This season, Inter Milan have performed above the expectations set by the last few years.
Since Brazilian Leonardo left at the end of the 2011/12 season, in which Inter won the
Coppa Italia and reached the Champions League quarter finals, things off and on the pitch
have been in decline.
Manager Luciano Spalletti, who oversaw Roma’s exhilarating 2005/06 season during a four
year spell at the end and has also had success with Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia, is Inter’s
ninth boss in eight seasons, excluding caretaker stints; three of those, Rafa Benitez, Gian
Piero Gasperini, and Frank de Boer all lasted less than a year.
Spalletti, though, has steadied the ship and Inter have seen this season’s longest unbeaten
run in Serie A, a 16 game effort from the season’s opening day to a 3-1 reverse at
home to Udinese in December.
The Nerazzurri, under Spalletti, have mostly used a 4-2-3-1, though he does change things
around, matching Roma’s 4-3-3 with a 4-3-3 in the 1-1 draw in January, and recently fielding
a 4-3-1-2 against Bologna.
These three systems do have similarities, though – Inter are not a team who make huge
changes to either tactics or personnel unless they have to.
The 4-2-3-1 system sees two defensively minded midfielders, usually Matias Vecino [MATT-EE-US
VECK-INO] and Roberto Gagliardini [GUY-EE-A-DEENEY], playing behind an attacking midfield three
of Ivan Perisic on the left, Antonio Candreva on the right, and Borja Valero in the middle.
Valero, an elegant Sapniard who made his name at Fiorentina, has also played in the deeper
midfield axis, with dynamic Croat Marcelo Brozovic playing in the hole.
Ahead of them, Mauro Icardi is one of Serie A’s outstanding strikers, despite his occasion
off-field issues.
Inter keep possession well – their game is geared to slow progression up the pitch
through neat passing triangles to then allow the wingers to run into space and cross.
Inter play fewer long balls and make more crosses than any other team in Serie A. Both
the first choice centre backs, especially Milan Skriniar [MEE-LAN SCHKREE-NIER], are
good with the ball at their feet, and look to shift the ball to the full backs or between
the lines to a midfielder dropping in.
The central attacking midfielder is the link man, moving both vertically and horizontally
to be the outlet ball for the full backs or the deeper central midfielders – Gagliardini
and Vecino are both tidy with the ball but not capable of actively making play with longer
passes.
The central attacking midfielder then looks to release the wingers, or to play the ball
out to the overlapping full backs.
Both Candreva and Perisic like to play with width, even if both are also comfortable cutting
inside.
Inter’s aim is to work the ball patiently up the field, happy to recycle it backwards
until an opening occurs, before releasing the wide players to put a cross into the centre,
from which Icardi or Eder, the reserve front man, can shoot.
It’s patient, sensible football which works because of the qualities of the front four
players, and the solidity of the midfield two behind them.
Defensively, Inter press fairly hard at home, but sit off more away.
Again, the attacking central midfielder works hard across the pitch, while the striker presses
the opposition central defenders.
Generally, the wide men tuck inside unless the ball is played to a full back already
under some pressure – the Inter full backs also press high to cover the wide spaces.
Inter play a fairly high line with the full backs aggressively moving up into space, and
the two holding midfielders provide solidity and also cover back and across into the wide
or half spaces if the full backs are caught out.
Inter are not great at preventing the opposition from creating chances, but with Samir Handovic
in goal, they still manage to keep the opposition at bay.
Centre backs Ranocchia and Skriniar are also strong in the air, as is Gagliaridi, so they
can often clear opposition crosses.
It’s also a reason that Inter excel from set pieces, scoring more set piece goals than
any other Serie A side so far.
Inter’s best means of defence, though, is keeping the ball.
It’s also how they build their attacks, patient and probing.
Spalletti has built a side far removed in style from his frenetic Roma team of 2005/06,
but the adaptable, talented boss is still getting results.