From La Gazzetta dello Sports representative at Appiano Gentile we receive the latest news on the different formations tried by Frank De Boer yesterday. In the afternoon on the Pinetina pitch, Inter could be seen trying a 4-3-3 formation. The first thing to notice was Ever Banega playing as a “regista” in front of the defense with Medel and Kondogbia on each side of him. GdS had the following to say about that:
“A new thing for the Argentinian, the real brain in Inter whose passes should enable Icardi to take off. De Boer tried him in this new position for a couple of minutes. One of many solutions, but a test to see if Banega could be useful at that position. The Argentinian who in the last two seasons at Seville found himself as a “trequartista” and in the national team has a prominent role inside a three-man midfield is not used to that role and it’s a tough challenge to move him back that much. Also because that role requires a substantial presence in the non-possession play. A phase where one like Medel needs to be in the center of the pitch. The risk is to lose the balance of the team, becoming too top-heavy, thereby exposing a lot of open space which their opponents, starting with Palermo, could take advantage of. That’s why the experiment yesterday could end up being just an experiment. The optimal role for Banega is still as a”trequartista” placed behind Mauro Icardi with protection from Medel and Kondogbia from behind.
Besides Banega, the second surprise of the day was seeing the first team with Davide Santon as a left-back. GdS continues: “He spent his summer seeing one trade after the other going south (Sunderland, Naples and West Ham) and that could have put him in a psychological corner. Instead, yesterday, De Boer and his deputy Orlando Trustfull seemed eager to instruct him during the afternoon’s internal match play. To the left we could also have seen Caner Erkin, but now it’s obvious that the Turkish player is not part of any plan. The one player that probably is out of the next game is Danilo D’Ambrosio since De Boer tried Yuto Nagatomo on the right. Anyway, this is another chance for Santon who hasn’t started a game since April 3rd when Inter lost 1-2 against Torino. Hopefully this will boost his confidence.
