There is little doubt that Inter have failed to perform to their potential this season. Following their qualification to the Champions League on the last day of 2017/18, the Nerazzurri hierarchy backed Coach Luciano Spalletti with a myriad of astute signings, filling any gaps that had been exposed in the previous campaign.
Equipped with all the right tools for the job, the boss set about his work for the challenges that lay ahead, but all the early promise vanished following a 1-0 defeat away to Sassuolo on opening day. That was followed by a 2-2 draw with Torino and a 1-0 loss to newly-promoted Parma – both at San Siro – and suddenly it seemed there were real problems for the former Roma boss.
He seemed to arrest the slide and reeled off some good results, but a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Atalanta in early November 11th was followed up a few weeks later with a defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the month. That match saw the away side fail when only needing a single point to guarantee a place in the knockout stages, yet it still left their fate in their own hands as Inter simply required a better result at home against PSV Eindhoven than Spurs could manage away at Barcelona.
It really should have been straightforward and, despite Tottenham drawing 1-1 at Camp Nou, even that wouldn’t have mattered if the San Siro outfit had taken the three points versus their Dutch opponents. They didn’t however, and a surprise 2-1 loss dumped them out of the Champions League, their previous hard work all in vain and questions once again surfacing about Spalletti’s job security.
It is therefore no surprise that this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport features a double-page spread on new CEO for Sport Beppe Marotta – a man who has been brought in after masterminding the transfers behind seven consecutive league titles at Juventus – and linked him with a move for Antonio Conte in the summer.
Marotta is a man so well-versed in success that he will have no time for the excuses offered by Spalletti for quite frankly unacceptable results. Having achieved three consecutive league titles at Juve with Conte, he knows very well that the former Chelsea man’s obsession with winning will drive this talented squad forward, and this is why it makes sense for him to make an approach.
“I’m now part of the great club that is Inter,” Marotta announced on the club’s official website. I’m very proud and I’m going to have the important role of CEO in the sports area. It’s certainly going to be an important chapter in my professional life and I will have a great deal of responsibility but that doesn’t daunt me. It’s the start of a new chapter and it must be one marked by success.”
Inter have been so far from tangible success since winning the treble under Jose Mourinho, it is hard to believe that it is only eight years ago. However, the last part Marotta’s final sentence tells you all you need to know about the new man, and there will be no room for sentimentality once he gets down to business at San Siro.
