Let us not dwell on what happened on Tuesday night against PSV or our Champions League exit. The anger and disappointment are still predominant that will not let me pass a fair and unbiased judgement. What interests me more is how Inter will react. These are the 5 lessons that Inter need to show they’ve learnt from this week’s heartbreak.
1. An immediate reaction against Udinese
Having won just one game from the last seven risks toppling all the positive that Inter registered in the first months of this season. We now expect a convincing win already against Udinese this Saturday. We expect our players to channel the anger and disappointment by turning it into fiery performances that will get us the required points. No buts, no excuses.
2. Pose new targets: Coppa Italia and Europa League
One fundamental error that Inter must not repeat this year is that of giving up ambition already in December. While the European heartbreak is still too great to digest, the players must now set new ambitious targets for this season. First of all, as mentioned in the first point, we must ensure that we have a calm qualification for the next Champions League by placing third or even challenge for second place with Napoli.
Then, why not turn our attention to the other available silverware? Coppa Italia and Europa League can offer the right channels to vent our frustration and win back some respect. They might not be prestigious as the Serie A and the Champions League, but they might be the first step towards returning back to glory.
3. Increase leadership material
When the going gets tough, the tough must get going. But that was not our case this week. When PSV scored against us, we still had more than an hour chance to turn around the fortune of the game. Yet somehow, despite still having this abundant amount of time, much of the players went into panic mode and committed simple errors in the process.
It’s lovely to see Inter observing closely Italian future stars such as Barella, Chiesa and Tonali. But if we want to bridge the gap with European powers, we need to invest in players who can also make the much desired short-term impact. Take for instance what happened at Roma: they sold their best players this summer to make way for future stars, and they are now in 9th place.
4. Is there anyone better than Spalletti?
This is a challenging question which I do not dare answer right now. Spalletti was the man who brought us back to competitive level and back to the Champions League. But is he the right person to take us to the next level?
If the answer is in the negative, who can offer greater security and improved performances than our current coach? I can only see Conte from those without a club, but is the fanbase ready to accept with open arms the person who was widely lauded as the natural successor of Marcello Lippi?
This subject is really delicate and I deem it premature to start such a discussion straight away. Only time will tell whether Spalletti’s time is up.
5. Keep the current stars
While various players disappointed for one reason or another, such as Perisic, Nainggolan and others, there were three players which outshined anybody else. I’m referring to captain Mauro Icardi, wonderkid Matteo Politano, and Milan Skriniar. Their performance showed they are already at the great levels that we want to play in, so I believe there’s no other choice but to keep them for the near future.
This might sound obvious to all you, but it is not. Let us not forget that Marotta’s modus operandi always was to sell stars at the best price in order to buy adequate replacements at a lower cost. What we’ve learned from this week was that we need to buy top-notch players to play with Icardi, Skriniar and co, not instead of them.
James J Piscopo is a journalist based in Malta. At 27 years old, he has been following Inter for more than two decades. He writes a weekly editorial exclusively for SempreInter.com.
