Andrea Stramaccioni: Is Inter’s young coach bad or simply unlucky?

Date: 19th April 2013 at 11:33am
Written by:

Hailed as the “New Mourinho” by fans following his thrilling victory over Juventus, Andrea Stramaccioni’s name was thrust to the fore of optimistic discussion about Inter as title challengers with their young, enigmatic tactician at the helm.

However, since those brief and heady days as Calcio’s critical darling, Stramaccioni has presided over a drop in performance from Inter that ranks among the worst in their post-Mourinho history; a time filled with few moments of joy and several bizarre decisions – from coaching to transfer strategy.

The famous night in Turin came as part of a 10 match winning streak in all competitions – since the 8th of November the Nerazzurri have amassed only 11 wins in all competitions this season. The Nerazzurri have leaked goals too, keeping a clean sheet only once since February. Frightening statistics that only begin to expose the collection of issues that prevent Inter from breaking out of the “transitional” tag that seems to permanently hang over Appiano Gentile.

During this period, Stramaccioni has gone from being hero to heathen. Massimo Moratti began coyly responding to questions about the future of his young employee, preferring to offset his decision until the end of the season based on the success of his client. After just one season, Strama is on shaky ground.

The question remains however – does he deserve to be so heavily scrutinized?

A lot has happened to Inter during their young coaches spell in charge that cannot be pinned down to personal responsibility, at least not of the manager. First and foremost are injuries.

The current list of ailed players includes; Esteban Cambiasso, Christian Chivu, Rodrigo Palacio, Antonio Cassano and Yuto Nagatomo, leaving Stramaccioni without many of Inter’s only consistent performers and without a  first choice striker. Tommaso Rocchi is the only remaining option to stick up front, and the results have understandably dipped with it.

A manager can only do what he can with what he has and Stramaccioni has very little to work with. Even before the crisis struck Inter’s squad, in terms of overall quality, had a very bare look about it, in need of an injection of youth and pace in most areas of the pitch.

Secondly, decisions taken by Inter chairman Massimo Moratti leave one scratching the head, too. Letting a player of Sneijder’s quality go over a wage decrease was a strange decision if financially logical. The resulting hole has not been filled and now that Palacio and Cassano are both out, Sneijder’s absence is felt much more. Philippe Coutinho should’ve been the long-term replacement in that precise role, but was shipped off to Liverpool for a price that already seems like a bargain for the Anfield side.

A “vice-Milito’ was transfer necessity before the Argentinian picked up his season ending injury, so when Inter were backed into a corner by Milito’s aliment, Massimo Moratti had no choice but to chase a free agent. John Carew’s failed medical was symbolic of the the poor decision making that has hampered Inter’s progress this season.

Instead of adding to the squad and making a few, small changes to help build a winning season, Inter stripped away parts and they replaced them inadequately – Mateo Kovacic shows promise, but is much to raw to replace either Sneijder or Coutinho, while Zdravko Kuzmanovic is not a world beater.

Stramaccioni has shown promise as a coach and the tactical nous displayed by the former youth manager against Juventus was no accident, while the man’s passion and honesty are admirable. Perhaps, Stramaccioni was chosen to soon. A man who’s first head coach position at one of the world’s most under pressure clubs is never the most ideal place to start, and unsurprisingly cracks have shown.

When Stramaccioni was selected as coach, he was regarded as a ‘project’ sort of coach, the guy who will lead a new generation and translate his work with La Beneamata’s youth onto the next level. But, with 13 players injured, a chairman with few long-term plans for the club and a rather average squad: is Andrea Stramaccioni worth sacking?

 

3 responses to “Andrea Stramaccioni: Is Inter’s young coach bad or simply unlucky?”

  1. Arie says:

    He should be given another chance for next season. He’s clearly a talented manager. Respect from a Romanisti.

  2. Lady GaGa says:

    He is bloody awful….

  3. Giacomo says:

    He’s very unlucky, and the society did not support him during the season. He deserves another chance!