There were signs of life from Ivan Perisic against Napoli but the Croatian remains way off his expected standard, as he demonstrated within the first 15 games of the campaign. So far, it has been a two-faced season that is penalising the whole team, given the importance of the former Dortmund and Wolfsburg player on the Nerazzurri’s fortunes.
“Up until game 15, the Croatian tallied as many as 7 goals and 6 assists, contributing to 13 goals, almost 1 per game. However, since the first leg of the Derby d’Italia against Juventus, it’s like Perisic has disappeared”, describe Corriere dello Sport.
There has been no mention of his name towards a Nerazzurri victory since, so the team aren’t benefiting from his usual passages. Initially, it was thought he was simply having a few weeks of bad form, which can be considered completely normal but this period has now exceeded 3 months, correlating to Inter’s bad form over that time as well.
There has been a bit of light at the end of the tunnel for Inter, while the Croatian remains in the shadows, the team came together to deliver a positive performance and result against Napoli.
It remains unknown, as to what the causes so his personal crisis is but Spalletti will be hoping they are psychological so he may recover his number 44 for the final and most decisive part of the season.
When will he awaken? If there was a precise reason why Perisic has not been performing, it probably would of been settled by now. Instead, at Pinetina, Spalletti must diagnose the problem himself, what is peculiar, it that he has never questioned the Croatian, he has always played, except against Genoa, after he suffered a shoulder sprain.
Then there is the question of the World Cup. Ivan is a player who tends to save his reputation when his National team is watching. Now, he needs to do more than save himself but also his club, because what he does on the field to help Inter, could make him the first choice next Summer for the tournament in Russia, having fallen so far.
It’s like Ivan does not even try anymore: zero effort in his running, zero successful dribbles, no more double-steps, as if he has forgotten all of technical ability. It is likely that his lack of form is psychological, he may need a reset of confidence and self-esteem. Although, it is surprising to see in a player who is so use to taking risks.
Meanwhile, in a week there will be an international break for the national teams to play some friendlies. Maybe going to play with Croatia will bring back the real Ivan Perisic to Spalletti.
