Last season was somewhat eventful in both directions for Inter Milan, to the point of experiencing a rather paradoxical campaign. On the one hand, the results could hardly have been better since the Nerazzurri won the Supercoppa against AC Milan (3-0), the Coppa against Fiorentina (2-1) while playing in the final of the League of Champions against Manchester City (1-0) and finishing third on the podium in Serie A, behind Napoli and Lazio. But behind this good sporting record, certain episodes brought a certain fog to the blue and black sky of the Lombard city. At a time when the club has been announced for sale for several months, the president and owner Steven Zhang, who owns nearly 70% of Inter via the company Suning Holdings Group since June 2016, is still entangled in several lawsuits in China, the United States and Italy due to close ties with several American financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Oaktree Capital Management and Bain Capital.
Moreover, Italian coach Simone Inzaghi was even almost fired during the season, while his team was still competing in all possible competitions. Several crisis meetings were organized in February with president Giuseppe Marotta, sporting director Piero Ausilio, his deputy Dario Baccin, when certain disappointing results followed one another in the championship for the Nerazzurri. But water has flowed under the bridge since then since the interior management decided to renew the contract of the Italian tactician until June 2025: “FC Internazionale Milano is pleased to announce the renewal of the contract of coach Simone Inzaghi. Thanks to the new agreement, the coach will be at the helm of the Nerazzurri until 2025., he wrote in the press release published on the club’s official website last September. Enough to play the card of continuity with a coach appreciated by the group and in particular the executives. Given the still complicated financial situation, Inter has secured its conductor and for the moment… rightly so.
Still undefeated!
Inter Milan are progressing and that’s an understatement to say. The most symbolic meeting at the start of this season obviously remains the rout inflicted on the Milanese enemy on September 16 (5-1). With the latest victory over Empoli, Inter won their 5th success in as many matches. It is only the fourth time that this has happened in the history of the Nerazzurri club but Simone Inzaghi can still improve since the absolute record is eight consecutive victories. In the standings, the Lombards are logically in 1st place in the Italian championship but with impressive successes against teams that are not easy to maneuver like Fiorentina (4-0) or Monza (2-0). But beyond the results, it is the complete game that is worth highlighting. There is very little to say about this start to the season at Inter.
“A strong signal that I wanted, to win five derbies in a row, is something that has been missing for a long time (in reality, it had never happened, editor’s note). I’m happy for the Inter family, it’s something important but we’re only in the fourth match. Now comes the difficult part, we will have to play well in the other matches like these first four., Inzaghi said after the derby. Indeed, in addition to the very good scores in Italy, Inter Milan is already the best attack with 15 goals scored and the best defense with only one goal conceded. In short, the executives continue to take responsibility like Alessandro Bastoni in defense and Nicolo Barella in the middle, both mature and Lautaro Martinez, now captain without the shadow of Skriniar in the locker room. Leaders of course but not only…
Recruits who are a hit
With the departures of several executives, notably Milan Škriniar, André Onana, Marcelo Brozovic, Edin Dzeko Samir Handanovic and Danilo D’Ambrosio, the management of Inter had to work this summer with a very tight budget to strengthen the squad of Simone Inzaghi. The club managed the transfer window masterfully with the reinforcements of Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), Emil Audero (Sampdoria), Carlos Augusto (Monza), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Yann Sommer ( Bayern Munich), Marko Arnautovic (Bologna) and Yann Aurel Bisseck (Aarhus). Not spending more than €10 million on a player and having a positive balance of €87 million, Inter Milan was able to juggle perfectly to strengthen its team while recovering funds. Additionally, spine Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella remains unchanged.
And at the start of the season, one thing is certain: all is well in the best of all possible worlds for these new elements. The two most impressive elements remain the Frenchman Marcus Thuram, already the author of two goals and two assists in the league, and the Italian Davide Frattesi who is transformed into a luxury supersub behind the Barella – Çalhanoğlu – Mkhitaryan trident. On the wings, at a time when the pair of full-backs Dumfries/Dimarco continues to perform, Inter now counts on two secondary solutions with Carlos Augusto and Juan Cuadrado. The pair has largely been strengthened and this is felt in the close encounters. In goal, Yann Sommer is one of the reasons which explain the good start to the defensive season with only one goal conceded in Serie A in five days. In any case, Inter appears, at the start of the season, as the big favorite for the Scudetto, while the title holders Napoli are prey to doubt and AC Milan was unable to compete against their enemy during the last Derby della Madonnina (5-1).
