Legendary former Inter goalkeeper Ivano Bordon feels that the Nerazzurri can get out of the difficulties in form that they’ve been experiencing for a lot of the start of the season.
Speaking to Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, Bordon expressed confidence in Inter for the rest of the season, whilst he also weighed in on the competition between Samir Handanovic and Andre Onana in goal, suggesting that the captain should still be first choice despite some criticisms that have come his way.
The Nerazzurri’s season does seem to be getting back on track after some early setbacks, albeit with the sense that any dropped points could bring the dark clouds of doubt right back.
“In the end it will be a good season, affected also by the unknown factor that is the World Cup break,” Bordon suggested, noting that Inter “haven’t started like last season, but it’s just the beginning and they’re not at their best yet.”
“It’s the coach who has to try to understand why they’re having problems, if there are any reasons,” he added. “But I think there’s time to recover from what they’ve not managed to do so far.”
Bordon also spoke about the issue in goal for the Nerazzurri, where captain Handanovic and summer arrival Onana have both started some matches, and it is not clear if one or the other will be selected as the first choice for the rest of the season.
“I’d start from what Inzaghi said at the beginning of the season,” he argued, “the first choice is Handanovic. He plays in the league, now we’ve seen that Onana has played twice in the Champions League, but we don’t know what will happen in the future.”
“I want to wait to give an opinion,” he continued, “even if it seems like there will be alternation between them like that between the cup competitions and the league.”
Bordon argued that “I think that Handanovic’s experience is worth a lot, on the other hand Onana is younger and has other physical qualities. I’ve seen little of him, to be honest, however he has great reflexes and is explosive, you can see what a promising player he is.”
Of the possible insecurity that can be introduced by rotating the keepers, Bordon reflected that “I think the way I used to think when I played and then when I coached – it’s been a while, but I think that the goalkeeper is a psychological role, where the fundamental thing is mental.”
“Handanovic is often criticized by the press, sometimes even by his own fans,” Bordon noted, “everyone makes mistake, he can as well, but it seems to me that he’s criticized too much.”
“Alternation has it own risks,” the former keeper added, “what happens if he’s not at his best in a match and has some problems, while perhaps Onana plays well in the Champions League? It would lead to further criticisms.”
“And mentally, this is far from ideal,” he noted. “Of course, one can’t think that, since he’s the starter, nothing that can happen that would stop that from remaining so. But at the same time he needs a certain calmness.”
