Inter Milan: Cracking From the Top Down

Stephen Maio

Inter Milan knew they had a huge mountain to climb ahead of their Champions League return leg against Liverpool. Already down 2-0 on aggregate from the first tie and now minus central defender Marco Materazzi, turning the result over in their favour against a Liverpool team that is dominant in Europe would require a rather perfect game. What they got was a stale effort, highlighted by another sending off courtesy of Nicolas Burdisso and a 1-0 loss thanks to the boot of Fernando Torres.

What was more concerning then the actual loss itself was the body language of the Inter players. It looked like someone turned the effort dial down three notches. When the final whistle had blown, Inter bowed out 3-0 on aggregate, another pathetic effort and another early exit from Europe’s premier competition. You could imagine what the post game interviews would be like for Coach Roberto Mancini. He would have to answer questions on why exactly his team, who many believe may be the strongest on paper in Europe, had just collapsed for the fourth time in his four years at the helm, eliminated at the Round of 16 for the second consecutive year, and only advancing to the quarter finals twice during his tenure.

Mancini did the usual round of television and radio interviews afterwards, indicating the reasons why he felt his team had succumbed to Liverpool. And then the bomb drops. In a shock to the soccer world, out of nowhere, Roberto Mancini declares he will resign from the Inter bench following the seasons end at the print media conference. “I think that these will be my last two and a half months on the Inter bench. After four years and even if I have another four years left on my contract, I will leave Inter. I have already told the players and President Massimo Moratti.” In contrast to that statement, in a post game interview with Inter players Julio Cruz and Esteban Cambiasso, both confirmed they had heard nothing about it. Mancini was asked if the Champions League elimination to Liverpool had played a part in his decision, to which he replied “No, tonight’s defeat has nothing to do with it.” To add to the layer of mystery, he then refused to confirm what he had said when he walked back out past the television cameras, insisting he would only talk about the game.

The backlash that followed the comments was inevitable. Aside from the shock of the announcement, many questioned the timing of the delivery – and the reason. With the squad’s morale already low after being eliminated, why would the usually cautious Mancini choose this as his stage to reveal a colossal decision? Most in fact believed that it was a statement born of emotion, an angry expression of dissent stemming from the clubs embarrassing exit from the Champions League, pointing out the “probably” term in his statement and insisting it is a decision he would potentially go back on. 

His agent, Giorgio De Giorgis, also seemed perplexed by the coach’s decision, stating “It’s possible that he could stay and I hope that he does. There is a relationship of mutual respect between Roberto and Moratti” and also added “Has he found another team? No, that is nonsense. He hasn’t got any other contract on the cards.” Popular figures all around the soccer world offered their take on Mancini’s comments. Everyone from Gianluca Vialli to Walter Zenga to Inter legend Sandro Mazzola. But most notably Inter President Massimo Moratti, who had originally remained locked in a “no comment” stance upon hearing of the claim. “It was surprising. Clearly I did not expect it and I don’t think anybody else did either, not even those close to him. I can’t explain it” he spoke. “We will meet and then make decisions together. If he confirms he wants to leave at the end of the season, then we’ll see. Alternatives? No, it would be unfair to talk about that now. I already told Mancini last night that I did not and do not want to consider a change. There is a contract and faith in him, but we have to see if he has faith in himself to stay.”

They met indeed, and it sprung a sudden change of heart from Roberto Mancini, who then announced to the press his intention to stay on as Head Coach following the end of the season, blaming his emotions for the statement he uttered to the press. “Nobody can understand more than President Moratti, the Inter fans and our entire squad what it feels like to miss out on an objective we cared about a great deal,” said Mancini in an official statement released by the club. “I hope that all those who experience football understand the need to vent frustration and bitterness in such delicate moments. A coach is always the focus point for the group, but that group feeds on deeper emotions than that. After the game I spoke from the heart and the love of Roberto Mancini. I thank President Moratti for having given me strength, understood the moment and where I was coming from. I am sorry for the misunderstandings that may have come from that. The team already knows; we are ready to fight until the last minute with great intensity to conquer our third Scudetto and the Champions League right from next season”.

Moratti was clearly happy with result of his “negotiations” and told the press “I had a chat with Mancini, who reaffirmed his desire to stay with Inter for next season and the length of his contract. Next year he wants to win the Champions League.” The President would eventually go on to say that it is Mancini’s responsibility to iron things out with the players.  "Coach Mancini is going to talk to the players now. The coach and the players have to get things straight in their minds", Moratti said to Rai Sport during an interview. "If they let it, it could unsettle them. If they don’t, it won’t. It was obviously just anger at having lost, and not a good way of getting it out of his system". Mancini later expressed his regret at uttering the comments to Gianluca Vialli and Paolo Rossi during their “Attenti a quei due” show on Sky Sport. "If I could turn back the clock, I wouldn’t say what I did, because it’s not what I want, Inter is really important to me. The best thing for me now is to train Inter" he said.

So what could have prompted such a statement from Mancini? It isn’t quite the first time Inter have been humbled by foreign opposition at this stage. Is the pressure more intense this time around? The build up just doesn’t fit the claim. There is something behind the scenes that hasn’t been made public. The team is currently sitting at the top of the Serie A table, and is still alive in the Coppa Italia. During his tenure as head coach, Mancini has won the Coppa Italia twice, two Italian Supercups, and is on his way to bringing three consecutive Scudetti to Inter Milan (albeit one won in a courtroom), which would make him one of the most successful Inter coaches of all-time. In fact, Inter have never won the Scudetto three times consecutively in the clubs 100 year history. Luciano Moggi, the notorious former director of Juventus, had a very interesting take on why Mancini wanted to leave, also claiming he knew it all along. “I already knew that he would leave Inter,” Moggi maintained on Radio Marte. “But I didn’t think that he would announce it after the Liverpool game. Mancini isn’t happy with the group of players and could also have some problems with the President.”

The fact that Mancini had just recently signed a four year contract extension also doesn’t fit. Moratti seems convinced of his abilities and influence on the squad even if some fans aren’t. In most cases, you have to look a little deeper to see the truth. While it is true that Inter are six points clear in Serie A, their lead, as well as their form has drastically dipped since the New Year. Recently Inter have struggled through stale draws where they were second best to the likes of Udinese, Roma and Sampdoria. They only defeated Parma and Empoli due to controversial penalties, and they recently lost 1-0 to an upstart Napoli side. They have watched their former eleven point lead at the top of the table slip to a slender six.  AS Roma, led by Francesco Totti, are hot on their heels and focused on overtaking the Nerazzurri, as well as a vengeful Juventus squad if allowed close enough. Oh, by the way, AC Milan are also out of Europe and now a one competition pony, and focused solely on their domestic season. Then there is the refereeing controversy which has loomed like a cloud over the club for most of the season. And of course, there is the Champions League debacle. The one trophy that is missing from Massimo Moratti’s cabinet. The one he has paid millions in pursuit of during in his years in power.

There is also a sense that there is civil unrest within the dressing room, and Mancini has lost control over his players. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Materazzi are reported to not be on “speaking terms” by the press after Ibrahimovic’s comments following Materazzi’s red card in the first leg against Liverpool. When asked by a reporter post game why exactly Inter lost the tie, Ibrahimovic replied snidely “Why don’t you go ask Materazzi?”, instead of criticizing his own painful performance. Hernan Crespo has complained on numerous occasions about the amount of time he is spending on the bench. And if you saw the television clip of Patrick Vieira refusing to shake hands with Mancini after being substituted against Sampdoria, instead kicking a water bottle and shouting at him from a distance, you would get the impression the players would like to coach themselves. The most current dandy belongs to Luis Figo, who apparently refused to come on as a substitute in the second leg against Liverpool because he felt he should have started by ignoring Mancini calling his name. Mancini was left to look at his assistant Sinisa Mihajlovic in awe and despair.

Is it possible that these may be the first few pulls of the ribbon in the unraveling of Inter’s season? The effects of Mancini’s comments could be felt throughout the organization. When your coach goes public as his first outlet and admits a desire to leave, he tends to lose the faith of the players he coaches, not to mention upper management. Especially when neither a single squad player nor the President had even heard a squeak that Mancini was thinking this way. When you look at Inter’s season, essentially it has been thrown away since the winter break. They are no longer in Champion’s League (their main objective), and only hold a slender lead in Serie A. Unless they truly value the Coppa Italia, the only thing this club can do is pick up their form and finish as league champions. But will the players play for Mancini now? Could they throw away their lead in the Scudetto race? This upcoming block of games will be the deciding factor. Juventus, Lazio and Atalanta are three of their next four opponents. They need to make those games count.

In contrast, when looking closer at the possible reasons, who can blame Mancini for his anger? The expectations are massive, too massive in fact. Many believe Inter have an incredibly strong squad. I personally don’t, not to harp on the talent they do have, but I don’t believe they are as good as they think they are or their fans believe them to be. The squad lacks leadership, aside from classy captain Javier Zanetti, the rest of the team doesn’t offer much in terms of cool heads. Marco Materazzi, Ivan Cordoba, Nicolas Burdisso and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are notoriously temperamental players. Their disciplinary record proves it. Luis Figo and Patrick Vieira are past their prime and carry large egos and reputations into every training session. Massimo Moratti as well has to take some of the blame; he has historically tolerated petulance from star players, the likes of Adriano and Christian Vieri.

Roberto Mancini hasn’t had it easy since joining the club. He was hired in 2004 to take control of a lazy, unorganized and underachieving group of players at a club that had not won anything domestically since 1989, and whose last major trophy was a 1998 UEFA Cup. He has had his problems with specific players (Adriano) in which the club has never fully backed him. In his time he has won six trophies, and yet still has to read about candidates lined up to replace him in the papers each day. I believe Mancini knows the squad is not as strong as everyone thinks. He knows the team is not quite close to accomplishing what its fans demand. He knows Moratti. And he possibly knows he may be on the way out soon. Had enough yet Mancio? Wanting out a little early? Mancini may just be cracking. And so may be Inter’s season.