“They have a strong team, it is a strong club and they have the advantage of being able to do seven days of training between each match, which explains why they are so high up in the league table, preparing for a game every three days is a sport in itself” are the word of Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri adressed towards Inter when discussing the Nerazzurri’s title challenge.
What the Napoli Coach does not remember though is that Inter have built a very compact squad due to their absence from European competitions so it’s always the same team playing in the Serie A. Whereas the Partenopei have a much deeper squad to select from due to their European commitments, in contrast to that of Luciano Spalletti and his team.
As Tuttosport points out today, “in his first year, the tactician from Certaldo has been able to make the most of the free weeks that he has been given to give a precise tactical identity to his players.”
Sarri’s theory collapses if we analyse the last ten seasons in Italy, Spain, France, England and Germany. In La Liga and Bundesliga the winners have always played in European competitions. Only once during the past decade in Italy, when Conte’s Juventus won in 2011/2012, and in France Montepellier also surprisingly won in 2011/2012. In the Premier League this has happened twice when both Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea won the league without European football.
However it should also be pointed out that in England they have play the FA Cup, arguably the most prestigious domestic cup, as well as having the League Cup to prepare for.
Finally there is the economic factor: Inter cannot go another season without European football even if it’s just the Europa League, since it also brings in a lot of additional revenue, due to the fact that their are bonuses from sponsors for participation in UEFA tournaments. It’s no coincidence then that Inter are playing for both prestige and financial turnover.