Simone Inzaghi could take cues from Jannik Sinner – an Max Allegri – in his efforts to keep Inter Milan focused amid a brewing scandal surrounding their ultras.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.
The last week has seen an unwelcome distraction emerge for Inter.
Nerazzurri ultras group the Curva Nord have come under intense scrutiny, along with their AC Milan counterparts the Curva Sud.
Anti-mafia prosecutors have arrested nineteen members of the Nord and the Sud in total.
These arrests have been for alleged illegal activities as well as mafia ties from the ultras groups.
Inzaghi Must Take Cues From Jannik Sinner To Keep Inter Focused
Of course, the activities of the ultras are not related to Inter on the pitch.
However, that does not mean that heightened controversy is not going to affect the Nerazzurri mentally.
Distractions are always the enemy in football.
And the bigger the distraction, the more that it can affect the team’s form.
Therefore, Inzaghi’s task is clear. He must protect his players from the scandal on the outside, making it clear that it has nothing to do with them, their work, and their goals.
In the view of Tuttosport, there are two men who Inzaghi could take cues from.
The first would be former Juventus coach Max Allegri.
The Bianconeri were at the centre of an ultras scandal of their own during the 2017-18 season.
That put an unwelcome spotlight on the Old Lady from an off-the-pitch standpoint.
But on the pitch, it made little difference. Allegri guided Juventus to relentless form to get the better of Napoli in an intense title race.
Then, Tuttosport suggest, Inzaghi can also look to the example of Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner.
The 23-year-old was at the centre of a scandal of his own in recent months. In his case, allegations of doping.
But Sinner was able to brush this off. The Italian won the US Open this summer, perhaps the crowning achievement of his career to date.
Inter will want to follow suite. And this will require Inzaghi figuring out how to keep the team focused just as Sinner has managed to do.