At the end of a surprising 2022-23 European campaign, punctuated by a finalist place in the last Champions League, Inter Milan expected to see André Onana leave, in advanced negotiations with Manchester United, combined with the departure of ‘experienced Samir Handanovic after 11 years of good and loyal service. Following numerous failures against intransigent Milanese management, the Mancunian club ended up winning their case by offering the services of the Cameroonian goalkeeper for more than €57 million, bonus included. From then on, the 2021 Italian champion surveyed the market in search of his worthy heir and set his sights on Yann Sommer. Expected at the turning point upon his arrival in Lombardy, the Swiss international (85 caps) wasted no time in getting everyone to agree.
Criticized upon his arrival in Italy, Yann Sommer signs a lightning adaptation!
However, the matter was far from easy for Yann Sommer, transferred for €6 million to Inter Milan. In addition to shouldering the heavy responsibility of succeeding the indestructible André Onana, the transalpine press was not kind to the Swiss when he left Giuseppe Meazza and many media were not giving much of his skin given his advanced age (34 years) and his atypical profile for an international level goalkeeper (he is 1.83m tall). But not enough to panic the main party who compensates for this deficit in size with his reflexes, his explosiveness and his kicking game. “My strong point ? I’m a very explosive goalkeeper, I try to be brave and help the team, even playing with my feet. I think the latter is one of my best qualities. Simone Inzaghi likes to build from behind, I’ve noticed that over the years and it’s my style too. I like to be an option for the team, I like to play against my opponents who like to put pressure on the goalkeeper. I try to give confidence, to feel calm”declared the native of Morges during his presentation.
Motivated by the idea of discovering a new championship, Yann Sommer experienced a lightning adaptation on the other side of the Alps. Threatened in the national team by his counterpart at Borussia Dortmund Gregor Kobel and after a mentally trying stint in Bavaria, the Basel player was able to regain calm and serenity by taking advantage of the services of Gianluca Spinelli. Renowned for being a leader in his position thanks to his innovative training techniques, the 56-year-old technician, who played for Chelsea between 2016 and 2018 and the Italian team when it was managed by Antonio Conte, played in Paris Saint-Germain since 2018. Last July, the Transalpine player ended his adventure at the capital club to join the interior ranks at the same time as Yann Sommer. “He is a highly specialized technician who develops young people and knows how to improve goalkeepers who have a great past behind them, like Yann Sommer, without hurting their pride”could we read in the columns of the Gazzetta dello Sport this summer. In this respect, the pink-paper newspaper is hardly wrong since the pair works wonderfully and the effects were quick to be felt.
Valuable in the Champions League and Serie A, Yann Sommer is on the verge of achieving an unbeaten record in Italy
In the Champions League, Inter Milan is on track to qualify for the next round and is currently neck and neck with Real Sociedad, tied on points (7 pts). Against the Spaniards, the player trained at FC Basel certainly had a lot of success seeing his opponents hit his posts twice but was invaluable in keeping his side afloat by twice removing the ball from 2 to 0 to Brais Mendez then Mikel Oyarzabal before Lautaro Martinez equalized at the end of the game (1-1). Again against Benfica Lisbon where the former Bavarian made an extraordinary reflex save on a shot from Fredrik Aursnes at the start of the match while waiting for Marcus Thuram’s saving goal shortly after the hour mark to offer the Milanese three points ( 1-0). After the international break, the last rampart of the Nati returned with the same intentions to obstruct the Austrians of RB Salzburg (2-1) and Oscar Gloukh who stumbled upon him for a long time.
Like his team, Yann Sommer has had a superb start to the season. Long undefeated in Serie A, Inter Milan has only one defeat, anecdotal to say the least, which dates back to September 27 on their lawn against Sassuolo (1-2). In the standings, Simone Inzaghi’s flock are logically in first place ahead of Juventus Turin and the Milanese rival but with successes as valuable as they are impressive against direct competitors in the quest for the Scudetto like AC Milan (5-1) and more recently against AS Rome (1-0). A relentless success to which Yann Sommer is far from being a stranger. Proof to support this last weekend when the Helvetius relaxed perfectly on his right to deflect a powerful, point-blank header from Roman captain Bryan Cristante in the 63rd minute. His remarkable performances over the past several weeks have not gone unnoticed by the Italian media.
“Some may be surprised by this record, as Sommer’s first two months at Inter Milan were not dotted with dozens of sensational saves. The data, however, does not lie and in the league he only recovered the ball in his net against Milan, Sassuolo and Bologna, always at home. The truth is that the Swiss is a solid, attentive and experienced goalkeeper and that, in addition, he makes the most of a team, which, collectively, is continuous and attentive even when they do not have the ball »detailed Gazzetta dello Sport Start of the week. After 13 appearances with the Nerazzurri, Yann Sommer has only conceded 7 goals in all competitions. By keeping his clean sheet 8 times, the former Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper displays the best number of matches/clean sheet ratio in the five major European championships ahead of the Pole from OGC Nice Marcin Bulka (10 matches/7 clean sheet) and the German from FC Barcelona Marc André ter Stegen (14 matches/7 clean sheets) according to the specialized site Transfermarkt. Facing Atalanta Bergamo this Saturday (6 p.m.), the Swiss will try to add an eighth match out of eleven in the league without conceding a single pawn. Only Alisson Becker and Cristiano Lupatelli, both in the colors of Roma, had managed seven clean sheets in as many games in 2017 and 2000 respectively. Obviously, he seems to have already forgotten his predecessor for the greatest happiness of his supporters.
