Inter, Campioni D'Italia

Inter clinched their 19th Scudetto on Sunday after they got the result they wanted from Sassuolo vs Atalanta. I guess you could say the writing was on the wall after Inter were efficiently picking up wins and the chasing pack were dropping points. Inter’s Pazza Inter reputation, meant we were not taking the title for granted until it was mathematically confirmed.

Not Heavy Favourites At One Point

Inter fans all over the world exploded with joy after the title was confirmed. I felt glad but the joy was tempered from either not having fans in the stadium or not clinching it on the day of the match. Looking back, after Inter’s untimely Champions League exit, Antonio Conte was obliged to win the Scudetto. It was either Scudetto or burst for him. I didn’t feel we were heavy favourites to win going back to the 2-2 draw against Roma at Stadio Olimpico in January of this year. Samir Handanovic was conceding goals from half of the shots on target while we looked like a team who couldn’t win ugly or manage a game.

Critics

There has been a lot of criticism levelled at Inter for the way we have won matches in the run-in to the season. But I felt it has been unwarranted. We started the season playing on the front foot, pressing high but leaving ourselves exposed at the back. We scored a lot of goals and conceded a bit too many for a team with title-winning ambitions. It looked like attack was the best form of defence for Inter. That changed after the 3-0 win over Genoa. We weren’t as pretty but we were very efficient in churning out wins. The team showed itself to be capable of winning ugly. Always a good sign when a team wins without playing well. We showed a lot of focus and were defensively solid, hardly allowing too many chances to the opposition. Handanovic too had turned back the clock to stop the opposition more than not. It was the first experience for a majority of the team in contesting for a league title so Conte employed the needs must approach, results before aesthetics. A practical approach that brought us the title. Not a fair criticism as we didn’t play in this way throughout the season, only in the run-in.

Concern On The Future Of The Club

I am concerned about the future of the club amidst financial constraints brought about by the pandemic. Antonio Conte has not committed his future to the club beyond this season and I hope we don’t need to sell our best players to balance our books. A majority of the players are at the right age for a long period of dominance, we just need to add some quality in some areas to further strengthen the team. But without money, that would not be possible. I hope the financial situation is sorted out positively very soon with the entry of a new investor to supplement the Suning Group.



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