As I am writing this, there are still a few hours left of this summer’s transfer window, but it doesn’t seem as if Inter will make any big deals just before closing time. No Nainggolan , no Isla, no Wellington and perhaps not even a Marquinho.
At the moment I’m neither especially disappointed nor surprised. That Inter wouldn’t have a transfer window as the ones during Morattis first years as president must have been something most people were aware of. There was no indication that Inter would offer 40 million euros for Ezequiel Lavezzi or that we would be in a bidding war to sign a player like Mesut Özil.
Until 2005, Massimo Moratti spent incredible amounts of money to make Inter a winning team, but failed again and again. We can go into lengthy discussions about the reasons for this but whatever conclusion we reach the answer is that there is no direct correlation between how much money a team spends on signings and how many titles the team wins. At least it isn’t enough to spend money uncontrollably without having a plan.
The summer of 1999 is a summer I remember well. Inter had finished in eight place the season before and during the summer the club was determined to improve the squad. The signing of Christian Vieri from Lazio broke records and even players like Vladimir Jugovic, Christian Panucci , Luigi Di Biagio , Laurent Blanc and Angelo Peruzzi came to the club that same summer for large amounts of money. It didn’t lead to any title. Inter finished fourth in Serie A which is certainly was enough to qualify for the preliminary round of the Champions League. However, Inter’s team of stars didn’t reach the tournament’s group stage, but was stopped by Helsingborgs IF.
Today it’s not the same Inter we see. This is partly due to the economic crisis in Italy. It also depends on UEFA’s Financial Fair Play, but I think above all, Inter intend to act more carefully and more long-term and not throw away money like before. I hope that players like Icaridi, Belfodil and Taider turn into really good players and that Inter made really good deals for them. I think I already see that Hugo Campagnaro has become the leader of the team that I hoped and thought he would become.
I will not lie and say that I had not wanted to see a surprising signing now tonight, but if none comes , I hope it ‘s because Walter Mazzarri and Inter’s management believe in the squad they have and that they choose to build slowly but steady without panicking as the transfer market’s bell is about to ring.
I remain positive and after the start Inter have had I look forward to the next 36 rounds. That won’t change even if there are no more signings.
