Last Tuesday was a special day for Andrea Stramaccioni and Inter, it marked the one year anniversary of the Roman becoming coach. It has been a turbulent year and it is still not clear if he will still be at the Giuseppe Meazza come next season.
Stramaccioni got his breakthrough when, then coach Claudio Ranieri, was axed with the team languishing in eighth place. ‘Strama’ was fresh off winning the Next Generation Series with the Primavera and was given the chance to show what he could do at the top level.
The 37 year old was given the remaining nine games of the season to try and turn the Nerazzurri’s fortunes around and to try and earn himself a long term contract.
He started with a bang, defeating Genoa 5-4 in a thrilling encounter, which also seen him deploy a new formation: the 4-3-3. It was far from a perfect performance and conceding four goals is never a positive, but ‘Strama’ seemed to have the players behind him and got the most out of them, which was in stark contrast to Ranieri.
The young Italian won the hearts of all Interisti and most importantly Massimo Moratti when he destroyed AC Milan in the derby in the penultimate game of the season, which ended the Rossoneri’s dream of a 19th Scudetto, although it was a bittersweet win as it handled the title to their other rivals Juventus.
Stramaccioni’s success at the youth level a year ago, seems light-years away.
Stramaccioni played a tactical masterclass and outsmarted his opposite number Massimliliano Allegri and proved to everyone that he was the man to lead Inter’s new project, with Moratti confirming the next day that he would be given a full time contract and would be manager for next season.
Going in to the last game of the season, Inter still had a slim chance of achieving a Champions League spot but after a loss to Lazio, the Nerazzurri had to settle for a Europa League position, finishing sixth in the table. Overall Stramaccioni won five, drew two and lost two, an impressive record considering the state of the team that he inherited.
Then summer seen yet more changes at Inter, with many more of the veterans such as Maicon, Julio Cesar, Lucio and others leaving and the likes of Matias Silvestre, Samir Handanovic, Rodrigo Palacio and Fredy Guarin all purchased among others.
It looked as if Inter were building a competitive team and Stramaccioni was earning rave reviews and some were tipping them as possible challengers to Juventus’ crown.
The new look Inter team got of to a flying start with a thumping 3-0 away win to the newly promoted Pescara. After the home loss to Siena in round four, Strama’s men embarked on a seven game winning streak, during which they defeated the then undefeated Juventus team ending their 49 game unbeaten run.
Again Stramaccioni was heavily praised for constructing the downfall of the Old Lady as he made some courageous decsions such as playing three strikers, which ended up paying off in the end.
One of the young coaches emerging in Italian football.
After defeating the Bianconeri, everybody thought the Nerazzurri would challenge Juventus but they have struggled in the months since, and have slipped down the table to fifth place, 18 points behind Antonio Conte’s men and the honeymoon period seems to be over for Stramaccioni and Inter.
All season ‘Strama’ has come under heavy criticism for his defensive, counter attacking style and has even been called ‘provincial’. Many claim Inter are ‘too big’ to play such a defensive style. However, it worked very well for a large part of the season and suits the players at his disposal.
His job has also been at risk in recent months, with many rumours suggesting he could be fired come the end of the season if he fails to reach finish in third position, which is drifting further away as every week passes. Inter currently sit seven points behind AC Milan who are in the coveted third spot.
Even though the Nerazzurri have fallen on tough times of late and have underperformed in many games, the 37 year old has done a good job with a squad which is one of the poorest in the last 20 years, while the club as a whole is also facing a lot of problems, it is not just to do with the coach.
He has also been unlucky in many instances with injuries to key players such as Diego Milito and Walter Samuel, with them in the team they may have been much further up the table. The injury to Milito was especially crucial as he was the most important player to the way the team functioned.
Hopefully Moratti will see that Stramaccioni is a capable coach and if he is given the chance he can turn it around, although that will all depend on the quality of players that Inter sign in the summer mercato.
If he is given a good squad of players to work with he can certainly build a competitive team and at his young age he is the perfect man to lead the project at Appiano Gentile. He may not be ‘the next Mourinho’ like many had said but he is certainly very capable.
It is true that he has disappointed in many aspects such as not brining in as much youth as many thought he would. Despite this he has did well in his first year and it must not be forgotten the he was thrown in at the deep end at a extremely tough time. Hopefully it is the first of many years in charge of Inter, but in Calcio, two bad results could mean the end of you.
Rating for first year: 7/10
Inter are a joke with Stramaccioni – long may he stay in post!
7/10???? You are having a laugh surley….???!!!