Legendary former Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio believes that Inter’s Simone Inzaghi has already more than proved himself to be a top-level coach.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Rai Radio, Marchisio gave the view that the 46-year-old’s work with the Nerazzurri and Lazio speaks for itself, and suggested that it would not be fair or accurate to draw direct parallels between him and Antonio Conte.
Inzaghi has already been feeling significant pressure just a couple of weeks into the current campaign, with a 3-1 defeat against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico a major setback that came after many difficulties bubbling under the surface in preseason and the team’s first two matches.
Now, the coach will feel that he has to prove himself and start getting the best out of his team, and he will do so without striker Romelu Lukaku for at least one or two matches, and with huge fixtures against the likes of AC Milan and Bayern Munich directly on the horizon.
Marchisio gave his thoughts, stating that “Inzaghi is an excellent coach, he proved it above all at Lazio, and also with what he’s done at Inter. He didn’t win the Scudetto last season, but he’s always shown his qualities and achieved a lot, including winning trophies with the Biancocelesti.”
He continued that “Romelu Lukaku has been used to playing differently at Inter. He’ll have to find the right understanding with him, but we’ve seen in other matches that with Lautaro Martinez already know each other well.”
“I don’t think that’s the problem,” Marchisio suggested, “if anything, the fact that the team will have to try to improve in the defensive phase, which, compared to before, has given up more and looks inattentive. The team is not as compact between the lines as in the past.”
The former midfielder argued that “Inzaghi does not have to stand up to comparison with Conte, otherwise the club would have gone ahead with the old coach, we’re wrong to think like this.”
“A coach must have the trust of the players, who must believe in his ideas in order to reach the Scudetto,” he went on.
“To date, Inter are one of the favourites for the title,” he noted, “as shown by the players in the squad, considering last season they didn’t so much lose because of a lot of dropped points as because of one slip-up.”