ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - FC Inter Milan

Posted by Gianni Serra on 04/06/2011

Former champions of Italy, former champions of Europe (we can already say that after losing 5-2 to Schalke) and former champions of the World. Two defeats in three days were enough to spoil Inter's season. The way Nerazzurri lost against Schalke wasn't a perfect remake of the Derby della Madonnina defeat but it had some similarities - Chivu's sending off was just the most evident. But there was also something different.

The starting eleven, with Stankovic replacing Pandev, made much more sense. The Serbian midfielder opened the game with a wonderful goal from the halfway line but unfortunately he had to leave 24 minutes later. Deki very often looks worn out but as Zanetti is the only midfielder in the squad [the forgotten Obi is the other one] willing to chase and press the opponents when they have the ball at their feet. Thiago Motta and Cambiasso never do it - their defensive skills are based merely on positioning; it means that the opposition’s midfielders and forwards arrive at the edge of the Inter penalty area at full speed, and so it's very hard for the back four to avoid embarrassing situations, which are becoming Inter's new trademark.

I've just read some of your comments about the game against Schalke and I share your views. However, I'd like to single out two more problems. Very big ones in my opinion.

1. Midfield formation and composition. Inter played against Schalke with the diamond, which is the best way to utilise the Milito-Eto'o partnership. However, to field a very effective and balanced diamond you need to have two playmakers in the vertical line [one before the back four and one behind the two strikers] and two workhorses on the horizontal line. The best diamonds I have ever seen playing were Liverpool's (Souness, with Case or Lee on the right, the great Ray Kennedy on the left and Terry McDermott behind Dalglish and Johnson/Rush) and AC Milan's (Ancelotti, with Colombo on the right, Evani on the left and Donadoni behind Gullit and Virdis/Van Basten). A perfect combination of dynamism and skills.

Inter's diamond vs Schalke was: Thiago Motta and Sneijder as playmakers, with Stankovic (then Kharja) and Cambiasso wide. No one can deny that Cambiasso is out of depth there - his natural position is Motta's and Leonardo should alternate or choose between the two for that spot. It’s nearly the same story for Stankovic, who can play everywhere, but with different results - his best position is behind the strikers, so I'd alternate him with Sneijder, which would be the first choice (but playing every three days you need to rotate some players). There is a lack of workhorses at Inter so those are the players I'd chase in the next transfer market.

2. Maicon's condition. The Brazilian has been Inter's not-so-secret-weapon for the last three years. Not this season. His contribution is fine for a normal fullback but it's very average and disappointing for a player of his level. He used to be a sort of playmaker on the right, capable of creating chances and to break defences. At the moment he can't dribble, he can't cross, he can do very little. It's amazing how Inter managed to hide all these weaknesses for so long.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Diego Milito. What a surprise to see him in such a good form. Sharp and confident from the word go. He was the player who forced Neuer out of his area, opening the goal for Stankovic's wonderful shot. At the minute 8 the Argentinian striker dribbled past two German defenders and put a lovely ball on Sneijder's head -in that very minute we could appreciate the old Milito, who confirmed the positive first impression with a goal, nearly two. A very encouraging sight, obscured by a shambolic team performance.

Champions League 2010-11 / Quarter finals 1st leg

INTER-SCHALKE 2-5 (2-2)

Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Ranocchia, Chivu, Zanetti; Stankovic (24’ Kharja, 63′ Cordoba), Thiago Motta (76′ Nagatomo), Cambiasso; Sneijder; Eto’o, Milito. Coach: Leonardo
Schalke: Neuer; Uchida, Howedes, Matip, Sarpei; Farfan, Papadopoulos, Jurado (83′ Draxler), Bamjohann (76′ Schmitz); Raul (87′ Karimi), Edu. Coach: Ralf Rangnick

Referee: Atkinson (England)
Goals: Stankovic 1’, Milito 34’; Matip 17’, Edu 40’, 75′, Raul 53′, Ranocchia 57′ og
Yellow cards: Stankovic; Farfan, Sarpei, Papadopoulos
Red card: Chivu (61′)

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Comments

Posted by Tunde on 04/06/2011

Giani Serra, why is Leornado not playing Mariga and Obi and instruct them to run and press all day ? our slow midfielders and high defensive line has cost us the season. we can't be playing the high line with slow defenders. Maicon is so casual on defence, Chivu is erratic, Ranocchia is slow. This is just pathetic. no sense of urgency no effort, I'm sick right now.

Posted by Alan on 04/06/2011

Leonardo lost 4-0 to Man Utd last season with AC Milan and 4-0 against Mourinho's Inter in a derby.

This season Milan win 3-0 against Leonardo's Inter and Inter suffer a humililiating defeat in the Champions League like AC Milan last year.

Leonardo is good at getting close to directors to get the big jobs but he is not a top class coach.

Posted by Moises on 04/06/2011

@Alan

Leonardo did extremely well IMO until these last 2 games (the MOST IMPORTANT GAMES!!). He is OK, we all know he is not Mou but maybe if he had been the coach from the beginning of the season he would've been able to rotate players a bit more and probably a little less pressure.

Anyways, I still believe there is a chance for the Scudetto but Chammpions League is lost. Unless some kind of miracle happens and Inter wins 4-0 in Germany. It's a possibility, very small, but after all Inter is crazy and anything can happen.

Posted by footyfetish on 04/07/2011

This was what they call a "systemic failure". The defenders all had an abysmal game, and the midfield was just as bad, if not worse. But, in this particular case I lay it all on Leonardo. He got the formation right, but the tactics wrong. Schalke played a formation that included only one closing midfielder (the Greek guy) so this was the perfect situation for Leo to play a control-and-counterattack type of game (the kind Mou has mastered), ESPECIALLY after scoring an early goal. I think Inter should've closed the ranks after the first goal, absorb a little bit of pressure, and then strike on the counterattack, they way they did all last season (like in the home game v. Barca, for instance). As Mou says in his book, you don't need to dominate games, you just need to control them. Instead, they probably thought 'hey, this is gonna be easy, let's pour forward and score a bundle on these suckers'. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. Unfortunately, Leo's naivete might cost him his job.

Posted by Varun on 04/07/2011

Leonardo's utter and total failure to sort out the defense has cost Inter the season. Chivu and Pandev have been liabilities for the entire season bar a few games and it has been their presence on the field that has ruined the last two games. Maicon is nowhere near his last season's form and with Santon getting better at Cesena, it may not be a surprise to see the young Italian get more games next season.

Posted by tonny on 04/07/2011

its not the end of everything,come on boys pull up your socks

Posted by Pietro on 04/07/2011

it is tonny, it is. I've heard rumors of Moratti getting in touch with Mourinho and Guardiola... it reminds me of the Lucescu, Hodgson, Cuper days... 2,3 managers every year... we need stability, mancini and mou won 4 that reason

Posted by Sam on 04/07/2011

I think people have to lay off Leonardo a bit. Inter fans are notorious for panicking as soon as something goes wrong, I have even read people blaming Moratti for the problems. The two defeats were poor, appalling even but Leo took over a team in crisis and bought us to a position we never imagined mid season. We made the CL quarters and are up there in the league. Two games doesnt change a good half season.
That said, Chivu and Rannochia cannot play together again in the centre. They are appalling together. Also what happened to Mariga? He looked great when he first arrived as a tough tackling midfielder ala Essien but seems to have fallen out of favour. For me our goal should be top three this year. That would be sufficient. Next season again lower expectations but I would like to see a generational shift. Inter have great young players on loan, on the bench and in the academy. It is time we give them a chance to build something great and take Inter to the next level.

Posted by Anonymous on 04/07/2011

i think scudetto is not lost, anything can happen in germany, you just need to have lucio back and a good eto. there are 7 more weeks in seria A and milan will sooner or later loose a few on the way.
do not forget that we are missing samuel as well and he was great at real and his loss was huge,
i have never been a fan of chivu but i do think that rannochia has played weel except the last CL game. come on guys the ball is round and we need to support our team.

Posted by nima on 04/07/2011

You guys need to realise that the squad us exhausted. Benitez is to blame as the team is physically exhausted from having to play so hard, sometimes 4 in 8 days, Leo is naive but we knew this before he came. At midseason top 5 would have been great but the team n Leo did well. Reasons for Schalka game was tactical. Counter attack and a change of tactic after going 1-0 up should have happened by playing a flat 4-4-2. With Wesley free role. Schalk don't have amazing players n we LOST the game, rather than they won the game. Leo is more a motivator less a tactician. But after a awful start to season his done well. When you win 5 trophies in 1 year the only way is down guys! Be realistic we can't win it all every yr. Time to re build that team now. Branch needs to stop selling or loaning all our good youngsters out too. It's annoying seeing our young talent play for other teams. I also like naga a lot as well Maria. Forza inter

Posted by ahmed daurawa01 on 04/07/2011

I was shock with dat defeat, but i seriously believed inter will make the different in germany!!

Posted by Austin on 04/07/2011

Really? Ragging on Leonardo? Give me a break. I'll be the first to have the balls to say it because no one else seems to want to. Our atmosphere at home is miserable. Where the hell are the chants, the songs, the fans screaming for our team? 5-2 at home? Really? The fans are to blame here as much as Leonardo in my opinion. 5-2 is a scoreline that, to me at least, represents a lack of support in your own stadium. We need to start actually supporting our team when we go see them instead of quietly sitting there. Look at barca - when teams go to play them they touch the ball and RIGHT AWAY the stadium comes alive with jeers. It should be the same at the San Siro.
@Tundi
I agree. Where the hell is Mariga? As far as I'm concerned he is the energy we need in the midfield. I'm not so sold on Obi - I think the work rate is there, but the skills maybe not quite yet. In my eyes he's sort of like a developing Ji-Sung Park (which is very very useful, Man utd regularly underestimate his worth).

Posted by Sam on 04/07/2011

Interesting comment about San Siro, it can be a daunting place to play and I know the fans were chanting that they ere behind the players even when 5-2 down. I dont think the Italian fans cheers in the same way as Spanish and English fans though. Personally I would love to see us in our own stadium but thats another story.
Interesting too about Obi, I would hope he will be given a chance as he is playing for Nigeria. Inter face some massive decisions. Do they keep Cesar next year or risk buying Viviano? What happens with Mariga, Santon, Coutinho and Nagatomo, younger players with a lot of potential but maybe not yet Inter 'quality', what about Destro, Khrin, Obi, Nataliano, Alibec etc who have all shown massive potential and won titles in youth levels and are pressing for top level roll. Inter have a mass of talent waiting but the decision is whether to risk these young players with so many experienced players there. Interesting times.

Posted by Pietro on 04/08/2011

Austin, you're right we Inter fans in San Siro are not very vocal sometimes but always supportive. We have the bad habit to be more vocal vocal when things go wrong and start booing and whistling. I was in San Siro vs Schalke and it was one of the few times I heard no whistles when Inter was losing and playing badly. There was a general sense of disappointment for the way the team was playing but also gratitude and only few booed and whistled. Some people complaining about Leonardo and his tactics, some suggesting that a failure in Madrid would be beneficial to Inter as Mourinho could be here next season but no whistle and believe me I appreciated it a lot.

Posted by nima on 04/09/2011

The meazza is a scary place to play for both home n away teams especially if the fans are feeling it but we knew tactical Leo was very weak defensively his AC team got ruined by inter in the Derby the same as what schalka did to us. The German team learned a lot from our Derby defeat but inter are conceding on average 2.2 goals a game that's almost 5 in 2 guys. This is totally tactical. Leo had the same last yr. There are teams in serie A that are in bottom 10 with better defence than inter. Our problem is totally tactical. That's it. Obviously exhaustion doesn't help but alegrie is tactical very astute and AC goal difference shows it with an aging team. Inters squad is younger n more versatile just wrongly used. I fear for the beneamata next season as we need to build.

Posted by Jason Frat on 04/09/2011

It's tough to lay all of the tactical blame at Leo's feet. You can't lose players like Samuel and Lucio then throw in an inexperienced player like Ranocchia and a wing-back like Chivu to fill that void and expect results. Positive ones anyway. Look what happened today against the Flying Donkeys. Lucio returned and was largely able to organize the back four. Nagatomo looked good too storming up the sidelines which created opportunities. Maicon created pressure on the right side as well but couldn't seem to pick out anybody in black and blue on his crosses. Milito was a work horse as he usually is and created space for others unlike Pazzi who really didn't look too motivated out there. Better find it. Can't help but wonder if Materazzi would have helped in the center instead of Chivu but he may just be too old. Can't say as I haven't seen him play in eons. Waters passed under the bridge anyway.

Posted by Lyndee on 12/15/2011

You're a real deep thinker. Thanks for sahring.

Posted by Rickidessioni on 12/15/2011

Haha that's rediculous. No way

Posted by Uglies Swimwear on 12/30/2011

Hey is this serious?

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