Internazionale frustratingly drew 2-2 with Livorno in round 31 of Serie A having led 2-0 at half-time in a keenly contested affair at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. It summarised a disappointing run of three games for Walter Mazzarri which has seen calls from some sections of the support for his reign as coach to end come the season’s closure.
Despite gaining a 2-0 advantage by the break, familiar defensive mistakes came to haunt Inter and allowed the opposition to level the score and claim a significant point which could help their survival chances.
How Mazzarri’s side have gone from an unbeaten run of form to losing 2-1 at home against Atalanta, then dropping valuable points in a 0-0 draw with Udinese, then to throw away a further three points against Livorno is inexplicable. Had the team managed to claim victories in all three games they would have closed the gap to fourth placed Fiorentina significantly, however, now they’re left trailing La Viola by three points and Parma are only two points behind them.
In this time Fiorentina have picked up four points, including a win over Napoli, to maintain the gap and it is unlikely that the Beneamata will now catch them. As such the pressure has mounted upon the coach and his team so that if he fails to deliver European football next season then it is hard to see how the club and its directors can justify his continuation in the role.
What are the key factors behind Mazzarri’s recent success and failures?
Since the Nerazzurri’s heavy 3-1 defeat by Juventus in February, the side had strung together a six match undefeated run in the league, including four wins. This coincided with the arrival of Hernanes in the January mercato who added a spark to Inter’s attack and allowed the midfield to link with Rodrigo Palacio and Mauro Icardi upfront, who’d previously been left isolated.
Hernanes’ arrival had also lifted spirits at Inter and helped to restore a belief that the Nerazzurri are still one of the big hitters in the league and this brought out a confidence rarely seen from the club’s players since the treble winning season in 2008-09.
Mazzarri’s decision to restore Argentine stalwart Walter Samuel to the defence against Sassuolo coincided with Inter’s run of six unbeaten games. It was a moment to treasure for fans of Il Muro as he displayed his leadership qualities to marshal Inter’s back line and roll back the years. Samuel may be set to depart in the summer due to his contract expiring, but he is a club legend and he proved his worth once again with his recent displays.
Mazzarri also made the right call to finally introduce Icardi to the starting eleven after the striker’s goal scoring heroics from the bench could no longer be ignored. Time and time again the Argentine would come on as a substitute to make an impact in place of Diego Milito, terrorising opponents with his physical play and eye for goal and he had netted four goals in almost as many appearances at one point. A goal from the bench against Fiorentina was enough to prove Mazzarri that Icardi should start when the time came against Roma.
But why have things started to go wrong for Inter?
Against Atalanta Mazzarri named a completely unchanged line up from the side which had defeated Hellas Verona 2-0 seven days previously; despite an upcoming schedule involving playing three games in eight days. It was a foolish decision from the Italian tactician, even more so when you take into account the embarrassment of riches that Inter have at their disposal.
During the fixture the midfield looked jaded and became dominated by Atalanta’s men as the match wore on, yet Mazzarri would not turn to the options open to him. His stubbornness, often displayed at Napoli, is a severe character flaw and limits his ability to capitalise on a squad’s abilities and he is wasting Inter’s.
To make matters worse Mazzarri played the same midfield trio of Fredy Guarin, Esteban Cambiasso and Hernanes against Udinese in round 30. One has to wonder what the players must think when a coach selects his favourites for every single game when they clearly aren’t performing and are physically exhausted.
Now to address the elephant in the room, one Mateo Kovacic. When the Croatian maestro joined Inter in January 2013 he was supposed to be the future of the club, hailed as the man to replace Wesley Sneijder. Yet Mazzarri has no faith in Kovacic and refuses to play him, despite the crowd’s calls for the playmaker’s inclusion and glimmers of promise on rare appearances in the league.
The coach points to Kovacic’s start in the defeat against Juventus where, played out of position on the left side of midfield, the Croatian failed to track back adequately to cover Yuto Nagatomo defensively, and couldn’t influence proceedings from out wide in attack either. Mazzarri feels this is demonstrative of why Kovacic isn’t ready to play at Inter’s level and doesn’t suit his system or style of play.
Inter are now left in a perilous position where they face losing one of the finest prospects to have graced their stadium in decades, all because of a coach and his flaws. And the coach’s flaws are being ruthlessly exposed by opposition teams as he refuses to change with the times.
Do Inter stick or twist? The fans are beginning to turn and Kovacic won’t stay beyond the summer if Mazzarri is in charge.
A leopard does not change its spots and Mazzarri is an old and wile leopard.
Follow Ryan Ross on Twitter: @rross11
