The Inter Milan Diagnosis - By Thomas Mofolo

Not so long ago Inter Milan were the Treble winners and acclaimed as the best team in Europe. However, the Italian giants have fallen on some hard times over the past 12 months made even worse by the rebirth of their arch-enemies AC Milan. But with Samuel Eto’o still around there is always hope and die-hard Inter aficionado Thomas Mofolo gives his ‘two cents worth’ on the Nerrazurri’s prospects this coming season.

(P.S. This post reached Lesotho late from Thomas who was casting his eye over the Dublin Super Cup over the weekend.)

Having suffered a terrible decline in morale and quality since the departure of the Special One last year everyone has tipped Inter to flop this coming season under the new management of Gian Piero Gasperini.

Unlike last season though Inter have painfully learned from their mistake of participating poorly in the transfer window after their 2010 heroics and have bolstered their squad with new signings in order to better compete with their red and black next-door neighbours who did the opposite of Inter last year and brought in a host of household names to the San Siro such as Robinho, former Inter star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano!

The good times... 2010 Uefa Champions League

Thus far Inter’s new acquisitions include: Brazilian rightback Jonathan Moreira from Santos, Dutch striker Luc Castaignos from Feyenoord, Argentinean playmaker Ricky Alvarez while there is still speculation around the possible arrival of Carlos Tevez.

Known as a generally "old club" because of the predominantly plus-30 year-old players in the squad, these new signings are just the healthy dose of youth Inter need to rejuvenate their 2010 form.

With the exception of Carlos Tevez, whom Inter are yet to sign, all the new players are generally unknown in the greater football world but have shown immense potential to do well during the current pre-season campaign: both Castaignos and Alvarez have scored in almost all their matches thus far and have been praised by the manager and spoken well of by their veteran teammates!

Currently in Ireland for the Dublin Super Cup, Inter beat Celtic 2-0 today (Saturday) with both their new strikers Luc Castaignos and January signing Giampaolo Pazzini finding the back of the net. Their big test against Man City on Sunday will show whether the squad have gelled enough to take on Europe's stronger sides, but regardless of the result, there is no reason why Inter should not win the Serie A this season and hopefully even the Champions League should they land Tevez.

The not so good times...
Inter 2, Schalke 5

The new manager’s 3-4-3 formation has been a cause for concern among many critics but the system has proved highly effective and attractive thus far. Inter are playing a hybrid form of football with the appeal of the fast-paced passing of Arsenal and the collective composure of a consistent Man United side which is very different to anything Inter used in the past under Mancini, Mourinho, Benitez or Leonardo. This should therefore work in Inter’s favour and give them an advantage over teams presuming they’ve got the Nerazzuri’s number based on previous seasons.

Wesley Sneijder will play deeper in the midfield area than in a traditional 4-4-2 formation but he will still maintain the same trequartista role from where he will set up plays for the three strikers; Eto’o (left), Milito (centre) and Pandev (right) who themslves will be reinforced by Castaignos and Pazzini on the bench. Next to Sneijder will be Thiago Motta on the left, new signing Alvarez on the right and Esteban Cambiasso behind all three as the defensive shield.

Christian Chivu and Davide Santon will compete for the leftback position, while Walter Samuel, Lucio and Yuto Nagamoto will most likely battle it out for the centreback position. Lastly, the best rightback in the world, Douglas Maicon, will gradually groom Jonathan Moreira to fill in his position as he begins to fade into the twilight years of his career at Inter.

Samuel Eto'o
Ready to dethrone AC Milan

Although the new manager has no silverware to his name yet he will do a far better job than Benitez or Leonardo because of his familiarity with the Seria A. Gasperini did a wonderful job last year in making a lacklustre Genoa side play attractive football similar to the way in which Redknapp rejuvenated Tottenham, and that is why Inter have hired him.

Inter’s most fierce competition domestically will come from Roma and Milan while in Europe Barca and Madrid remain the teams to beat. Inter need to sign Carlos Tevez to ensure any success and also possibly have to consider replacing their aging defensive midfielders with Portuguese wonderkid Miguel Veloso whom they let slip into Genoa’s hands from Sporting Lisbon last year. However, having been badly stung by their recent signing of Ricardo Quaresma (at one time considered better than Christiano Ronaldo in their Sporting Lisbon days) Inter may now be reluctant to sign another promising Portuguese player because of this huge disappointment. Quaresma was brought in during Mourinho’s reign as a potential match-winner but he failed to adapt and even had a loan spell at Chelsea under Big Phil Scolari before he was shipped off to Beskitas.

Ricardo Alvarez, the future of Inter Milan?

Other disappointments that have been offloaded by Inter include Honduran striker David Suazo, Brazilian attacking midfielder Mancini and French winger Jonathan Biabany. The remaining ones that still have to be let go include Colombian rightback Nelson Rivas and Ghanaian defensive mid Sulley Muntari.

Inter’s technical director Marco Branca is preparing the team strategically in line with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules to be enforced in two years time which state that clubs have to spend within their means. Carlos Tevez will therefore have to be the Nerrazurri’s last risky major signing. Unless the club turns over substantial revenue in the near future they just won’t be able to bring in any more costly superstars to the Giuseppe Meazza, but for now Inter look strong for the coming season.