Following an eighth place finish last time out in Serie A, Inter Milan are looking to assert their dominance once more in the league, with a spot in the top three their desired target.
Summer Transfers
Before August, Inter were conducting transfer business in a swift, ruthless, and efficient fashion, bringing in Jeison Murillo, Geoffrey Kondogbia, João Miranda, Martín Montoya, Jonathan Biabiany and Stevan Jovetic. Since the turn of the month, however, the Nerazzurri have decided upon letting go of a couple of their greatest assets in Xherdan Shaqiri and Mateo Kovacic to Stoke City and Real Madrid respectively. Also on the departures front, Roberto Mancini has overseen the leave of dead-weight players and youngsters who have failed to live up to their potential, some of which include Ricardo Álvarez, Ibrahima Mbaye, Alfred Duncan, Joel Obi, Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Jonathan and Hugo Campagnaro.
With names such as Ivan Perišic and Dries Mertens linked to the club, it is expected that Inter will dip into the market once more in order to make new additions, though these would have been unnecessary had the club held onto Shaqiri and Kovacic, who are better options.
Overall, the club’s progress made in the transfer market early on has been for nothing now that Mancini has allowed these two gems to depart the club. What seemed like a team assembled properly and heading in the right direction now looks like a slightly disjointed squad that still could challenge for the top three this season, but nothing more in the coming years without more quality signings.
Last Season
Inter began 2014-15 with former Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri at the helm, looking to improve upon a respectable fifth place finish the season before.
Just four wins in the opening 11 league games, however, resulted in the 53-year-old’s sacking, just a week before the campaign’s first Milan derby. Mancini took the reigns at the Nerazzurri for a second time shortly after, though results did not immediately change as the new manager delivered only two wins from 10 in Serie A.
Inter’s 3-0 win against Palermo in early February, however, signalled an unlikely run towards the Europa League places, as the team gained serious momentum heading into a few crunch matches near the end of the season.
Unfortunately for the club, two consecutive losses to Juventus and Genoa, both of which came about due to goalkeeping errors and defensive lapses, consigned Inter’s hopes of a return to Europe in 2015-16 and they had to settle for eighth, behind surprise packages Sampdoria (seventh) and Genoa (sixth).
Inter did not pull up any trees in the Europa League either, crashing out against Wolfsburg in the round of 16 with a 5-2 aggregate loss following a promising start in the group stages, where they finished on top of eventual runners-up Dnipro.
Manager
Back at the club where he won three consecutive league titles between 2006 and 2008, failure to finish in Serie A’s top three will be considered an unsuccessful job by Mancini. Backed by club President Erick Thohir, the 50-year-old is under increased pressure to hoist his side back into Champions League contention following a dreadful campaign last time out.
Having achieved huge amounts of success at former clubs, where the Italian has won trophies everywhere he has managed, Mancini is seen by many as the ideal man to take Inter back to where they once were in the Italian game.
With the pedigree gained during his playing days and the reputation he has built winning titles and trophies as a manager, the former Manchester City boss is one of the most respected in his role throughout the footballing world. If Mancini cannot lead the Nerazzurri to relative success this term, then there are not many in the world who can.
Strengths
Inter Milan boast one of the best goalkeepers in the league in Samir Handanovic, as well as one of the best strikers in Mauro Icardi, still only 22. The spine of the team is relatively strong as well, with talented centre-backs aplenty and a good structure in midfield.
Another factor working in the side’s favour includes not having to worry about taxing journeys to Eastern Europe to participate in the Europa League on Thursday nights. Although it would have been positive for the club to have reached this competition once more and gain the revenue from television rights, only having to focus on one match per week is a blessing in disguise and could help keep the squad fresh for the duration of the season.
Weaknesses
With Mancini seemingly intent on keeping with the 4-3-1-2 formation that garnered relative success towards the end of last season, the side still lacks width. And with Shaqiri sold, Biabiany and Jovetic are the only ones who can provide this in an attacking sense.
Also, the team now lacks a true playmaker, with Kovacic signing for Real Madrid. Despite enduring a hot and cold campaign last time out, the Croatian still provided a spark in many games and was often a key component in plenty of his former side’s victories, delivering exquisite service to Icardi and Rodrigo Palacio.
Lastly, the club still has too many players, and many are not good enough to take Inter to the next level. Such a high amount of depth is needless with the team only competing in the league and the cup this term, and it could be a cause for unrest within the squad.
Key Player
Last season’s joint top scorer in Serie A, Icardi, will be under an increased amount of pressure to produce once more.
Without the prolific Argentine, Inter may have finished well below city rivals AC Milan (10th), and the burden is upon him to fire his side into the Champions League places in the league. After announcing himself as one of the most dangerous strikers in Serie A last term, more emphasis will be placed upon nullifying the threat the 22-year-old poses. In saying this, Icardi is a special type of character and it is unlikely he will feel any pressure at all.
If Inter’s no.9 can repeat last season’s heroics, the club could achieve its aims in 2015-16.
Best XI
(4-3-1-2): Handanovic (GK); Montoya, Murillo, Juan, Santon; Brozovic, Medel, Kondogbia; Hernanes; Jovetic, Icardi.
[interaction id=”55d3dd7b8768712c75d1589f”]
Prediction
In his first full season in charge of the club since the 2007-08 season, Mancini can produce minor miracles with this team. With other improving Serie A sides expected to be in contention for the top three, however, it is a difficult task, especially taking into account Inter’s near-catastrophic season last time out.
One of the more demanding duties facing the Italian manager this campaign is getting the squad on the same page and gelling them together, considering the large amount of player turnover that has occurred in the Nerazzurri camp. If this can be achieved then a top three finish is not out of the question at all.
Although many of the faces who have been bought in will provide the squad with that extra bit of quality, the loss of Kovacic could be a key factor in Internazionale not finishing in the top three. Fourth may just be where the club finishes the season.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
