In his regular weekly column Inter fanatic Sam Olsen dives deep into the stories that matter to Inter’s fans looking to keep the spirit of discussion alive and well on the pages of Sempreinter.com.
The result may have offered Inter very little in regards to their league position and closing the gap on the almost holy number three position but it did show that under Roberto Mancini Inter have regained both their passion and identity.
Fire and Brimstone descended on Turin on Tuesday night for Italy’s most heated, hate-filled and heart stopping derby. Sure the Derby della Madonnina is the battle for Milan and is as full of intense passion and drive but the Derby d’Italia is for Italy. It is also the sporting culmination of decades of bad blood and feuding both on and off the field between two clubs for which no love is lost.
The searing rivalry between the two clubs reached its peak during the dark years of the Caliopoli with Juventus fervent in their belief that Inter were behind the revelations of their systematic cheating which enabled them to win title after title often at the expense of their Nerazzurri Milanese cousins. The spite that followed the exposure of this rampant corruption and the subsequent relegation and shaming of Juventus left a stain on the Italian game that not even the strongest bleach can remove.
The fact that Juventus have undertaken a policy of rewriting history, built around denying the facts of Calciopoli and slinging mud at the clubs around them, including Inter, to try and make it seem as if everyone was equally guilty has only heightened the tensions between the clubs. The recent controversy about the third star is but one example of Juventus playing the victim in a crime where they were quite clearly the guilty party.
Adding to the already feverous atmosphere around the Derby d’Italia is Roberto Mancini’s return to Inter. Mancini was the man in charge of Inter during the days of Calciopoli and the direct beneficiary of the relegation of Juventus and subsequent influx of world class players to Inter. Many Juventini see him as a fraud, someone who has gained a reputation on the back of their own suffering and would like nothing more than to see him exposed for what he is.
With all this, and the opposing positions the teams found themselves in on the table, the Derby promised to be as ferocious as a starving lion at a meat market.
The game started at a frenetic pace, as the teams fought to stamp their authority on it. After only a few minutes the quality swarming through this Juventus side showed itself as Vidal performed a ridiculous circus flick, taking him away from his marker and into the freedom of the Inter box. He lifted his head, saw a charging Tevez, eyes twisted in demented fury, and flicked the ball across goal for the Argentine to clatter in. 1-0 to Juventus, the crowd goes wild.
One can wonder what may have happened three months ago. What would have happened had the Cautious One, Walter Mazzarri still been at the helm. Surely nothing. The team would have sat deep, one striker standing away in the distance, and obliviously passed the ball around the back, almost like depressed cattle waiting impatiently for the farmer to come and put them out of their misery. There would have been manic looks from the manager, flailing arms, but little in the way of tactical or mentality changes.
Mancini however, is not Mazzarri. Mancini for all his critics, is a winner and Mancini knows Inter. He watched, no doubt nervously, as Inter struggled to put two passes together but fought valiantly to keep Juventus at bay, all the while planning for how to approach the second half.
By the time the whistle rang out to signal the end to the half Mancini knew what he needed to do. Samir Handanovic simply stated that ‘The coach told us in the half time what we did wrong in the first half, so in the second half we were much better.’ One wonders whether such simple instructions would have been given during the previous regime.
Soon after the second half had begun Mancini made another incisive play, putting on new crowd favourite, the feisty Podolski, for the journeyman Kuzmanovic, Inter were stepping forward not back. Inter are never beaten. The team responded, cutting through the shaky Juventus defence on a regular basis. The home side now looked like the one hovering in the lower reaches of the table not the Nerazzurri. The fear, caution and indecisiveness that had been the hallmark of Mazzarri’s reign had evaporated under the hot lights of Turin and it was not long before Inter had the reward their bravery had earned, Mauro Icardi laying on a fine finish from a Fredy Guarin assist.
Again under Mazzarri Inter would have retreated having clawed back a point but not this Inter. Mancini did the opposite, turning on the afterburners and watching to see if Juventus could stand the heat. Across from him Allegri was floundering, unable to turn the momentum and left to hope for a moment of inspiration from his embattled side. Mancini turned to Osvaldo, replacing the wearied Hernanes, Inter were breathing fire. No stepping back, we are here to win.
Both sides had chances but Inter’s were clearly better, most notably as Icardi broke down field only to channel Guarin and fire well over instead of play in a team mate. Osvaldo roared, furious that his team mate had cost him the chance to rub the face of Juventus into his boot after they refused the chance to sign him after his ineffective loan spell. The passion long lost under the emotional cripple Mazzarri has returned in buckets.
Kovacic, still just a youngster, was soon finding the fury of the Derby too much as he threw himself into a reckless tackle before heading off for an early shower, his departure spelling the end of Inter’s comeback and almost gifting Juventus an extra two points. The result in the end reflected the dominance of each team in their respective halves.
The result does not help much on the table but shows that the team is capable of dominating the best. For the second consecutive match Inter have found themselves outplayed in the first half before utterly dominating the second. If Mancini can start getting even a good 70 minutes out of them then the progress back up should be prompt.
This team under the guidance of Mancini has shaken off the shackles of Mazzarri and rediscovered what it means to be playing for Internazionale. They are approaching games with the expectation that they will win and with a passion not seen for several seasons. The only thing missing is the mindset that comes with winning several games in a row. If they can achieve that then third place is well within their grasp.
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