A report in the Italian media looks back on how Hakan Calhanoglu established himself as a brilliant Regista at Inter Milan.
The 29-year-old played in several positions throughout his career. During his time at AC Milan, he mostly featured as an attacking midfielder.
Nevertheless, the Turkish international became a box-to-box midfielder after signing for the Nerazzurri as a free agent in 2021.
But with Marcelo Brozovic struggling with injuries last season, Calhanoglu dropped even deeper on the pitch, filling in the Regista role.
As Tuttosport via FcInterNews recalls, this successful experiment began on the 4th of October 2022 against Barcelona.
With Brozovic sustaining an injury, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi first tried Kristjan Asllani as a deep-lying playmaker against Roma.
However, the young Albanian struggled to fill in for the experienced Croatian. So three days later, the manager opted to try Calhanoglu in a deeper position against the Catalan giants, and the rest, as they say, is history.
With Hakan Calhanoglu Shining As A Regista, Marcelo Brozovic Rapidly Became A Distant Memory At Inter Milan
The former Bayer Leverkusen man became an instant hit as a Regista. But following a brilliant Champions League run, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s injury forced Inzaghi to reinsert Calhanoglu as left central midfielder in the final against Man City.
However, Hakan had a forgettable performance and the Nerazzurri eventually lost despite a valiant team effort.
Therefore, the source discusses if the outcome would have differed had Calhanolgu started the Istanbul final as a deep-lying midfielder. Rather than a box-to-box midfielder.
In any case, the Turk’s exploits as a Regista meant that Brozovic became less essential for the club. The latter ended up signing for Al-Nassr in the summer, leaving Calhanoglu as the main deep-lying playmaker at Inter.
