Chop-and-change Inter need to be patient with Pioli, Kondo and Gabigol | by Cristian Giudici
“Normalizer”. This is the adjective Stefano Pioli used yesterday as he introuced himself for the first time to Nerazzurri Nation.
There’s something else, however, which takes the cake amidst all the snippets: “Haste is never a good counselor, but we lack time, and we know we don’t have a lot of it”.
The former Lazio Coach hit the nail on the head with that line. Italian Coaches never get given time, especially not at Inter. The same obviously goes for the players and those who recruit them.
It may not be a coincidence that Juventus gave time to Giuseppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici, even though their first buys brought in duds like Martinez, Krasic, Rinaudo, Marco Motta and Armand Traore’.
What former Inter Coach Giovanni Trapattoni called a “centrifugal” club has destabilized itself and its employees for years, with Frank De Boer merely the latest victim of the system.
Inter have always fallen victim to hurry and forced impromptu rebuilds, while Jurgen Klopp was allowed to take Borussia to sixth, then fifth place in the Bundesliga before leading Dortmund to their first title. Liverpool failed to qualify for Europe under Klopp last season… yet the German has seen his deal extended, and his Reds hit first place this season.
What a coincidence, the same Reds who boast Philippe Coutinho among their stars, the same guy who was lambasted by Inter fans back in the day and hurriedly sacrificed for a paltry sum (10m).
The same seems to be happening with the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia and Gabigol now, and has already happened to Marco Benassi, who was sent to Torino in exchange for Danilo D’Ambrosio. The full-back is now a lemon, while Benassi is among the league’s best and brightest young stars.
Names like “Gabiflop” are proof that Italian fans are quick to dismiss foreign stars as busts, only they’ve often gone on to shine elsewhere, with the likes of Bergkamp, Vieira, Davids, Henry and Crespo all doing precisely that.
Remember, current stars like Koulibaly, Marcos Alonso, Leandro Paredes, Felipe Anderson, Suso, Niang and Dybala all struggled early on.
If Inter don’t learn to develop some patience, their fans will be losing theirs a whole lot in years to come.
