Ever since Jose Mourinho left his position as manager of Inter Milan in the summer of 2010 the team has struggled to perform to the same standards. A historic treble was achieved that season, including a convincing 2-0 win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Many fans believed that it was just the start of a period where Italian football was once again going to set the benchmark for the rest of Europe to follow, but instead Mourinho left to sign for Real Madrid. Since then, the Nerazzurri have had 5 different managers but none seem capable of lifting this giant back to the dizzy heights of a few seasons ago.
Rafa Benitez, Leonardo, Gianpiero Gasparini, Claudio Ranieri and Andrea Stramaccioni have all taken the reigns at the club during the last three years. During that time the club has won a Coppa Italia trophy, an Italian Super Cup and a Club World Cup. Bearing in mind that the last two competitions were won by Rafa Benitez only a few months after Mourinho left, with practically the same team, then it is clear to see that there has been a definite drop in form and very little success for fans to cheer about over the last few years.
In reality, Mourinho’s departure was signalling the beginning of the end for a certain group of players. Of the 18 players that were in the squad for the Champions League final just three years ago, only 6 remain in the current squad. Influential players such as Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Samuel Eto’o and Wesley Sneijder have left, whilst Marco Materazzi, Ivan Cordoba and Francesco Toldo have retired. Economic difficulties forced president Massimo Moratti to sell several of the star men, as it was impossible to maintain the wage bill as it stood, but the replacements seem to lack the necessary quality required to compete at the highest level.
*Line up for 2010 Champions League final showing the players that have since left the club.
Although it was always going to be difficult to sustain the type of form that led Inter to such glory under Mourinho, they seem to have taken too many steps back and are now in a position where there is no consistency to their game and no real team spirit. Undoubtedly they still have some great individual players but that is not enough at the elite level to win competitions.
Earlier this season they became the first team to beat Juventus in their new stadium and ended their 49 game unbeaten run. The football and teamwork on show that day was sensational but they can’t seem to produce it regularly. In the first leg of the quarter final of the Europa League they were terrible against Tottenham and were lucky to lose by only three goals. However, the proper Inter team decided to turn up for the return leg and they were brilliant; they scored three times to level the aggregate and should’ve wrapped up a win in the final minutes with a Cambiasso chance, before eventually succumbing to an Adebayor goal in extra time.
It is this Jekyll and Hyde performance that is incredibly frustrating for the fans, who have recently begun unfurling banners declaring that they want the ‘Special One’ back at the club. Whether this happens or not it is clear that something has to start improving rapidly, because at this moment they are sitting in seventh place in the table and moving further away from where a club of their stature should aim to be.