Mapping Roberto Mancini's affinity for ex-Yugoslavian football(ers)

One thing that's been on my mind for quite some time now is why Roberto Mancini seems to have an affinity for players that come from the ex-Yugoslavian countries. Though I would not call this an obsession for him, it is clear that his teams are constantly connected to players from these countries (Inter was dubbed "InterIC" during pre-season, before Kovacic left, when most people thought that they'd see all of Kovacic, Perisic, Jovetic, Brozovic on the same team; IC is the usual duo of letters on the tails of surnames of people who come from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and a little less frequently Slovenia). There's also other players that have been with him across clubs (some of them owe a lot of their development to him) such as Kolarov, Nastasic, Mihajlovic, Stankovic etc. (the last 2 of which are important not only as a product of his interest in Yugoslavian footballers, but also as a cause to it - I will mention them later). He also wanted Stevan Jovetic while he was at City.

Now, I have been given counter-arguments (by my friend Badar Akhtar - @ILPazzinho77 on Twitter) such as that Jovetic and Kolarov were already well known at the point where he wanted them at City, and that Inter's interest in Brozovic (as well as some other Dinamo players who are reportedly on Inter's radar right now) is the product of Inter's good relations with Dinamo, and come down above all to Ausilio's interests rather than Mancini's. He also said that players from ex-Yugoslavian countries are normally cheaper than talents from South American countries would be. And these things hold their water.

But, I'm still quite sure that there are indicators pointing to his abovementioned affinity, and I've finally forced myself into a little "research" today, so I delved into Mancio's past to see what could be the cause. Little did I know that the answers were quite easily discernible, though I would have you know that what I'm writing here is simply based on indications, not on anything he's said or a biography of him (I haven't seen him comment on this anywhere).

Namely, the most obvious (and probably also initiating and most important) influence in this sense probably came from Vujadin Boskov. The legendary coach from Vojvodina led Mancini during the period between 1986 and 1992 at Sampdoria, where Mancini was perhaps the key player. Boskov was a very important part of Yugoslavian football, being one of Yugoslavia's most esteemed people, and especially having led Yugoslavia during the Euros in 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands, and also from 1971-1973 before that. Boskov was Mancini's coach for 6 years!

Another wave of influence surely came from Sinisa Mihajlovic, the current head coach of Milan. Mancio and Mihajlovic are close friends to this day, but they met as players of Sampdoria, where they played together from 1994 to 1997, at which point Mancini departed for Lazio. Mihajlovic followed him there in 1998 and they together until 2001. After that, Mancini became coach of Lazio in 2002 and coached Mihajlovic until 2004, at which point Mancini moved to Inter, only to bring Mihajlovic to play for Inter and coach him until Sinisa retired in 2006. After Mihajlovic retired, Mancini made him his assistant from 2006 to 2008, when Mancini left the club and Mourinho came in. They've worked together for 12 years, and even when they didn't work together they remained close friends.

Another influence, as I've mentioned before, is probably also Dejan Stankovic. Stankovic and Mancini met as players of Lazio, where their stays overlapped in the period between 1998 and 2001. In 2002, Mancini became coach of Lazio, and coached Stankovic. Later, when Mancini became the coach of Inter, he brought Stankovic to the club in 2004 and remained his coach until the departure in 2008. There is also the fact that with Mancini's return to Inter last season, he didn't wait long and re-called Stankovic to the club, making him team manager this summer. That's more than 10 years spent together for the 2, in 2 different clubs.

There is also Alen Boksic, the Croatian striker who played for Lazio. Boksic played for Lazio from 1997 to 2000 (his 2nd stint, having played for them also from 1993 to 1996), so they spent 3 years together with Mancini. I am not aware of any special connection formed between the two during this period, though.

Each one of Boskov, Mihajlovic and Stankovic are influential characters in Yugoslavian football, and each one of them bore the quality of Yugoslavian football culture in a different way. I firmly believe that it brushed up on Mancini as well, and his appreciation is not only visible in the later acquisitions of Nastasic, Kolarov, Brozovic, Jovetic, but especially on the fact that he carries Mihajlovic and Stankovic around with him.

It is not at all weird that Mancini has warmed up to Yugoslavian football culture. Living in one of the countries of ex Yugoslavia (Macedonia), I've personally witnessed some and heard about all other successes that Yugoslavia (and subsequently the countries that remained of it after its tragic dissolution) has noted in football.
Yugoslavia is the home of Red Star Belgrade - a club that won the European Champions Cup in 1991 (on the brink of Yugoslavia's dissolution) v. Marseille, with players such as Vladimir Jugovic (later played for Inter), Darko Pancev (later played for Inter), Robert Prosinecki, Dejan Savicevic and, indeed, Sinisa Mihajlovic.

They've also won the Mitropa Cup twice in 1958 and 1968, and later finished as runners up in the ECC in 1979, the last season of the legendary Dragan Dzajic, among other great players of that time.

Then there's also Croatia's success at the 1998 World Cup in France, where they finished 3rd, eliminating Germany in the quarter finals with an emphatic 3-0 triumph. They lost in the semi finals to host country France, who would later go on to win the tournament, and beat the Netherlands in the 3rd place playoff with 2-1. Croatian striker Davor Suker, who played for Real Madrid at the time, finished the tournament as top scorer with 6 goals scored.

This Croatia team also included legendary Zvonimir Boban, Dario Simic, Robert Prosinecki and current West Ham coach Slaven Bilic.

Other great names that have emerged from the Yugoslavian spaces over the years include Dragan "Piksi" Stojkovic, Predrag Mijatovic, Dragoslav Sekularac, Savo Milosevic etc.

Though clubs from the ex-Yugoslavian countries haven't noted any significant success in recent years, there are a number of players who have broken through the ranks of great names such as Red Star Belgrade (the first club of Nemanja Vidic), Partizan Belgrade (who, by the way, produced Stevan Jovetic), Dinamo Zagreb (Modric), Hajduk Split etc. to go on and become leading names in world football.
Just imagine a united team of Yugoslavian countries today:

And this still leaves players like Begovic, Oblak, Nastasic, Savic, Subotic (even Vidic), Kovacic, Perisic, Ljajic, Brozovic, Tadic, Ilicic, Dzeko... Maybe even Xherdan Shaqiri (who is of Albanian ethnicity and was born in Gjilan, Kosovo, which was at the time still part of Serbia and consequently of Yugoslavia), though he might have still chosen to play for Albania. I could also go with Ibrahimovic... but that's really a long shot, since he was born in Malmo, Sweden (just pointing out that he is of Bosnian descent). :)
In short, it is a team that could easily challenge the very biggest bosses of world football right now.

And who knows, considering how close to his heart Mancini seems to keep ex-Yugoslavia, who knows, maybe if it didn't dissolve, Mancio could have even coached the national team at some point. If only... :) 

#TeamFeghouli - vai Piero!

Though I hate transfer rumors in the middle of October - I read something this morning that made me feel all warm and cuddly inside - that Inter are interested in signing Sofiane Feghouli from Valencia in January. Thohir did hint that Inter would be buying in January, so I thought this was a good enough reason to let my mind wander (when I should be spending my time on more important things, obviously) and fantasize about how Feghouli would fit into our team. 

*Disclaimer - there is still no indication that Inter is interested, it's only the media talking. Even worse, it's Tuttosport talking. But bear with me.

Ok, so basically - a couple of reasons why I would love to have Feghouli at Inter.

First of all - he wouldn't be expensive. He should fit our parameters. His contract is expiring this summer, which means that Valencia can't ask for much money (Merdasport announced that the price would be ~5m euro). Our mission now should be to convince him not to sign a new contract with Valencia and to choose to leave this winter for a team that will accommodate him right away and where a player of his profile would be more than welcome. Apart from this, Lim's alleged friendship with Moratti should make things easier.

He would also reportedly be highly appreciated by a world class coach like Mancini (who should be picking his phone up as I'm writing this). Considering that Mancini likes his players hard working and physically strong and resilient - Feghouli should fit the picture just fine.

Another reason to buy Feghouli is that he is only 25 years old.

He's also got a French passport which means that the non-EU rule would not be a problem.

Then, he's a very good player and would fit perfectly into our system. Mancini has been hesitant in adopting 4231 and has said that he could do it later on in the season. If he uses it now, one of his wingers won't be making the necessary defensive contribution to cover for the lateral space in midfield and help out our incomplete full backs (they're decent, especially Telles, but not complete).

Feghouli, like Perisic, is a very hard working player. He runs around a lot and helps out the team in the defensive phase. Also, like Perisic, Feghouli is a player that plays with both feet (and if necessary on both sides), which is massively important for a wide player, as he can both cross and cut inside to take shots. He is also good in aerial duels, which makes us a threat from both sides of the pitch, as the wingers would be able to help Icardi out in finishing off each other's crosses (though Feghouli is not as good at crossing as Perisic, his passing and vision are still decent).
He's not quite as fast as Perisic, but still has pace.

Having 2 wingers like Perisic and Feghouli is just enough to give the necessary muscle to cover the wide spaces in what is an already impressively strong midfield made up ideally of Melo and Kondogbia. Effectively, in the defensive phase the team would form a kind of a 4411.

Our current problem in the 3 man midfield of not having anyone creative to move the ball around would be alleviated in 4231, since the ball would move a lot more on the flanks (taken over by Feghouli and Perisic), and of course, the main creative outlet of the team would be expected from Stevan Jovetic (meaning the creative center of the team would move further up the pitch), who would move into the channels to pick up the ball and instantly carve up space for Icardi in front of him or for one of the wingers cutting inside or waiting out wide. The only problem here is that Jovetic will take a lot of beating this way, because once the ball reaches him, with all the options that open up everywhere, the opposition will have to be very quick to cut him down. I'd keep Ljajic around, just in case.

Also, the quality of width in the 4231 and the fact that Jojo will surely have someone on himself at all times - will also release space in which Kondogbia can burst in to take shots. 

All in all - I believe he'd be a fantastic addition and can't think of many realistic targets that would fit in better with our team. Let's see if the situation develops, but I'd love to see Feghouli at Inter.

Vai Piero! 

A key moment of Mourinho's career - evolution

What I'm about to write here has barely anything to do with Inter, other than the fact that it concerns one of the most successful coaches in our club's history, a man who left a permanent mark by winning the Treble in that unforgettable 09/10 season.

Mourinho is currently heavily under fire at Chelsea. And it's not unjustified either - the results this season have been bad, the team isn't playing well. They don't even seem motivated to win, which is unforgivable considering the fact that other great teams like Barcelona could hold on to their motivation for years, even after domination in Europe. In this sense, I believe Mourinho shares in the responsibility, though he obviously cannot be the only one responsible. But I think I can define his own responsibility later in this post.

Mourinho's approach:
Obviously, being my favorite coach in the world, I've given a lot of thought about Mourinho's approach and what it is that causes his teams to implode in his 3rd season. I believe I've come to understand him well by now, and my conclusion has been that he needs to change his approach if he wants to survive among the elites on the long term, that's to say if he wants to take the next step and go for a long tenure at a club like SAF did with United.

I'll try to explain.
I'm not sure if Mourinho has been a nomad (moving from one country to another without long spells at a single club) because he didn't feel he was capable of staying in one place for too long, or if he did it because he really wanted to win everywhere before he settles down. Either way, so far it's worked well - he's broken a number of records in several countries and is one of four managers in history to have won in 4 different countries.

However, upon his return to Chelsea, Mourinho said that he wants to finally settle down and build something great and sustainable with the London side. The problem, though, is that Mourinho's approach is currently not one for long term spells. Here's why:

I believe that an essential part of Mourinho's success has always been that he wants to maintain the underdog mentality within his team, which is funny, because it makes his players humble and willing to work, but at the same time gives them confidence that they are the best. When everything's the way Mou likes it - you can send just about anyone against his teams and they'll just smile at you and keep on coming. Inter was the "most Mourinho team" ever in 2010 - they were untouchable and were completely molded in his image. You could also see glimpses of it with his old Chelsea, but less so with the new one and with his Real Madrid team (as brilliant as they were in football terms).
Anyway, how does he do it? He basically conjures up a challenge, inflates it (sometimes out of proportion) and then spins around it the illusion that the world is against him and his team, making them fold and stick together. He is also often very protective of his players, even in situations when they are blatantly wrong.
Feeling protected and defensive at the same time, his players trust him and love him beyond measure (until some point, I'll explain why later) and they are prepared to do things for him that they normally wouldn't do (eyes on Pepe at Real Madrid, who was a raging lunatic under Mourinho, but regained discipline when Ancelotti came around, without losing any of the quality). They trust him because they believe he always knows what he's doing. And in most cases, he does, as he has so often proven before with his meticulous preparations. Other than this, bear in mind that Mourinho's background points to the fact that he is an expert in communication - he's worked as a translator and has also worked with children with disabilities (thanks to @worldfootballcm for pointing that out to me). He understands communication deeply and you can see this in his relationship with his players and his capability to manipulate the press. This is why I believe that his extravagant behavior in public is, in most cases, actually well thought out. He causes scandals so that the press will attack him (which often keeps attention off the players) and this boosts the story that he sells to his players and his clubs, while also sending out a message to the referees and the media, that if they go against his teams they'll have to deal with him in the press room - which is no simple matter at all, especially as long as they're dealing with a man who wins on the field. It's easy to defeat a loser, but winners are those who write history, and this guy will give you quite the fight.

Now, how he did this at every club he's managed:
* He did it with Porto. Obviously, it was very easy to make them feel like underdogs in Europe, though this does not in any way detract their heroic feat.
* He did it with Chelsea the 1st time around - probably made them feel like they had a point to prove with all the $$ that Roman invested in the club.  
* He did it with Inter - Inter being a club that's always had that mentality anyway - being abused and campaigned against by the Italian media etc. He also probably used Moratti's ambition to match the success of his father's Inter and the 45 year drought in the CL probably was a huge motivating factor that Mourinho used on the players (especially players like Zanetti, Samuel, Cambiasso, Lucio etc. who had the necessary experience and will do make that final push) Further proof of this is that Mourinho's Inter didn't break down when they won the 1st Scudetto with him (they had been used to winning the Scudetto at that point), but it did break down (and probably would've broken down even if he had stayed) after they won the CL. Their raison d'etre was gone, the ordeal was completed. 
* He did it with Real Madrid. As difficult as it may seem to make Real Madrid look like underdogs - he did it. And he did it thanks to the fact that Barcelona were so good at the time. His victory against Barca with Inter in the CL 1/2 final in 2010 also helped him out a lot in that sense, because it was a huge reason why Real Madrid hired him in the 1st place - they thought he was the antidote to Barcelona. He also benefited from this a lot to gain the confidence of the board and his players - getting powers as manager that perhaps no other manager had gotten with Real Madrid before him. Like with Inter winning the CL - Real Madrid lost a big part of their reason to work hard when they beat Barca to the title in La Liga and when they started beating them fairly regularly in direct duels. The fact that Real Madrid broke down before he could win them the CL was an indicator that the success over Barcelona caused a decline in motivation, while the pressure was still huge. It was logical that when Ancelotti arrives, the only challenge that he will pose to them would be La Decima - which is exactly what happened. Ancelotti won La Decima, but the will for Real to dominate in Spain was gone. They're still waiting for a La Liga title after Mourinho destroyed Spain with that Real Madrid. 
* Finally - he did it with Chelsea the 2nd time around, playing the fragile trick that Chelsea were a "small horse in a big horse race" (remember that?), implying that the team was still young and had a lot to learn and is in the middle of the most difficult league to win in the world etc. I thought he would now try to sell them the CL challenge, finally going head to head with the big guys like Barcelona, Bayern, Real Madrid etc. but it doesn't seem like he'll make it and, to be frank, I don't think this team is capable of it yet, otherwise that would've been the central challenge he would base his work on in the 1st place. He obviously thought he had a team capable of winning the EPL and set out to do that, but now that it's done, the motivation isn't there to bring on the next level. I'll explain.

This kind of approach is hardly a sustainable one. Why? First of all, because it puts the players under tremendous pressure and they can't put up with it for too long. Being told that the entire world is against you for more than 2 years of your life and feeling like you have to do things that aren't really pleasant to do has a way of wearing you out. While he is capable of holding on under such pressure for a long time, because he always wants to win - most players aren't capable of it.
Under such circumstances, when the players have completed the original challenge, it's very difficult to get them raring to go for the next one, because they're simply tired. At this point, you'll notice that the relationship between him and his players snaps - he starts speaking of rats, moles and whatnot who give up his tactical plans to the media before important games, accuses people of not playing well in public etc. That relationship is even more fragile when the players involved are players of equal stature to his own (it's how his tenure with Real Madrid was ended). All of this because they simply can't hold up to his standards anymore. That's partly the fault of the players, but it's also partly bad management on his part.
Chelsea's problems actually didn't start this summer. You could notice a significant drop in performances last season as well, somewhere before spring. For some reason, the performances of many players dropped significantly; everyone except maybe Hazard and to a lesser extent Matic was playing badly. Hazard basically had to drag Chelsea to the title for a large part of the season. And then there's that inexplicable game v. PSG. Mourinho teams don't do that in big games, not when they have it as easy as Chelsea did v. PSG. Perhaps the friction had already been there at that point, but the challenge of having to win the EPL was what kept the team together until this summer.
Actually, you could notice something in the interview he gave after the game v. Southampton - among other things, he says that by sending him away, Chelsea would send away the best coach that they've (ever) had. And that's just reminding them how important he's been and gaining leverage to get another chance. But what he says after that is very important - he says that it would also send out a message to the players, *the same message that's been sent to them for the past 10 years* (i.e. since he left) - that the coach is always the one to blame. The impression he leaves is that he feels that the players feel too comfortable and too powerful, and this would become a problem for Chelsea if the club decide to remove a manager of his stature, after all he's done for Chelsea, from his job because they don't feel like playing for him anymore.
He also made sure to mention, several times, that EVERYONE at the club has to take responsibility. He's even singled out a couple of performances lately, and replaced Matic after 27 minutes on the field on that game, having introduced him at half time in the first place.

Apart from this, Mourinho has come a long way since the time he was still actually an underdog. He has become a brand, an institution within football. This makes it much more difficult for him to implement the fundamentals of his approach - Mourinho is simply not an underdog anymore. There's also the fact that he now coaches only clubs of the very highest stature, with a lot of money involved (which is quite easily visible in how his own taste has become more and more expensive over time). It's impossible to make Real Madrid or Chelsea look like the underdog forever. It might work in a specific situation (like I mentioned before when I explained how he did it at each club) - but it won't work over a longer period of time.
Also worth mentioning about the current situation, though, is that Mourinho will find it very difficult and will have to produce something he hasn't produced before to get out of this situation. That's due to the fact he never has been in such a situation - he never has lost this much, he doesn't deal with being low on the table with a top team.

So this leaves Jose with 2 options - one of which is to change his approach and to start basing his success on something which is more sustainable. I have no idea how he'd do this, but from what I know, SAF was quite similar to Mourinho once upon a time - maybe even encountered the same problems and ultimately managed to adapt and go on to become one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) of all time.
Thus, one should keep an eye on how Chelsea act, because there might just be a possibility that Abramovich is ready to take Jose's 3rd season crap and persist to see how he'll do in his 4th season. It would be a great test for Chelsea if they ever really meant to build a dynasty with Mourinho. Let's not think that all of Ferguson's years with United were fantastic, but United put up with it and that's what gave birth to the legend.
Obviously, staying with Chelsea is the real test for Mourinho as well - he'll finally get to reach a 4th season with a single club and I believe it will be a completely new terrain for him - so it's logical to expect to see new things from him as well - and that's always interesting.

The other option is for him to carry on being a nomad and keep moving from club to club (for at least some time more). I've got only 1 idea about where he could go next if he leaves Chelsea (which, at this point no longer entirely depends on him because his position is very, very fragile) - that's PSG. Though obviously the French league won't be a major challenge for him, it will be an addition to the list of countries he's won in. PSG will obviously be able to fulfill all his demands as far as players go and he will be able to sell them the story about them belonging among Europe's elite etc. (they already have a squad which is quite capable of fighting it out with the best). For PSG it would be a great move in terms of marketing and purely footballing terms - they'd get one of the very best, proving that their ambition is to be among the very best.
Another potential option is Germany, which would, in my opinion, only be an option for Jose in lack of other options because he doesn't speak the language and for that he has said that he wouldn't want to coach in Germany (he considers knowing the language to be essential for his work because, as I mentioned before, he bases a lot of his approach on communication).
I'm pretty sure he won't return to Italy because Inter can't afford him right now (and also because they seem to be intent on trusting Mancini to refurbish the team) and he won't coach another Serie A side, as he has said countless times before.
In Spain, I feel that for him there is only Real Madrid and Barcelona, neither of which wants him (and I don't think it'd be a good idea for him to join either anyway). Maybe Atleti if Simeone is somehow leaving, but that's a very very long shot.
Finally, England - the only option I see there is for United to get rid of LvG and for him to take his place as the heir of Ferguson. But also a long shot.

Do I expect Jose to get past this and come back stronger (with Chelsea or another side) - I do. He's incredibly intelligent and the worst case scenario is that he'll need some time to think about the tweaks that he needs to make to his approach to adapt it to the new circumstances that he's in.

(this next part you don't have to read, just provides perspective on all the public junk being written on him, but all reasonable readers won't need it):
One could say that other coaches in England have had it far easier with very limited success, but I don't think Jose' should be bothered by that - judging him on high standards is an indicator about just how good he is. If you're Wenger, spend 10 years without a major trophy and nobody says a thing - it's probably because they don't expect it of you. I think he'd be disgusted if people stop expecting it of him eventually, so there's some sort of perverse enjoyment of the pressure that he's always under. I think he loves it, though as he said he loves it more when he's top of the table with 1 point ahead of the runners up. I really liked what he said before the Southampton game about this being "a fantastic period in his career, despite the fact that it comes too late; because he can learn from his mistakes", but also that "he doesn't want it to happen again".

Needless to mention, though, some people cross the line. Suddenly the debate is no longer about how well or how badly Mourinho is doing this season. Instead, some people are trying to spread the fire to his legacy and to his past success - trying to say that this season, indeed, casts a shadow on all his previous success, implying somehow that he was either "lucky", or "always had all the money in the world at his disposal" etc.
People, seriously - get the fuck off. The man has done enough in his career to not have to win a single game for the remainder of it and still come off as one of the best of all times. Name me a coach other than Guardiola who has had a bigger effect on football in the last 10-15 years (and not only in a tactical sense).
- In his 12 years of top football management (since he joined Porto), he's only finished 3rd once; he's won the league 8 times (across 4 different countries, in EVERY country he's worked in) and finished as runner up 3 times.
- He's won the Champions' League twice (once with Porto and once with Inter, becoming the first coach in history to complete a treble in Italy)
- He's won the UEFA Cup (the season before he won the CL with Porto, so his domination with Porto wasn't a one off thing)
- He's won 8 Cups/League Cups
- He's won 4 Super Cups
- Between 2002 and 2011 (yes, 9 fucking years), he went through a streak of 150 home league matches without defeat. Take a second to think about that.
- Set the record in Spain for most league games won in a single season (32) in 2011/2012, most away wins (16), most points in any of the biggest European leagues (100), most goals per season (121) and highest goal difference (+89)
- Won his 1st EPL trophy with a record 95 points

I believe that should give you the right perspective when you decide to criticize his legacy or say that he's overrated as a coach.
Is Jose a perfect manager? Of course not, who is? Is he a perfectly nice person - no. He's done things that he should be ashamed of (the incident with Tito Villanova above all, then also the incident with Eva Carneiro), he sometimes gives crazy reactions and speaks stuff that makes no sense in press conferences, maybe because he's pissed and maybe because it's a way for him to maintain his grip on the team, to maintain the illusion that everyone is against them. Either way - he's not perfect.
But, he's been a phenomenal manager above all, and he's also done some things that many wouldn't do in his place. Remember that game v. Atletico when Mourinho was already under pressure (at Real Madrid) and he went out on the pitch earlier than his players to let the fans whistle him in order to leave his players untouched by the negative atmosphere? I wouldn't be at all surprised if the persona that Mou presents in public is far different from the one that he really is privately. One thing is quite sure, though - he's ruthless and he does whatever is necessary to win, be it to drop a player that many consider to be his favorite, or to make a scapegoat of someone in order to send out a message to the team. His focus is always on the collective, he does what he does to help the collective play well. He demands more from his players for this, but it works. On most days his methods are brilliant - he puts pressure on the opposition by playing physically, he puts pressure on them by speaking in public etc. And sometimes it gets out of control - like it did with Tito.
But is he one of the best of all time? Damn right, he is. So his legacy remains untouched and he'll more than likely be back sooner than you think. I remember many people thought Mourinho was done when he left Chelsea after his first tenure. Then came Inter. Then people thought he was done after Real Madrid - he won the EPL last season. Now people think he's done again, but he'll pop up sooner or later.

The man is a winner, and it's what he's gonna keep doing, one way or the other.

Xherdan and Inter had to go their separate ways

I have to say a couple of words about the sale of Shaqiri.

It's bad PR - granted. Mancini begs for player - player arrives - all hell breaks loose - Mancini falls out of love - player is forced out.

Ok.

Now, do we actually blame Mancini for the sale or do we just say he made the wrong evaluation in deciding to go after him in the first place? There's a big difference.

All you people saying "Shaqiri would've fit in" - that's hardly the point, and he probably wouldn't have.

Disclaimer: Shaqiri has individual talent in abundance. He's fast, explosive; can shoot, dribble, cross - you name it.
He's shown glimpses of it for us too.

Now, that does not *necessarily* make him a good team player. A team of good players doesn't necessarily make a good team.
Notice the kinds of teams that Shaqiri has performed for - Basel and Switzerland. He disappointed in Bayern and more or less disappointed at Inter (remember the game v. Parma when Mancini's bubble of zen finally exploded?). Loosely keep in mind the rumors about Pep saying he was "not smart enough" - I'd go with Pep on these things.

Shaqiri plays well for teams that revolve entirely around him. You want Shaqiri to perform? Make the team bend completely to him - that way what he lacks in teamwork is covered by his teammates and his individual talents excel: win-win (remember Cassano at Parma?). Surely you can get this at a top team, right? Pep begs to differ, and so does Mancio in trying to make a top team out of Inter again.

You don't seriously believe that a coach with at least continental reputation, who has won the Scudetto, the EPL etc. doesn't take into consideration that a player needs time to get used to a new league and team - do you? 

So, your idea is, Mancini woke up one morning, said to himself "time to send Shaqiri into exile because I didn't like the way he wore his hair yesterday" and went to tell Thohir he wants him out.
Think again.

The club must have had problems with Shaqiri, otherwise I don't think Thohir would've stood still as Mancini gave the marching orders to a player which the club barely managed to sign for him just months ago. Did you notice any strain between the management and Mancini in the sale of Shaqiri? I know I didn't - they stood united and all pushed in the same direction - Shaqiri had to be sold.

What was his problem? I have no fucking idea - maybe it was discipline (tactical or general), maybe it was his attitude, his fitness, maybe the rest of the team didn't warm up to him, maybe there's been a serious altercation we don't know about.

Now, some of you will say "How does Shaqiri deserve to be sold when we keep hold of Ranocchia, Guarin etc?!" - and I'd be the first one to agree, but things don't work ideally in the real world.

Shaqiri, unlike Ranocchia, Guarin etc. is still quite marketable (at a time when the club is making one of the biggest overhauls in living memory). He recently had a terrific World Cup for Switzerland, and the fact that he's young and coming from clubs like Inter and Bayern still makes cash loaded, less reputable clubs (like Stoke, Everton, Newcastle etc.) to be willing to splash the $$.
You don't get this with the other nobodies I've mentioned above, or at least it's more difficult (and I'm sure Mancio would jump at it if he gets a chance, you've seen the club wants to sell a lot of the junk this summer but they refuse to leave).

Now I know the lot of you find it hard to accept this - we all had high hopes of Xherdan and expected him to make an instant difference. And that's important too - Inter bought him to make an instant difference - and in that sense he didn't deliver. So it wasn't enough to just be better than Guarin, I approve of judging him on high criteria, I can't judge him the same as I did fucking Schelotto or Dodo.

Please keep in mind that a lot of things happen behind the scenes that none of us see and that Di Marzio doesn't report about on his website. I'm quite sure this has been worked on for months; they probably tried to sort it out as well, but I suppose Shaq didn't take them too seriously because he didn't seriously expect to be sold that soon and even if he did - he probably was expecting a bit better than Stoke. 

Now it's a challenge for him to start climbing back up and another challenge for Mancini and Inter to pick out their reinforcements a bit better in the future. The point isn't whether he was a good player - it's about whether he was a good fit.

Good luck to both.

Mancio's new Inter paradigm

Well, Mancio is up and running in Milano once again. There's been an air of enthusiasm surrounding his arrival. He's been welcomed as one of our own and the fans seem to have the utmost confidence that he will duly deliver the promise that his future can someday replicate the lavishness of his past.

As we prepare to see Mancio back on the Inter bench for the first time since that Scudetto-winning game against Parma in 2008, there is no doubt that everyone's eyes are aimed at the tactical changes he is about to make in the team. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the aversion the fans have bred for Mazzarri's 3-5-2 after seeing some torrid performances in that system, especially this season.
Hoping that we will no longer see the pointless continuous back-passes in lack of ideas for going forward, an isolated Icardi in the opposition box begging to get some decent service so he can score etc. I've set out to designate several defining developments that could take place if Mancio's changes are indeed as I've anticipated.

I believe that as most people expect, Mancini will go with 4-3-1-2 (his "rombo", a narrow diamond that he used at Inter last time around, a bit like a 4-1-2-1-2) as one of his trademark formations and one that would more or less suit the players he has at disposal for now. Apart from his usual affinity to this formation, the fact that he used it in his first few training sessions with the squad gives us additional reason to expect a lineup in this structure.

In order to fully explain the reasons why I believe the concrete changes will occur, I will also give a short description of how the system works in principle as I go.

This is more or less (with a couple of fluctuations) the lineup that I expect to see Mancio present on perfect days - ones with no injuries or suspensions. Before I go explaining my anticipation of Mancini's choices, a short explanation about the system itself:

As you can see, there is a shift to a 4-man defense, with a diamond in midfield consisting of one deeper lying (in most cases defensive-minded) midfielder, 2 central midfielders, a single advanced midfielder in the hole between midfield and attack and finally 2 strikers. This is a system that offers good vertical penetration and provides good balance for playing a game based both on possession or on more direct passes. A very good side of it is the fact that it creates numerical advantage in midfield, without sacrificing any of the attacking potential, but one of the system's inherent weaknesses is one that could hurt us in particular, as I will point out later - the lack of wingers calls for the full backs to bomb ahead to provide width. As the full backs penetrate ahead, it is the job of one of the midfielders (the deeper-lying one) to stay further back and provide cover from counter attacks for the defense, until the team manages to retake its defensive shape. It is also a system that necessitates midfielders who are good on the ball, because losing the ball in midfield easily leaves the defense exposed, considering the fact that the full backs are moved in front during the offensive phase.

So, the first development I expect is:

1. We will see a lot more goals and more interesting football.

Yes, I will be expecting Inter's games to produce more goals now that Mancini has arrived (we'll probably score more, but we'll probably concede easily as well, which we've been doing often lately anyway; all in all, less people will fall asleep during the games). The football Mancio's first Inter side adopted was quite attractive as well, and now the fact that we've moved one of the stoppers behind the strikers indicates that we should see a lot more action up front. No more Icardi standing on his own in the opposition box, no more boring passing in our own half (and hopefully no more "long balls" from Ranocchia and his defensive partner in lack of other solutions). 

I did have a few dilemmas in predicting the starters, as I don't know if Mancini will prefer Vidic or JJ alongside captain Ranocchia. Vidic has been a proper menace so far, as opposed to JJ who has impressed me with his grit and bravery (the only player alongside Palacio who gives 100% every single game), but turning to a 4-man defense could be a real game-changer as far as this paradigm is concerned.

... Which brings me to my second point:

2. Vidic - reborn! (his name is Nemanja, he comes from Serbia, he'll f***ing murder yaaaa...)

It doesn't matter if he starts or not, I expect Vidic's individual performances to improve massively under Mancini, not only because of his experience in 4-man defense systems (not to mention the fact that SAF has used this particular formation with United in the past), but also because Mancini would have less problems in communicating with Vidic, being able to speak English himself. I expect Mancini will also be able to better point out the differences between Italian and English football to Vidic (with his substantial experience in both leagues), which I think he desperately needs.

Should Vidic start instead of JJ (and Mancini likes him, tried to snap him up while at Galatasaray, but failed because Ausilio concluded the business swiftly on Inter's part), it would open up a difficult choice for the new coach - should JJ be left on the bench? Seeing as how Ranocchia is captain (and Conte seems to be having a very good effect on him in the national team - was GdS's highest rated player against Croatia) and if Vidic does indeed go through a renaissance - the only other option for Mancio will be to deploy Juan as a left full back. 

Speaking of full backs...

3. Inter's biggest problem will be on the flanks.

Yes, this is by far the most problematic area of the squad should we adopt this system. I'm not sure any of the full backs we currently have are up to such a task. Dodo, Danilo and perhaps even Nagatomo and JJ are decent at best - not complete full backs that you can rely on to that extent which this system beckons. I'm not counting Jonathan there (I've given up on him) and it's much too early to talk of Mbaye. Dodo's got a lot of potential, but he's a liability defensively, JJ's got the problem inverted. I think a lot of work will have to be invested in those positions, no matter who starts on either side. Our full backs can't cross a ball for their lives, and being the only players that provide width to the game, it will be expected of them quite often. I'm quite certain that this area of the squad will be the first one mentioned should Mancini think of reinforcements.

Lucky we don't have any reckless midfield mavericks to lose balls all the time... Oh, wait... 

4. The Guarin conundrum

Now that we've reached midfield... I heard Mancio say in his unveiling press conference that he holds Fredy Guarin in very high regard. He said he could be "key", called him a "great player" and said he would discuss with him his favorite position (also reportedly wanted to bring him to Galatasaray in the past, another indication of high esteem). I think that normally places him in central midfield, because it's the only spot that doesn't have much better fitting players already (Medel is sure to start deep, as his versatility will be useful when he needs to act as a central defender to cover; Kovacic is undisputed up front). What worries me about Guarin is tightly connected to what I mentioned about the requirements of the midfield earlier, in the system "intro". For a system that requires players in midfield who are rational with the ball (because lost balls mean fast counter attacks on an exposed defense), Guarin is an awfully risky choice. He's also very unstable psychologically and his work rate varies greatly due to this. I'd take M'Vila in serious consideration for that spot, at least depending on the opponents, because he is very composed (despite the fact that he won't provide a creative spark as good as Guarin's in attack) and also provides great physicality that allows Inter to win balls further upfield. Seeing as how the midfielders we have are quite versatile and can play in various positions, I'm sure we'll get to see them in a variety of roles, so I won't be surprised to see him as trequartista from time to time, a role that he spent a lot of time working on under Mazzarri. 

And speaking of trequartistas...

5. Mancini will elevate Kovacic to new heights.

This is one of the biggest benefits of Mancini's arrival. He has spoken very highly of Kovacic in the past, calling him the "biggest talent in Europe, a born champion" while Mateo was still in Dinamo. Though Kovacic has already been stellar in our shirt, I expect Mancini to take him to a whole new level. The reason? Mancini is an expert on the trequartista role and Kovacic has all it takes to make it there. Actually, upon receiving his coaching badges, Mancio wrote a thesis about the trequartista role, and having played as one himself, he knows quite a lot about it. He writes in his thesis that the trequartista is an "artist with 360 degree vision, and can create something new and unexpected with a single move". The role demands great mobility and generally allows great creative freedom. Though this is difficult to implement in modern football (having a player that provides little defensive contribution), it's a perfect role for Kovacic.

I've been thinking whether Kovacic should swap positions with Hernanes, because he plays better in more space and Inter could benefit from Hernanes' shooting abilities while not losing too much creative output, but I think that Mancio's expertise in the role combined with his appreciation for Il Professore nudged my decision the right way. Expect him to become the very core of this team.

We should expect a lot of assists from little Mateo, and we also have quite the player to score goals off them...

6. Icardi to leapfrog competition to become Capocannoniere. 

... Don't get me wrong, Mauro has already been exquisite for Inter! He is a predator in front of the goal; a very balanced combination of excellent movement (as pointed out by Mancio himself before he returned), aerial prowess, speed, physicality and above all world class finishing ability. He is currently sitting third on the charts with 7 goals to his name, only 1 goal behind Tevez and Callejon who are tied for 1st place each having scored 8.

The biggest (and perhaps, only) reason Mauro Icardi is not #1 on that list in my humble opinion has been the disgraceful lack of service he'd been victim of under Mazzarri. Walter may have had a positive effect on him as an individual as far as his game is concerned, but one of the most frustrating things about Mazzarri's reign was seeing Icardi all alone up front, receiving 70m long balls from Ranocchia/Vidic/JJ and being left to wait for the rest of the team to come up and help him; receiving barely 1 decent cross from which he can make a proper finish through 90 minutes (which could continue to be a problem, as I've mentioned above) etc. This has to stop, Icardi can be the best striker in Italy by a mile and Mancini needs to look to this.

Apart from Maurito, I am quite confident Rodrigo will come around soon enough and will be back to his best (I have HUGE respect for him). I am a little scared about Osvaldo, who has done well so far and needs to keep up the good work despite the change of coaches.

Having re-read what I've written above, it seems like a very optimistic scenario (a feeling I generally don't emit when speaking of Inter lately). If Mancini can gain control over things in the short time that he's been given and resist the pressure, I expect to start seeing glimpses of what I've written above (it's easier to see these things when there's order instead of chaos). Roberto has a very difficult time ahead and he will need unconditional support for at least a while. I hope that we will see improvements compared to Mazzarri's time (which isn't too much to ask for starters!) and that we finish in a European spot in May. Meanwhile, Thohir has to do all that is possible to keep hold of our best players (and we have several good ones) so that the project may kick off. Mancini has experience in building good teams, and though he hasn't got the budget to build a world class one in a short time, I'm confident he'll set the right foundations.

Changing for the sake of change shouldn't cut it for Inter

Waking up quite late this morning, I was welcomed to Twitter by utter and complete chaos.
Being among the first to find out (as always), my friends at SempreInter.com had announced that Inter have sacked Walter Mazzarri and will be signing Roberto Mancini to be his replacement at the Meazza. Mancini has agreed on a contract binding the sides to each other until the end of 2017. Everywhere, fans going wild, acting like we've re-signed Mourinho and the treble winners (all 5 years younger), glorifying the triumphs that Mancini had at the head of Inter during his first tenure and expecting them to reoccur as soon as next season.

I will attempt to present a summary of my feelings about this development in the remainder of this post. I hope that it will provoke my fellow Inter fans to think deeper and more long term about the situation at our club.

First of all, the feelings I got upon reading the article were a chaotic mixture of everything - relief, anger, disappointment... you name it.
Walter Mazzarri clearly saw no exit from the chaos that he's overseen this season, and coaches always being the first ones to take blame - this was a logical outcome, bound to happen sooner or later.
It's worth noting that Mazzarri has been ridiculously disappointing in his rhetoric and his excuses, so he kind of had it coming.
After seeing so many rash decisions being taken as far as coaches were concerned during the Moratti era and evaluating how much it has cost us, I have been of the opinion that we must not make the next changes impulsively, but rather with careful calculation. I thought that if we wanted a serious project to take off for our club, we had to find a very good coach, one that's known to work with enthusiasm, has good man management skills, is tactically knowledgeable and perhaps most important of all, is good under pressure. I believe that Thohir held the same opinion, but Mazzarri has not been making things easy for him. Game after game this season, we've looked like anything but a side that is developing and building potential to become a league winner in the foreseeable future. We constantly hear talk about the team "growing" and "playing with character", but everyone who's seen our games this season knows it has been anything but the case in reality. Mazzarri should have done much, much better this season - it's his second season, he's had time to get to know the club, and was brought new players that fit his criteria (Osvaldo, Medel were both his choices according to the public). Even he himself noted on several occasions that our team is complete and that they are "brimming with motivation".

Roberto Mancini, as dear as he might be to all Inter fans for the beautiful memories we have of his first tenure on our bench, doesn't quite convince me. To start with the good things, though, I'm quite sure that he will make improvements to the faulty machine that Mazzarri is leaving behind.
It is widely expected that Mancini will employ a different tactical approach to Mazzarri. We will finally say goodbye to 3-5-2, which wasn't working too well for us and it is logical that Mancini will use a 4-1-2-1-2 (tight diamond/rombo) formation. Considering the fact that our lack of wingers doesn't allow us to go for 4-2-3-1 and lack of squad depth in attack forbids 4-3-3, the rombo is a decent option as long as it is played well, provides good chances for direct football with fast vertical penetration. Another one of the positive things about Mancini arriving compared to Mazzarri is the fact that he's been known to accommodate players in positions that suit them very well. As it has been pointed out to me by Mr. Cristiano Acconci of WhoScored earlier today, it was Mancini's decision to employ Maicon as a right back and move Zanetti elsewhere (which was no problem at all for our Captain), Julio Cesar instead of Toldo, Cambiasso for Davids, Yaya as AMC at City etc. In that context, I am particularly happy about knowing that Mancini is very fond of Kovacic, by far our brightest player, and I expect him to grow even faster now, for I believe his potential is much greater than even the great performances that he's been putting up in our shirt since he arrived. We've also got a couple more great players, who have blended in the sterile style of Mazzarri and have underperformed, in Hernanes, Medel, perhaps M'Vila etc; then we've got Icardi who is clearly Capocannoniere material and has been left with zero service (now with one of Hernanes/Kovacic right behind him in the team sheet and Palacio/Osvaldo beside him, I expect him to take his place as one of the best goalscorers in Italy) etc. They've produced some results, but they can do much more (as opposed to players like Kuzmanovic, Jonathan, Obi, Krhin etc. who clearly need to go, ASAP).

The problem I have with Mancini perhaps comes down in great part to the expectations that people will have of him, and I think that it is exactly these expectations opposed to the reality of our predicament that will eventually bring about his demise. The scenario that I expect to come to pass is perhaps a good performance against Milan, one to come from a reinvigorated team, eager and motivated from the new potential of change. It is a common phenomenon with new coaches, but the difference between a good choice and a bad one when it comes to new coaches comes down to whether one can keep up the good performances long term and gain complete control over his team, really make it grow with his own influence. Then it will be Dnipro, probably a happy qualification for us into the next round of the EL, and Roma, where I don't suppose anyone will expect us to have a particularly pleasing result anyway, so no one will be left disappointed if we don't play well, and it's all happiness and ecstasy if we do well. My worries come mainly after the starting "fix" fades away. Obviously, Mancini has too little time at his disposal to get his tactical ideas through to the team well enough to create balance and coordination before this starting euphoria wears out. After this, as opponents slowly realize what Mancini's ideas are, they will learn how we play and will expose the fact that this team was not bred according to Mancio's ideas (nor by his standards, financially speaking)...
Which leads me to my long term concerns. Roberto Mancini to me is one of the most overrated coaches in world football. Yes, he's won the Scudetto for Inter after a terribly long drought. Please don't speak to me of his previous success with Inter, it's distant history. There should be no comparison at all between the team that Mancini left in 2008 and the one he will find tomorrow. The same goes for the level of competition that he left in 2008 (0) and the one he will have to cross horns with this season. Actually, come to think of it, Mancini has had the very best squad in the league on each occasion since his first tenure at Inter (City afforded him a dream squad and Galatasaray were by far the best team in Turkey). Yes, he's won things, and good for him! But his failures outweigh his success considering the circumstances he was working in (he failed to get past the group stages in the CL with City twice, and had Inter lose out to Valencia and Liverpool in the CL in the last 16), and most people who've watched his games anywhere will know exactly why. Mancini is no tactical genius, he's got no particularly good man management skills, doesn't have ANY authority and isn't a top motivator either. He's had problems with keeping his squad in control on countless occasions while at Inter (Figo refusing to enter the pitch; Crespo, Ibrahimovic, Materazzi...) City (Balotelli...), and he was exiled quite swiftly from the Galatasaray fans. I would have had no problem at all if he were taken up as an interim coach until the end of this season, even with the chance of re-evaluating in May and extending his stay - but a 2.5 year contract from the off?! In situations like Inter's current predicament, when the shine wears off he will not have a world class squad to depend on to fill his lack of tactical knowledge or time to calibrate the team, and Thohir sure as hell won't get him any notable reinforcements in January (we would have had another forward this summer if we could afford it). The world class squads he had at his disposal often kept him afloat when he faltered. I can't say he is BAD, he's just not good enough to launch us into success (and, this IS what we want, isn't it?). I would only have followed this scenario (a long term contract in the middle of the season) if there was a game-changer in question (one like Simeone, Bielsa, Martinez...)
We are now at risk of finding ourselves in a very similar situation to the current one in a year's time or so. Now the squad will have to undergo further changes to accommodate to Mancini, and it will be another "transition" (I've gotten used to those), setting back the club's plans of financial growth among other things as well. It's funny how we almost constantly have the highest-paid coaches in the league, and only end up paying them for sitting at home for half the length of their contracts. Unfortunately, I believe the same will happen with Mancini.
On a brighter note, last time Mancini was removed, we got Mourinho (could use a joke right about here).

Finally, I want to make it clear that I will support Mancini with all my heart. He doesn't have an easy mission at hand, and after all, like all Inter fans, I want to see my team winning again, my whistles won't do them any good. Ultimately, my post is more directed at the lack of long-term vision of the management than Mancini himself (we can't blame the guy for being average).

Finally, I will quote a wise man in white robes, wearing a long, white beard from some movie I've seen a million times.
"There never was much hope... only a fool's hope."

Good luck, Mancio! (you're gonna need it)

Thank You, Massimo: A tribute to the greatest gentleman in Italian football

Uno di noi!

Two days ago, the final link to the greatness of Massimo Moratti at Inter was severed. El Presidente himself finally stepped down as Inter's honorary president, forsaking his participation in the club's management for good and leaving it completely in the hands of Thohir in that sense. 

I've sensed a friction between the old and new boss ever since Thohir arrived. Perhaps it was because of Thohir's systematic changing of many things that were "Moratti" at Inter (the insignificant change of the logo, getting rid of the "Senatori" - especially Cambiasso etc.) I never thought I would have to worry about Inter supporting a racist president of the Federation, but despite being contrary to what this club has had in its DNA since the day it was founded, it has come to pass. Our club has lost its personality and soul, and must now begin the search of a new one. I sure as hell hope the new world Thohir creates for us Interisti will be half as good as the one Moratti had. 

There's probably a lot going on in the mind of this great man these days. He has given so much to football and football has given so much back to him, especially on that fantastic, unforgettable night in Madrid. I cannot imagine how hard this choice must have been for him, after spending years struggling with the idea that he had to let go. I knew this moment would come myself, though I personally was not quite prepared for it.

This man has given more to this club, not just in terms of finance, but also in terms of emotion, than anyone else in the world ever could! He is the greatest fan this club can ever have. Though I have to admit to myself He is partly at fault that Inter did not use the Treble as a springboard to greater success, but came to ruin instead - what I will miss about this man is the image he gave to our club. Moratti has been elegance personified for the last 19 years, and this always transferred to our club. Take the countless words of countless great names of football that have had nothing but the best to say about our President and you will know what it meant to be a gentleman in a world of businessmen. 

P.S. I have a crazy vision of them returning one day, with lessons well learned, taking back what is theirs. Ultimately, Inter has always been Moratti and Moratti has always been Inter. 

Thank You for a magnificent rollercoaster ride lasting 19 years! Goodbye, Massimo. You will be greatly missed!