With Roberto Mancini’s side struggling to find the net in Serie A this season, Liam Stewart thinks the tactician needs to find a modern version of himself to utilise in his starting XI.
Roberto Mancini has always been a coach who demands defensive security over attacking fluency. In his first spell in charge of Inter, over the course of four seasons, his side conceded an impressive average of just 32 goals per season.
In fact, in his final season in charge, the Nerazzurri’s defence was breached only 26 times. Even in the ravenous and goal-hungry Premier League, Mancini’s Manchester City side were defensively sturdy, again conceding on average 32 goals per season, over three full seasons in England.
Yet, in all his previous tenures Mancini has generally managed to conflate both an effective attacking unit without having to sacrifice defensive prowess. So what’s different this season? Il Biscione have scored a paltry 26 goals this season. For a side who wants to win the Scudetto, 26 goals is an alarmingly low figure, especially when looking at the number of goals scored by their Scudetto chasing rivals.
Serie A leaders Napoli, with their dynamic, effervescent attacking flair have plundered opposition defences scoring 45 goals in 21 games. Similarly, Fiorentina and Juventus have been ravenous in their attacking efforts, with 39 and 38 goals respectively. Even the highly malfunctioning and wounded Roma, with a troll of a striker in Edin Dzeko, have scored 37 goals this season.
So why are the Nerazzurri floundering in front of goal? Are the likes of Mauro Icardi, Stevan Jovetic and Rodrigo Palacio wasting good chances? Certainly, this is what Mancini believes.
“There’s a real issue here as we’re not scoring enough. Even after they [Carpi] went a man down, and the game became easier, we never made the best of our opportunities,” said Mancini after their recent draw with the Biancorossi.
Another possible reason for Il Biscione’s inability to strike teams down is the lack of a midfield trequartista.
Earlier this season, it appeared Stevan Jovetic would fulfil this role in the side. When signed, it was believed the Serbian would use his exquisite ability and finesse to play through balls through to Icardi. However, due to various injuries and arguments with the sometimes abrasive Mancini, Jovetic been in and out of the team the Nerazzurri’s lineup this season. This has meant that any form of telepathic partnership between the former Viola man and Icardi is still in its infancy.
Nevertheless, Inter still lack a creative midfield presence to feed incisive passes in behind opposition defences and into the likes of Jovetic, Adem Ljajic and Ivan Perisic.
In a tactically astute league like Serie A, the majority of teams demand that space in between the defensive and midfield lines is monitored with razor-sharp focus. In fact, the Nerazzurri are one the best teams at controlling this space. With players such as Felipe Melo and Gary Medel, Mancini does not lack in rugged, brutal defensive midfielders. The former Lazio coach will often play both of these two in his midfield, or one with Marcelo Brozovic, as he did in the game against Carpi, where Inter needed to create. Yet, though Brozovic is evidently talented, he has yet to develop the precision needed to unlock compact defences, or to pass into the heavily marshalled spaces in front of opposition defences.
One suspects that Inter had thought they had bought this type of player in Geoffrey Kondogbia during the summer. However, the much maligned Frenchman has severely disappointed.
For a player Il Biscione bought for €31 million, Kondogbia has looked ungainly and ill-fitting for a highly technical league like Serie A. Furthermore, his lack of creativity is evident. The former Monaco man average’s just 0.6 key passes per game. To put this into perspective, this is worse than Alex Telles, a left-back, who averages 1.5 per game. It’s even worse than the ignominy that is Fredy Guarin, who over 11 starts and five substitute appearances has averaged 0.8.
Compared to Juventus, Fiorentina and Napoli, the lack of creativity present in the Nerazzurri’s midfield is shameful. All three of those sides boast elusive midfield talents in the form of Claudio Marchisio, Borja Valero and Marek Hamsik.
Moreover, the Bianconeri have a forward in Paulo Dybala, who right now is as creative as he is deadly in front of goal. La Viola also boast the enigmatic talent of Josip Ilicic, whilst the Neapolitans have the cherished gifts of Jorginho and Lorenzo Insigne.
The closest player, in terms of sheer ability and current form, that Inter possess in their ranks right now is Adem Ljajic. The Serb has the three assists this season, the most of any Nerazzurri player and averages 2.7 key passes per match, incidentally equal best in Serie A with Empoli’s Riccardo Saponara.
Yet, Ljajic can’t carry the burden of a team’s creativity on his shoulders for the whole season, especially a team like Inter, he needs help.
Mancini’s inability to recognise his side’s midfield issue is made even more bewildering when one remembers he was that exactly that type of player. Mancini was a classic 80’s No.10, capable of passing like the best regista and at his peak, unerringly assured in front of goal.
With the transfer window winding down Inter have been linked with Sampdoria’s Roberto Soriano and have this week confirmed the signing of his team-mate, Eder. I can’t help think that despite this, the Nerazzurri’s problems won’t be solved, simply because they still won’t be creating enough chances to feed Eder.
Il Biscione are currently averaging 13.8 shots per game. Leaders Napoli are on fire, averaging 17.7 per game, whilst Juventus are just behind on 15.9. Consequently, the lack of chances being created is seriously hindering the performance of Serie A’s resident Capocannoniere, Mauro Icardi.
Last season, Icardi was averaging 3.4 shots per game, this season he’s feeding off a feeble 1.8 per game. It’s no wonder he only has eight goals in 18 appearances. The Argentine is currently the epitome of a bull in a china-shop.
Icardi no longer looks like the powerful, dynamic forward he was last season. The success of Inter’s Scudetto challenge depends on their ability to create more clear goalscoring opportunities.
Signing Soriano would help but more importantly, the Nerazzurri need Mancini to embrace the player he himself once was. They need him to throw the shackles off and be prepared to light some fireworks on the pitch.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com