Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has been at the heart of two “rebuilding” processes at top Italian clubs in the past decade, first at Juventus at Nerazzurri.
This is highlighted in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, who highlight the executive’s importance in the recent history of both clubs ahead of their Serie A clash this weekend.
Marotta arrived at Juventus in the summer of 2010, having impressed with his work at Sampdoria and being tasked with building the club back up to being capable of competing for the Scudetto.
In his first season, Marotta brought head coach Luigi Delneri with him from the Blucerchiati and made a number of signings that didn’t quite work out, seeing the Bianconeri achieve only a disappointing midtable finish.
In the summer of 2010, however, the executive had another swing at the project, appointing former club captain Antonio Conte as Delneri’s replacement and making a number of signings which proved to be more successful.
In Conte’s first campaign in charge Juventus won the Scudetto for the first time since returning to the top flight following the Calciopoli scandal, and he won the title in both subsequent seasons as well.
Conte departed from the Bianconeri in the summer of 2014 after disagreements with the board, and former AC Milan coach Max Allegri was appointed as his replacement.
Allegri was not a very popular appointment with fans of the club, but proved effective as he extended the Bianconeri’s run of consecutive Scudetti to eight and reached the Champions League final twice.
Throughout this process Marotta’s influence was key, signing and selling many players including the likes of Andrea Barzagli, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Paulo Dybala, and Gonzal Higuain, to name just a few.
Marotta left Juventus in 2018 after having disagreements of his own with the club’s board, and he quickly relocated to Inter where he was tasked with overseeing a Scudetto revival similar to the one that he had done with the Bianconeri.
Owners Suning gave the executive the freedom to appoint Conte to a second club in the summer of 2019, and also sign key players such as Romelu Lukaku, Nicolo Barella, and Stefano Sensi.
In Conte’s first season in charge at the Nerazzurri he did not quite manage to repeat his feat from Juventus of winning the Serie A title at his first attempt, finishing second to Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus.
However, in the coach’s his second he did deliver the Scudetto, the club’s first in eleven years, with Marotta having further reinforced the team with the likes of Christian Eriksen, Achraf Hakimi, and Arturo Vidal in the meantime.
Conte left Inter after just two seasons in charge last summer, having felt that the project did not have the right financial backing to continue with the momentum and success.
In his place came former Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi, who Marotta quickly identified and moved to bring in before he could sign a contract extension with the Biancocelesti.
Inzaghi had to contend with the major sales of Hakimi and Lukaku as well as with the forced withdrawal of Eriksen from the squad due to health issues in a summer of major upheaval.
However, Marotta has been able to support the new coach even while respecting significant budgetary restrictions, bringing in the likes of Hakan Calhanoglu, Edin Dzeko, Denzel Dumfries, and Joaquin Correa over the summer.
Now, the CEO will see his current and former side face off in a match that could be key to to the Nerazzurri’s Scudetto ambitions, and while he will always have ties in Turin his focus is strictly on achieving maximum success with Inter now.
The team have ground to make up in the title race but they appear to have the quality to be real contenders to win the title a second season running, and they can thank Marotta, and hope that he continues the work in the same vein.
