On The Brink Of Elimination

Today is a sombre day for the world of football. Diego Maradona, the Argentine legend passed away hours before Inter’s critical Champions League match against Real Madrid. Inter angered, frustrated and disappointed its legions of fans worldwide by imploding in that said match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9YXS78wFAA

Preview

We were narrowly edged out in our previous encounter with Real but the performance was promising. Had we been clinical, we might have been the victors. This is not a vintage Real Madrid team, nothing like the ones that won three consecutive Champions League titles. To make matters worse, they were without two key players, captain Sergio Ramos and main striker, Karim Benzema. These factors combined should give us confidence in getting our Champions League campaign on track with a win.

Worst Performance Of The Season

Instead, we produced our worst performance this season. If the 60 minutes against Torino on Sunday was bad, this was worse. While it took us 30 minutes to overturn the result against Torino, Real is a different kettle of fish. They might be a weaker team but they still had survivors from the Champions League-winning teams, players of experience and quality. We didn’t learn from our lesson on Sunday and made the cardinal sin of starting slow again but there was no return this time.

From the start, we couldn’t get close to Real at all. Zinedine Zidane out-foxed his former captain, Antonio Conte tactically. Real’s passing was sharp and precise with a lot of off-the-ball movement. Our possession was sterile once again, very slow and laboured. There was a risk that we could have been in for a hiding in the first 20 minutes when Lucas Vazquez’s shot crashed off the post. Before that, Eden Hazard had opened the scoring early from the penalty spot. Things settled down after that but Real maintained their dominance.

Transfer Strategy Backfiring

Arturo Vidal got himself unnecessarily sent off to leave us short-handed. It was already tough enough chasing shadows with eleven men and that sending off made it a mountain to climb. The way I analysed it was the frustration of the game going by him that led to his over-reaction and sending off.

Conte’s transfer strategy of signing veterans is fast going south. The squad is going backwards rather than forward. I have repeatedly mentioned in my previous article that signing Aleksandar Kolarov was a mistake. I reserved my judgement on Vidal because he had a good start but with each passing game now, he looks over-the-hill. It didn’t fill me with confidence in the summer, looking at the names linked to us and the players we have signed. I gave Conte the benefit of the doubt that he knew what he was doing and there was still some life left in the aged legs that he was placing his faith on. I am afraid my fears and that of the many Inter fans are being realised this season. The signings we have made have not been good enough. As a result, the quality of our squad has deteriorated.

In his post-match comments, Conte spoke about the difference in the level of the two sides. But with all due respect, this Real Madrid was there for the taking. If we had the right personnel, spirit and intensity, we could have beaten them. Last season, we had two very good performances away to Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund but in both games, we couldn’t hold on and lost. He blamed the lack of experience at this level for those defeats. This season with players that were signed with experience, we are still not winning these matches and the reason is that these players that he so desperately wanted are costing us the games.

Tactical Rigidity

We should have got six points out of six from our first two matches but contrived to draw them both. It is a tricky group that we find ourselves in but based on the performances in the first two games, we should have won them both. For that, the players are to be blamed as well for not taking their chances, making mistakes and failing in the final third. On Conte’s part, his formation rigidity and delay in making a change during the game is still causing us. When he has been a bit brave like he was against Fiorentina and Torino this season, we have reaped the benefits of it. Yet, we do not see it often. I strongly believe that his stubbornness and lack of flexibility prevented us from winning a silverware last season.

Long, Hard Season Ahead

I don’t believe we will do any good this season. We have been tipped to challenge Juventus for the Scudetto due to our squad depth but looking at the way we have played so far, it doesn’t exude confidence that we have quality in our depth. To appease Conte, the club broke away from its transfer strategy of signing younger players and by doing that, we find ourselves going backwards. The directors and owner have to question him after this defeat because we now stand on the brink of being eliminated from the Champions League group stage for the third season running. We are not doing well in Serie A either. The performance is in keeping with what we have seen this season except in the first two games.

Things change very quickly in football and things could be far rosier in a month. But knowing Conte, it looks unlikely there will be many changes to his methods and in-game management to bring about a positive change. Because of this summer’s transfer dealings, we need to go back into the transfer market and sign the right players again. The topic of Christian Eriksen has been discussed a lot as well. I don’t feel he has deserved a place in the starting line-up due to his performances but it could also be a by-product of the lack of faith and confidence from the coach. We are in for a tough, long season.