Inter Milan fans take to the streets to celebrate their club’s Serie A title. (1:04)
The name Inter Milan would have probably seemed inevitable – the edition of death and tax football – because that’s what happens when you’re crowned champions with five games to play and a 17-point lead over second. However, it should be remembered that at the beginning of February, the gap to second position was only one point (with a game in hand). Juventus plummeted – getting just one win in nine games – while Inter continued their winning streak in the league, eventually extending it to 12 in a row (15 in all competitions).
Juventus, the club that prides itself on consistency and stability (with coach Max Allegri, six league names and an unwavering belief that it’s all about spin) hesitated when it mattered. Inter, long synonymous with chaos, instability and giving in when the going gets tough: ask any Interista about Cinco de Mayo and if they know its history, they will bow their head, their lower lip will tremble and they will sink into a deep depression, turned into a true equalizer with Simone Inzaghi (no league name). to his name) at the helm.
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It’s a component of the context that makes this victory so remarkable. There’s more to it too, and this jumps out at you when you compare this name to the 2020-21 Scudetto, won under Antonio Conte. This team made a net expenditure of 168. 5 million euros ($180). millions) in its two seasons. Inzaghi’s Inter, for 3 years, transferred players for more than they had spent to bring them in, with a margin of 175. 4 million euros ($187. 5 million). That’s a $367. 5 million backlog, and there’s no escaping it.
Conte’s four most beloved signings were Romelu Lukaku (€74 million), Achraf Hakimi (€43 million), Nicolò Barella (€32 million) and Christian Eriksen (€27 million), all of whom made significant contributions. Inzaghi’s four most beloved signings were Joaquin Correa (€33m plus loan fees, despite being on loan to Marseille after just 24 league games), Benjamin Pavard (€30m, a forged component of the centre-back’s rotation), Robin Gosens (€27m, who moved to Union Berlin for just €15m after 11 league starts in 18 months) and Zinho Vanheusden (€14. 3 million, never played a single minute for the club and was loaned out 3 times in a row (years).
So no, Inzaghi’s team wasn’t built by spending a lot on the move market. Nor is it about inheriting the superstars who arrived in the Conte era. Of the thirteen most used players in the 2020-21 title-winning team, only 4 (Barella, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan De Vrij and Lautaro Martinez) are still at the club. Of those, only Barella is Conte’s signing.
These are free agents (Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marcus Thuram), “value” signings (read cheap, none of them exceeded €12. 5 million) (Denzel Dumfries, Matteo Darmian, Yann Bisseck, Yann Sommer)) and “Guaranteed loans” (the increasingly popular edition of the “buy now, pay later” offers) is how they got Frattesi. And all of this is being positioned in the context of a large €275 million ($298 million) loan that, with interest, amounts to €385 million ($411 million), which Inter owner Suning obtained in 2021 and is due to be repaid by May 20. (It looks like they’re on the verge of a successful new loan; if they don’t, Inter will have new owners. )
The credit for the efforts and transactions that have allowed them not only to stay afloat, but also their good luck (in addition to the title, they also won two Italian Cups and reached the Champions League final last season) goes to CEO Beppe. But the most important, and perhaps the least likely, good luck story is that of Inzaghi himself.
In an age of folk heroes and visionary managers, where most of the most productive coaches are busy promoting themselves (or having someone else do it for them), Inzaghi is modest and charmingly low-key. In the often hot cauldron of Serie A, he’s furious. earlier this year when he quietly said, “Please don’t mistake my good manners for a lack of intelligence. “
A parlor psychologist might suggest that this has something to do with Simone growing up with a much more charismatic older brother, Pippo, whose footballing performances (288 goals to 90, 3 league titles to one, 57 internationals to 3) surpassed his own. And since most agree that Simone was more talented than her brother, but that he did less, those same pop psychologists attribute this to metaphysical elements like desire, intensity, and testosterone.
Maybe so, but maybe the brilliance, self-promotion, and air of mystery don’t matter much if you know how to train. And it certainly is. Inzaghi’s teams are some of the most pragmatic in Europe, capable of changing form – from half-time urgency, from build-up defence to long play, from end-of-workshop to property football – three or four times in a single match.
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Inzaghi also improves and develops players, whether it’s Çalhanoğlu, who is moving from number 10 to a deep playmaker, or Thuram, who is learning to play on the maximum of two sensitive players, or Martinez, who crosses the 20-goal mark in Serie A. in its three seasons. Fede Dimarco has gone from an unloved and undersized third centre-back to one of the most devastating attacking full-backs in the sport, while Mkhitaryan has gone from the age of thirty from winger to central midfielder.
He doesn’t remind others that he’s an innovator, but there’s probably no coach – at least among Europe’s most sensible clubs – who has benefited as much from the increase in the number of substitutions from 3 to five as Simeone. From his “programmed submarines” – whereby he decides to replace wingers in advance, depending on the match situation – to the careful distribution of playing time to minimise the effect of injuries and suspensions, Inzaghi is at the forefront.
It also avoids controversy almost as conscientiously as it avoids being the center of attention, leaving it up to the players. And yes, those are the players who actually play the games, which means it’s okay to celebrate their contributions on the field. Everyone deserves praise: Yann Sommer perfectly controlled André Onana’s transition in goal. Dimarco and Dumfries were electric, Bastoni and Matteo Darmian held their own in defence, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan and Barella made their mark in midfield (in addition to Frattesi, Inter’s fourth highest scorer despite only 3 starts) and, of course, Martinez and Thuram added accuracy and power from the start.
But let’s not be Simone Inzaghi, the guy who put the pieces on the board and deftly moved them around all season. He probably wouldn’t seem like the most sensible coach and possibly wouldn’t behave like one off the education floor and on the bench on game day. But there’s no doubt that Inter wouldn’t be where they are without him.