Ben Boucher @sportsnut1908 delivers another editorial for SempreInter.com. This time about having the right building blocks:
I remember sitting in Piazza Duomo earlier this year after Inter’s latest disappointing defeat; this time to arch rivals Juventus, As I gazed up at the incredible cathedral (which I later leaned had been constructed over six centuries) a couple of thoughts slowly entered my mind. The first (and least important) was that after the euphoric night in Turin just four months earlier, the season had taken a final, soon to be fatal turn. Injuries, fatigue and a poor winter mercato had done for Andrea Stramaccioni’s men and the fat lady was most definitely clearing her vocal chords preparing to call time on this miserable campaign. The second and more interesting thought surrounded the amount of effort, organisation and planning that must have gone into creating one of the most impressive structures in the world.
The original workforce for this project consisted of over 300 men who followed strict regulations under engineer Simone da Orsenigo. Although the colossal cathedral took a further six hundred years to fully complete, strong foundations had been laid to ensure that this hugely ambitious piece of work could one day reach completion. Any builder worth his salt will tell you; it’s the foundations of a building that will decide the longevity and success of that structure. At this point I couldn’t help casting my mind back to Inter, from the chaos that was taking place on the field to the madness in the boardroom. How could Inter begin to lay the foundations for future success?
Now fast forward to this past week where the Curva Nord asked twelve questions of the president and a media lead clamour continued for the confirmation or sacking of Andrea Stramaccioni. Without a proper structure involving scrupulous planning for every eventuality, what possible chance does the highest point of the organisation (the first team) have of succeeding? Everything underneath the playing squad appears to have been erected upon clay, a material that never stops shifting and offers next to no support for anyone unfortunate enough to be standing on it. For a short period it might provide some resistance but at the first sign of trouble it is likely to capitulate due to the nature of its elements.
So next time you call for investors or a new chairman, manager, technical director, scout or even players please consider this: Without the correct building blocks being assembled and the parts of the whole working as one, a sense of instability and disorganisation will always remain. Individual changes to those parts may result in initial success but that will only be short term as the overriding problem which holds the club back from sustainable progress will still exist.