Ah, finally. 23:00 the 2nd of September and the mercato is over. Articles written, cellphones ringing, apps crashing. Hope about getting an exciting player, disappointment in someone we sold or the joy of getting a good player, for a while I don’t have to feel none of this. Finally it’s over. To many months of the madness that is called silly season has come to an end and now hopefully we can concentrate on what happens on the field.
As if it wasn’t enough, there is even a national break that gives us even more calm. Though, both you and I know that the mercato isn’t over. It never sleeps. It doesn’t even rest. Negotiations that weren’t finished during the summer are continued for January. Players who explode in their clubs become targets for the big ones. The big club players who do bad are all of a sudden up for a move, a loan or a co-owner ship with a smaller team and that is how it continues.
Something I’ve noticed is how much better it feels to see all of this happening when the club is doing well. When Inter who always has had problems against Catania beats the Sicilians with 0-3, when Mazzarri who never had beaten Catania away can enjoy a triumph there whilst asking for more, I can’t do but to feel good. But we still can’t forget that this mercato was disappointing. Players that we needed didn’t come. Earlier transfer sessions good players have been bought, but they’ve never really made it and have looked like flops. Milan sold Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic last season and replaced them with Zapata and Pazzini. After a while and hard work, Allegri was able to hide the problems of his club on the mercato, with the results on the pitch. And when Balotelli was bought the problems of the club could barely be seen. Now you are probably wondering what my point with all this is?
It is easy. My point is that the latest mercato sessions haven’t been catastrophies, but that the coaches haven’t been as successful in hiding the problems the team has by getting Inter to perform with the full potential that the squad has. Milan signed Kakà for free and pay him a wage worth 4 million euros. Inter got Mazzarri and pay him 3.4 million euros a season. This means it’s very clear to me that Inter’s mercato goal wasn’t to sign a top player for the field, but to sign a top player for the side lines. Walter Mazzarri is our top player this season, and hopefully for the next season. With his work, a couple of those who were”To bad, two old, to slow” are looking like top players as well. Bravo mister
