With just a solitary Europa League victory in a dozen matches there is no doubt that Inter coach Roberto Mancini is finding his return to the club far more testing than his first spell, and he could take significantly longer this time to have them challenging for major honours again.
The Nerazzurri’s season has been epitomised by some woeful defensive performances, with the much heralded arrival of Nemanja Vidic failing to increase solidity and already looking set to depart Italy inside 12 months.
When Mancini arrived in 2004 he inherited a similar situation with a defence that — on paper — should have been performing far better and their striking talent dragging them to a fourth placed finish the previous season.
The 50-year-old quickly set about forming a solid defensive unit at the San Siro and reaped the rewards. However, that was under the backing of Massimo Moratti’s millions; and current owner Erick Thohir has proven more frugal.
Over the course of two seasons in came Nicolas Burdisso, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Esteban Cambiasso, Walter Samuel, David Pizarro and Maxwell who helped secure a Scudetto, albeit in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal.
Some of those key signings did arrive for free, incentivised by lucrative contracts, but Samuel commanded a significant fee to take him to the San Siro — arguably then one of the best centre-backs in Europe.
A decade later Mancini must make rebuilding from the back a priority once more but, on a more modest budget than ever before, could have a bigger job than he had first imagined.
Full-backs Yuto Nagatomo and Dodo have notable pluses but were more suited to wing-back roles in previous coach Walter Mazzarri’s 3-5-2. In addition, the regular central pairing of Andrea Ranocchia and Juan Jesus have looked shaky to say the least. Against Roma last weekend for instance, the Inter defence was constantly exposed by Gervinho and Adem Ljajic.
Looking as though they were about to secure a first league victory for Mancini, he was then also let down by his team against Udinese, conceding twice in just over 10 minutes.
Even their win over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk began in defensive shambles with players in a disorganized mess, before the often dependable Samir Handanovic spilled a shot into the path of the goalscorer.
The midfield trop seems unable to provide the back-four with any sense of reassurance. Gary Medel would arguably be the only man Mancini would retain if he was to be given the embarrassment of riches he spent during his first stint at the club.
During the baptism of fire that is the Milan derby it looked as though the squad had acquitted themselves quickly to the methods of Mancini, with a disciplined and determined display. Five games later however, it would appear the sense of occasion was what initiated the rise in performance.
Should Mancini not see significant improvements after working with the squad during the winter break, it will be interesting to see just how Thohir backs him when the transfer window reopens.
Suggestions are that they could cash-in on Mauro Icardi to bring in defensive reinforcements. In effect, if Mancini can get them defending as they were during his previous stint — just 127 conceded in 152 games — then Inter may challenge again.
Unfortunately for the Italian coach, Inter’s transformation will take time. Considering how much time Thohir’s vote of confidence in Mazzarri actually bought him though, Mancini could very well not be given the time for his long-term undertakings and quickly find himself regretting ever returning to Inter.
Follow Kevin Pogorzelski on Twitter: @rabbitrabbiton
