It takes something special for a 36-year-old rookie coach making his bow in the world of professional football coaching to be taken seriously by a certain Massimo Moratti. Indeed, Andrea Stramaccioni must already be a somebody for having vanquished his first major opponent before the new season has started in the form of the notoriously trigger-happy club patron, not only keeping his seat from last season but now also being fully backed in the transfer market by his employers.
It is a circumstance that certainly has not failed to impress itself on the former Nerazzurri Primavera coach as he approaches Thursday’s Europa League opener against Hajduk Split. “The step up from the youth to senior squad is a chasm. It’s a whole other world, but it is nice to feel protected by president Moratti and I realise this is an advantage not many have had in the past,” Stramaccioni said, almost as if in retrospect.
A long time has passed since someone other than Jose Mourinho paraded around the grounds at Appiano Gentile with so much assurance and conviction in carrying out his plans, a span that has seen three successive coaches either tender their resignation or be shown the door after failing to deliver on supposedly ‘realistic’ objectives.
Surely, if it had been part of any other’s story or plot, the axe would already have fallen on the young manager come the end of the last campaign, when Inter failed in their last-ditch quest to qualify for the Champions League. Whatever could have prompted such belief in the promise that represents this relatively new character, who only recently entered the scopes of onlookers following his role in Inter’s NextGen Series victory?
You would be hard pressed to find a better answer than the one coming from elder club statesman Esteban Cambiasso: “Stramaccioni created a sense of trust and he was quickly absorbed into the locker room as someone who really belonged at Inter.” Just ask Rafael Benitez or Gian Piero Gasperini how invaluable such vocal support from the dressing room might have been during their shorts spells in charge.
Disclaim that as youthful passion, but Stramaccioni has so captured the imagination of all associated with the club, convincing them of his dedication and belief towards the Beneamata cause in order to get everyone behind him, unlike the hacks that were his predecessors. Journeying all the way to South America during the June end-season break to reportedly meet Inter target Lucas Moura in person is just the first of several examples of how he has exhibited his feelings of ownership to the project underway at the club, both exuding optimism that it can be done, and that he truly is the right candidate to oversee it.
With results and performances during pre-season friendlies building on the waves of optimism that surround Inter’s new poster boy, Moratti appears to have finally releasing his stranglehold on the keys to the club’s transfer dealings by handing them to Stramaccioni, allowing for the building of a competitive side tailored to his specific tactical philosophies to continue unabated. Less concerned by whether the likes of Wesley Sneijder starts every game (unlike the way he was with a certain Alvaro Recoba), or how Ricky Alvarez is deployed on the field, the owner’s relaxation of his grip on technical affairs is coming together in beautiful unison to coincide with the young coach’s flourishing displays.
The prospect of seeing Lucas or alternative Gaston Ramirez donning Nerazzurri colours, as well as the development of a more complete side consistently featuring Matias Silvestre, Rodrigo Palacio and Philippe Coutinho, should already be whetting the appetites of the blue half of San Siro.
Which of European success or domestic glory will be more befitting as reward to the outfit’s efforts? Getting everyone, the fans, media and squad likewise, off to a good start from this coming round of Europa League qualifying fixtures would do anything but dampen their achievement of interim objectives by New Year’s break.
Bear in mind that the coach has delivered nothing yet though, with the daunting prospects of facing his first full season with Inter laying ahead. In spite of his club’s and players’ support buying him time, a testing campaign that ensures Stramaccioni will be held responsible by Moratti for any slip-ups, regardless of the latter’s newfound patience, will follow. Nevertheless, for someone apparently still wet-behind-the-ears, Stramaccioni has identified that all the club needs is to be nudged in a common direction which the administration and playing staff can band together on, definitely something he will be counting on in the months to follow.
Whichever way his fate lies, the man who never made it as a professional player has already left his mark on a historical side of Italian football, and that remains something to be proud of. Now looking to grow in stature alongside the project that kept faith in him last season and continue expanding his influence there, Stramaccioni will be eager to get on with the upcoming year all-guns blazing. Attaining Serie A or the Europa League in his maiden attempt perhaps? It hardly matters which one, for the world of Italian football will be looking at her latest up-and-coming coach by then.
Follow Jeremy Lim on Twitter: @JeremyLimCalcio.
