Ben Boucher continues to deliver editorials for SempreInter.com. Here’s his latest after the crazy game against Catania:
You saw the team sheet and already knew, right? Cassano hadn’t made the trip after a bout of verbal UFC with Stramaccioni, Palacio was rested with Thursday’s trip to London in mind. Many (Including myself) felt this would be mission impossible with Tomasso Rocchi leading the line. Predictably we watched on in horror as individual errors gifted the Sicilians a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes.
In my worst nightmares I hadn’t envisioned the situation playing out in this manner. The passing was poor, the defending suspect and Inter looked every inch the average mid table side experts and some fans had already labelled them. Out came the pitch forks and Twitter was ablaze with ‘Sack Stramaccioni’ and ‘Moratti / Branca Out’. In truth though the blame for such a miserable first half showing lay firmly at the players door. Only they could dig Inter out of the enormous hole that had been created, and boy did they dig themselves out.
One can only speculate as to the nature of what took place during half time but the result was dramatic & instant. Inter were more aggressive and assertive, it seemed a matter of when rather than if they were going to get back into this game. The plaudits will rightly go to Rodrigo Palacio whose introduction added a threat and dynamism which had been lacking but several other factors contributed to this incredible turnaround.
Supporters have bemoaned the lack of quality replacements for the likes of Eto’o, Sneijder and more recently Milito. In my opinion the player Inter have missed most this season however is Deki Stankovic. This player not only sweats & bleeds for the shirt but he can dominate the middle of the pitch, setting the tone for others to follow. Upon his arrival not only did the quality of play improve but the desire and effort from all ten outfield players dramatically increased. Inter can also thank Samir Handanovic (again) whose terrific block at 2-1 kept this contest alive for the Nerazzurri.
We saw flashes from Alvarez, Pereira & the recently acquired Schelotto that offer encouragement going forward. Maybe they can start to show why the club and coach have had such faith in their abilities. The last compliment goes to Stramaccioni himself, I read many obituaries being written about the young coach during the half time interval. While others speculated about his future Stramaccioni found the right formula to take the three points back to Milano in quite stunning fashion. Now the task for Moratti & the fans is to let the young Roman work with tranquility as he looks to overcome all the odds and guide Inter to a Champions League spot for next season.
