants Inter, it feels like a lifetime has passed since Juventus visited San Siro that day. The old stadium was bathed in sunshine and supporters filled it to capacity for the latest instalment of the heated Derby d’Italia, a wonderful display of choreography filling the Curva Nord as kickoff approached.
Frank de Boer was still in charge of the club and a bright optimism coursed through the Nerazzurri faithful, hoping the Dutchman could instil some of the Ajax or Barcelona DNA into their troubled side. Starved of success since Jose Mourinho departed in 2010, Inter clung to the belief that De Boer’s tactical flexibility and attacking philosophy could restore them into contention, and for that one day it seemed like he just might.
The Milan-based side tore into the reigning league champions, never letting Max Allegri’s men settle into their usual role as protagonists, instead pressed onto the back foot by a team desperate for victory. Juve went ahead entirely against the run of play in the 66th minute, but Inter soon equalised and with just ten minutes left took a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic grabbed the goals, but it was the performance of João Mário that most caught the eye of everyone watching.
The Portuguese midfielder only joined the Italian side a month earlier, arriving from Sporting at a cost of €40 million plus €5 million in bonuses, a sum that breached UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. That meant that he, along with three other players, could not be included in their Europa League squad last season, which in turn led to his appearance against Juve being only his second outing for Inter.
Yet his lack of familiarity with both Serie A and his own team-mates did not show as, fielded alongside Gary Medel in a two-man midfield, João Mário completely dominated the game. According to WhoScored.com, he completed 89% of his pass attempts, made three successful take-ons, created four clear goal scoring opportunities and caused chaos for the Bianconeri wherever he went. Drifting all over the pitch but constantly recovering his position to ensure Inter remained defensively solid, he also made some strong attacking runs and always looked threatening with the ball at his feet.
Yet fast-forward to today and the 25-year-old who shone in his national team’s Euro 2016 triumph has joined West Ham on loan, with very few other clubs interested in taking him on. What went wrong? The only answer to that is, well, pretty much everything. In early August 2016 – just two weeks before the season began and only three weeks before João Mário joined Inter – Roberto Mancini quit as Coach and De Boer took charge, meaning he had very little time to prepare for life on the peninsula.
By November 1 he too was sacked and Stefano Pioli was appointed to replace him, only for the veteran Italian to be sacked in May. Stefano Vecchi was temporarily handed the reins before Luciano Spalletti arrived last summer, meaning that Inter cycled through five Coaches in less than a year, something that clearly took its toll on the players.
"Now that we have an Italian Coach I have realised that one of the difficulties in the previous regime was the language barrier,” João Mário told Tuttosport. "In fact, maybe it was the main problem. De Boer had good ideas, but he failed to transmit them to the team.” That is undoubtedly true, and meant that the Portuguese was already suffering from a lack of confidence, but Pioli put faith in him and was rewarded with some good performances.
Then Spalletti arrived along with Borja Valero, the Tuscan Coach preferring the ageing Spanish midfielder to João Mário after it quickly became clear the two could not play together. Comparing Borja’s performances with those of his team-mate under Pioli makes it hard to understand that decision, but West Ham should certainly not be complaining.
Now, because of Inter’s rash decision to cast him aside, they have signed a promising and gifted midfielder on the cusp of his peak years as a professional. It remains to be seen whether David Moyes’ ultra-cautious approach will help him rediscover his best form, but he certainly stands more chance than he did while firmly stuck on the San Siro bench.
“I hope I can show all my qualities to the West Ham fans,” he told the London club’s official website as the move was announced, before admitting a desire to ensure his place at the World Cup was a major factor in the move. “That was one of the reasons I wanted to come to West Ham, first to show my quality in the Premier League and play for a big club, and also to have the opportunity to be at the World Cup with my national team.”
Now João Mário has that chance, it will be intriguing to see if the same player who picked Juventus apart at San Siro just 16 months ago can deliver that standard of performance at the London Stadium.