What Now For Inter?I’ll start off by admitting I’m a huge Inter fan. Although I only got into football when I was around 12, that was during the time of Ronaldo’s period of brilliance at Inter, and at the 1998 World Cup (well, except for the final).
I’ve been following them passionately since, first because I idolized “Ronie” and then remained an avid fan of the Beneamata after he left.
But I’m not going to indulge too much on the past and how it’s been to be an Inter fan. Instead I’d like to talk about the elimination at the hands of Valencia on Tuesday night, and how I think it will affect Inter’s season, and also how I think fans and neutrals will react, as well as, of course, how I took it.
It’s going to be hard not to mention what happened at the end of the game, but then again I would like to comment as much as possible on sporting matters, as those violent and senseless incidents just take away from the beautiful game. I don't want to lend a hand by getting on that train.
The knockout game against Valencia had a huge importance for all Inter fans, because the squad had built up such an enormous lead in the Serie A that going out at this point would seem like a real waste. Unfortunately, what many Milan and Juventus fans were hoping for - along with many others considering Inter are now almost as despised as Juventus were before they were relegated - happened.
And now, it’s easy to say the Italian league was “easy” this year, considering that Inter’s bogey team Juventus were demoted to Serie B and the likes of Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio were penalised.
It’s not surprising for me to read nasty and cruel comments like that by anti-Inter pundits on football forums all over the Internet. It is exactly what they were waiting for. And we have fallen into the trap once again. NON VINCETE MAI (“you never win”), the same old slogan is being repeated again, even though Inter have a margin of 16 points at the top and the scudetto is as good as won, it’s hard not to agree that this victory will have a somewhat hollow taste considering the poor European performance.
In both games against the solid Spaniards, Inter lacked the same attitude and aggresiveness they display every weekend in the league. While they did create some good chances - in the first leg particularly - and the 2-2 draw was probably more than Valencia deserved, the approach to the game was once again wrong. In the return game, instead of improving, we got worseIn the most important game of the season, I thought coach Roberto Mancini again made some serious tactical mistakes and played Burdisso, a defender, in midfield from the start. Given, Cambiasso and Vieira were missing, but surely a better solution could have been figured out (Solari, anyone...?). This defensive-minded midfield is what made it so hard for Inter to create chances throughout the match.
Of course, this elimination cannot be compared to the one against Villarreal last season, during which Inter simply did not turn up for the return leg and deservedly lost 1-0 (after winning 2-1 at home). This time, they tried until the end and had some great chances in the last 20 minutes, but by then it was too late, as Inter had started the game poorly and they seemed too scared and too tense to take them. Once again, it seems Inter had a mix of over-confidence and dread going into this tie, which is of course exactly the wrong combination for these types of games.
When the draw for this game was made, Valencia were not in great form while Inter were flying in Serie A (as they have been all season). Perhaps the feeling that sunk into the players at that moment was a kind of complacency that ended up being fatal. Also, Inter had many good memories of recent encounters against Valencia where they had always had the better over two legs. Since the draw, though, Valencia have been the in form side in Spain, charging back onto the title race on the back of a superb ten weeks or so, while Inter lost important players like Cambiasso and Vieira due to injury. It must be said that over the two matches Valencia still did not show they were superior to Inter, rather progressed on a tachnicality, but then there can always be an excuse.
It cannot be denied that Inter have made huge steps forward since Mancini’s arrival in 2004. They first won their first trophies in a long time with two Coppa Italias and two Supercoppas, as well as the Scudetto that was assigned to them last summer after the Calciopoli sanctions. Last summer they purchased some great new players like Crespo, Ibrahimovic (who has been especially inspired this term, playing his best football ever), Vieira and Maicon, among others, in order to make sure they would finally win a league title again on the pitch.
Inter have taken full advantage of the situation and have dominated the Serie A, breaking every record in sight and they have finally looked like a team. It may have been made “easier” for Inter in Serie A this year, but 17 consecutive victories, and triumphs against opponents like Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina (twice), Palermo, Sampdoria, plus the derby against Milan, cannot and should not be forgotten. In the end, the only big team missing compared to other years is Juventus. The psychological advantage Inter have had is huge and it has only increased the bigger their lead became at the top of the standings.
Roberto Mancini has finally shown maturity in his team management and in my opinion he should be kept on board for next season, as well as because Inter’s Serie A form has been magnificent. Now, there are several other challenges ahead in this season.
First of all there is derby against Ronaldo’s - the man who drew me to Inter as a child - Milan next weekend, a huge occasion where Inter must show character in front of their fans and get a result in order to maintain the chance to finish the Serie A season unbeaten.
It would be really disappointing to see the team starting to lose points in this final part of the season and stutter their way towards this inevitable scudetto. If they keep their domestic form up, they may pick up an unprecedented amount of points, and who knows, even reach the 100 point mark, which would be a historical achievement. Then there is the third consecutive Coppa Italia final against Roma, although I find that a lot less important personally as we have won it twice in succession under Mancini.
Finally, a few words on the almost masochistic way Inter have of making their Champions League defeats seem even more dramatic with ridiculous episodes of violence. Although
it was a Valencia player, Marchena, who started the pathetic bar brawl that took place following the final whistle by harassing Burdisso, the way it degenerated and how the Inter players followed players around the pitch was simply embarassing. Shows you how many footballers aren’t anything more than kids.
Of course, both sets of players who were involved all made themselves ridiculous, but it was another blow to Inter’s poor disciplinary record in Europe, after the episodes where Dida was hit by flares coming from the stands in the Champions League derby of 2005, and the time when they threw a motorcycle down the stands during a Uefa Cup game against Alaves. Now we await the sanctions Uefa will hand out to the various players involved and the clubs. Let’s hope the Nerazzurri have the opportunity to redeem their image in the international scene soon. Next year maybe, Inter?
Martino Olmeda
goal.com 
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