Terzo Tempo: “One should refer to things by their accurate designation…”

“One should refer to things by their accurate designation. What is happening right now in Italy is a form of torture. What they do is tormenting Interisti. They torment a team in order to humiliate it, compel them to subjugate with brute force. That is why the rulings are an infamy. Of such there are many in modern history. They are often linked by name: Merk, Rocchi, Gervasoni, Rocchi and Rizzoli. With all those people mistakes were triumphant, but the judgment of history came down hard on those who were responsible. Now there is another name to add to the row: Celi, in Trieste 2013.”

That isn’t really what Olof Palme said in his Christmas speech in 1972, but had he been Interista 2013 it could have been, because what we’re going through right now is torture.

“I don’t think the referees are acting in good faith,” said Massimo Moratti after Sunday’s show by the referee in the game against Atalanta. Moratti has received much criticism for this and he is also being investigated for his statements. Any investigation against the referees is not on the agenda..

Coach Andrea Stramaccioni spoke after the game and said that this season is “cursed.” An Inter going through a renewal and a reconstruction doesn’t need all of these injuries and the team certainly doesn’t need all these, let’s call them, refereeing mistakes.

Inter’s outsets ahead of the game against Cagliari were not exactly beneficial after the heavy defeat to Atalanta where Antonio Cassano became the latest in a series of key players who were forced to throw in the towel.

Despite this, Inter managed to be dominant most of the game and it was really only the goals that were missing. After an even start of the game, Cambiasso and Rocchi managed to carve through Cagliari’s defense in the thirteenth minute and when Cuchu came alone with the goalkeeper, he chipped the ball into the post. Cagliari’s first real chance came in the 35th minute when Murru’s pass towards Ibarbo was broken by Perreira. Rocchi, Guarin and Alvarez all had good chances to give Inter the lead while Cagliari waited for opportunities to use their counter-attack. Inter’s lack of strikers would prove costly.

At the beginning of the second half, Cagliari pleaded for two penalties, especially in a situation where Ibarbo fell, and given the recent refereeing decisions probably no Interista would have been surprised if referee Celi would have pointed to the penalty spot. Celi’s time in the spotlight came however in the 62nd minute when he found a penalty in a situation where Pinilla, who had entered recently,  and Inter defender Silvestre were near the ball. Referee Celi, evidently inspired by his colleague Gervasoni, found a penalty that would fit in well with the game’s script. Pinilla said after the game that “I felt a touch and threw myself,” and thus confirmed my feeling that he had sought the penalty. Pinilla has repeatedly stated that he’s an Interista, but the question is whether the rest of us Interisti want to see him in our team after today. Pinilla took the penalty himself and put the gift to good use.

Inter continued, despite the nightmare, to play well and had several chances. However, it is difficult for a team missing their offensive stars to take advantage of the opportunities that still came up. Given how the season has looked like, I was not surprised when Pinilla in the 76th minute made it 2-0. Ibarbo was then close to make things worse for Inter, but his shot hit the crossbar.

This season is now basically over for Inter, at least in Serie A. As I’m writing this Inter are eight points behind Milan on third place who has a game in hand. There is now only one goal left for Inter and it’s Coppa Italia, where Wednesday’s match against Roma will be crucial.

Many want Stramaccioni’s head on a platter, and it is an opinion I do not share despite the season Inter are going through. Since the game against Tottenham, Inter, despite injury problems, has shown a better game. However, Stramaccioni has struggled to express his style of playing and the reasons for that are many and among them are the injuries and Inter’s financial situation. Trying to get any continuity when the team is constantly missing 3-4 players of varying degrees of importance is impossible when you are new. Had Stramaccioni had the team a few years before his style of playing would have been established and the injury absence would have been less noticable. The situation with Sneijder probably didn’t help as Stramaccioni had been clear that he was one of the key players in his Inter. That he later got injured and then decided to leave is nothing Stramaccioni can be blamed for. Despite all that he has got the team playing really well now towards the end, especially against Tottenham at home. However, the team is suffering when the three best strikers are missing and not even that is something Stramaccioni can be blamed for. I think that even Alex Ferguson would scratch his head if Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck were injured. To fire Stramaccioni now would only make the situation worse instead of letting him take a very useful lesson of this season and bring the project forward to a brighter future.

Do you think I’m wrong… I say like Giancarlo Abete, FIGC’s president, when he defends the constant refereeing mistakes that disadvantage Inter: everyone can make mistakes…