Five Things Inter Need To Do To Finish In Serie A’s Top Three

With each defeat, qualification for next season’s Champions League (the target, as declared by the club earlier in the week) is looking less and less likely for Inter. With only three positions available in Serie A, the Nerazzurri will have to make some radical changes if they are to have any hope of muscling themselves above the current contenders.

Following the loss to Udinese, Inter owner Massimo Moratti held prolonged talks with Claudio Ranieri and his players, in an attempt to find a solution to the teams poor form. What was said will remain behind closed doors, but hopefully, some of the following suggestions will have been put forward;

INVEST WISELY IN JANUARY

Whether or not Moratti is worried about Financial Fair Play, it is clear that the squad needs strengthening. How much Moratti is willing to spend will determine how many additions are made, but in an ideal world, Inter need a left-back, a central defender, two wingers and a creative striker. If the club has to prioritise, then the problem that needs addressing the most is the teams alarming lack of goals.

The strikers at the club are all target men suffering from a lack of service, Pazzini in particular. His dry spell in front of goal is in no small part down to a lack of wingers and creative players at the club. At a time when the overall tempo of Serie A matches has increased quite dramatically, Inter are being made to look pedestrian by any team with genuine pace and width. Without quality crosses or passes to feed on, it is far too easy for the opposition to nullify the threat of Forlan, Milito and Pazzini, which is why at least one proven winger is an absolute necessity.

TRUST IN YOUTH

Inter have to accept that many of the treble winning team are now past their peak and look towards the future. Recently, the Nerazzurri fielded the oldest team in the history of the Champions League, at a time when the younger players should be being given a chance to prove their worth.

Harsh as it may be, there is little room for sentiment in football, particularly if a club wishes to sustain a period of success. For this reason, some of the veterans within the squad need to be moved on or offered non-playing roles, in a similar manner to Luis Figo and Francesco Toldo.

Their contributions to Inter’s success should never be forgotten, but the likes of Cordoba, Samuel, Stankovic and Milito are clearly on the decline as age catches up with them. Surely it would be better for them to finish their Nerazzurri career’s as legends, rather than ‘has-beens’.

It is now time for the next generation to be handed their opportunity to shine. For the remainder of the season, substantial playing time must be given to Marco Faraoni, Luca Caldirola, Andrea Poli, Coutinho, Ricky Alvarez, Joel Obi and Luc Castaignos. The fact is they couldn’t do any worse than the current team is doing, and there is no better way to assess their true potential than to let them play and see if they can help lift Inter back into Champions League contention.

CHANGE FORMATION

The acquisition of wingers and the inclusion of some of the younger players at the club would enable Inter to change formation and use either an attacking 4-2-3-1 system, or pose a genuine threat from the wide areas of the pitch when playing 4-4-2 (a favourite system of Ranieri).

More often than not, the Nerazzurri seem to be opting for a 4-3-1-2, and cramming the midfield with defensive players, leaving Sneijder (when fit) or the nominated trequartista with the sole responsibility of creating opportunities for the strikers, which is why Inter’s attacks are so easy to defend against.

With some serious catching up to do, Inter can no longer afford to play in such a negative manner. There should be no more than two holding midfielders, leaving an attacking quartet and additional support from the full-backs. It is time the players were allowed to express themselves and play with a sense of adventure, as a team with the stature of Inter should.

NEVER LET CHRISTIAN CHIVU PLAY AGAIN

For nearly five years now, Interisti have been desperately waiting for Chivu to reproduce the form he showed as a Roma player, but unfortunately, he has never come close. Over the last few seasons in particular, it would be hard to name any other player who has been at fault for as many of the goals conceded by the Nerazzurri defence. The Romanian may have a point when stating that left-back is not his preferred position, but he seems to forget that he was deployed there many times at Roma, and even more so at Ajax.

Defensively, Chivu has forgotten how to tackle, appears to be frightened of heading the ball (the skull cap is no excuse two years on!) and is caught out of position on a regular basis. Going forward he is even less effective, with no pace or trickery, and a glaring inability to cross the ball. On top of all that, the one time ‘dead ball specialist’ has failed to produce a single effective free-kick since he joined the club! Singling out one player above all others may seem harsh, but in Chivu’s case, it is more than fair.

BELIEVE IT CAN HAPPEN!

How large a part psychology plays in football should not be underestimated. Jose Mourinho was the undisputed king of mind games and instilling self-belief within his squad, but recently too much time has been spent worrying about the opposition, which has affected the confidence of the team.

Last week’s loss was a prime example of this, as Ranieri spent so long in the build-up to the game highlighting the strengths of Udinese, Inter no doubt walked onto the pitch already feeling second best, almost resigned to defeat before a ball was kicked!

If the Nerazzurri are to have any hope of reaching the top three, a feeling of invincibility must be instilled within the squad. It should be pointed out that to wear the jersey of such a prestigious club means that you are already a great player, and therefore it is the opposition who should be worried, not the players representing Inter.

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