Mateo Kovacic declared him as the ‘Man of the Match’ against Sassuolo, Walter Mazzarri labelled him a ‘fantastic’ player after just one Serie A fixture. The man they call ‘Pitbull’ is making quite the impression during his first few months in Nerazzurro. Mazzarri in fact credited Medel with being the very reason he is able to field two technical and offensive minded midfielders such as Kovacic and Hernanes. The Chilean international had a wonderful World Cup (Playing as a central defender) and has arrived at Inter full of enthusiasm and determination. Having already declare “I want to win a Scudetto with Inter” it is clear that Medel doesn’t carry any of the mental scars some of his colleagues have suffered during three disappointing campaigns. The fans have immediately taken to him and his tenacious efforts to fend off an Atalanta counter attack on Wednesday were greeted with rapturous applause. The feeling is mutual “What’s it like being the Inter fans’ new idol? It’s a really nice feeling. They see and appreciate the effort you put in on the pitch and they pay you back with their support.”
The former Inter & Chilean legend Ivan Zamorano had already sang the praises of Interisti to his fellow countryman over the summer “Ivan Zamorano told me about the amazing support you get in this spectacular stadium. Hopefully I can become an idol for them like he was”. On the field Medel has delivered and then some. In four Serie A fixtures he has a pass completion rating of 93.2% which is impressive because he is currently averaging 70 passes in those games (leads the team). Combine that with 2.5 tackles and two interceptions per game, an infectious workrate and it’s clear Inter could have landed a real bargain when acquiring Medel from Welsh side Cardiff City this summer.
Sources: SempreInter.com (All numbers from Whoscored.com)