Former Inter defender Antonio Paganin believes that this season’s Inter is not the same one as last season’s, and that the work done by Antonio Conte is no longer there to be seen.
Speaking to Italian news outlet TMW Radio, the former defender gave the view that the tactical ideas that current Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi has are not enough to compete at the highest level, and that the structures implemented by Conte have faded away.
In Inzaghi, Inter brought in a manager with some similarities to replace Conte when he departed at the beginning of the summer, particularly the shared emphasis on a system using three central defenders and wing-backs.
However, former Lazio boss Inzaghi has also brought his own ideas into the team, and in Paganin’s view the goalless draw against Shakhtar illustrated that those ideas will not be enough to realize the Nerazzurri’s ambitions, and that the Nerazzurri are not as strong of a team as they were last campaign.
“The international calibre is missing,” he reflected. “At European level, teams that play 3-5-2 have always struggled to win. Some hints were already there, however. This is no longer as same Inter as last year, the buildup from the back is much more timid, the fast attacks forward have disappeared.”
He went on, “Fiorentina had already laid bare the first problems. Everything that Conte had built is disappearing.”
