In his regular weekly column Inter fanatic Sam Olsen dives deep into the stories that matter to Inter’s fans looking to keep the spirit of discussion alive and well on the pages of Sempreinter.com.
The news that Internazionale had signed Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the final day of the 2013 transfer window gained little attention in the day’s football news as journalists focussed their attention on potential mega transfers lying in wait. The Serb was something of a journeyman, even at 25, with stints at Basel, Fiorentina and Stuttgart already under his belt and the news he was moving on, especially considering he was entering the final six months of his contract, for a nominal fee was of no surprise. Now, as he approaches his second anniversary at Inter, he has shown that he deserves to keep his place at the club.
Zdravko Kuzmanovic. Kuz. A player that most Interista have an opinion about, and probably a bad one at that. He has hardly set the world on fire since he arrived, unheralded, from Stuttgart for a mere one million Euros at the tail end of the 2013 transfer window. Indeed any reaction to his arrival was swallowed up in digesting the other business that Inter had conducted over that month and indeed that very day.
For much of the month the absolute shock arrival of an ancient Tomasso Rocchi for 300,000 Euros from Lazio had obsessed fans. It was as if Inter had some old debt with Le Aquile which obliged them to take the aging former hero and pay him 1.5 million Euros per year for being insipid. He was simply dreadful, and his signing is still one of the most bewildering and incompetent of Inter’s history. Fans did not have to wait for more terrible news to filter through that month as on the 22nd of January the club announced the sale of Wesley Sneijder to Galatasaray for a whopping 7.5 million Euros, an amount somewhat short of the 30 million+ valuation on the player only a few months earlier.
On January 30th, as fans stood shaken by the disaster of the window to that point, it was announced that the club had agreed to sell one of their only decent young players, Phillipe Coutinho, for a barely believable 10 million Euros. Thousands of hands were heard slapping against foreheads in tandem at the announcement and cases of people fainting in Milan hit an all time high. After signing perhaps the worst player available in the transfer market in Rocchi and selling one of the world’s best attacking midfielders for beans that would not magically produce a beanstalk of abnormally significant size; Inter had sold their only decent youngster for what seemed like seemed like, and what would prove to be, a pittance.
The following day the reason for the sale was made clear when Inter announced the signing of young Croatian sensation Mateo Kovacic for 11 million Euros. The announcement soothed some of the pain felt by fans but showed that the club could only afford one prodigiously talented youngster in their ranks at any time. As news of the Croatians arrival sunk in two other transfers were announced. Ezequiel Schelotto was bought in from Atalanta for 5.3 million plus half of youngster Marko Livaja after he was apparently valued in the same price bracket as the recently departed Sneijder despite being barely able to play football; and one Zdravko Kuzmanovic, the Serbian journeyman.
With all this going on it was no real surprise that fans paid little heed to his arrival. The club was in turmoil, rumour of debt and departures rife. Kuzmanovic had appeared under the radar, and nothing that he would produce on the pitch would change that.
At Stuttgart Kuzmanovic had become a key squad member after an 8 million Euro move from Fiorentina. He had slotted into the defensive/central midfield roll and in the 2010/11 season had managed a career high 9 goals and four assists in 32 matches. The stats proved to be a career anomaly however, and he would struggle to reach such heights again. That same season, as his club struggled in a battle against relegation, local paper Stuttgarter Nachrichten summed him up with this summary:
“8 Million Euro man Zdravko Kuzmanovic is a pantomime footballer, he’s always around but never quite there.”
The line proved to be simple but staggeringly accurate as Inter fans would find out to their endless frustration. In his first six months, as Andrea Stramaccioni struggled with a squad low on quality and stricken by injury, Kuzmanovic struggled to stamp his authority on matches, as Inter’s midfield were overrun. He often appeared a step behind the play, ‘always around but never quite there’.
Strama departed and Mazzarri arrived, Kuzmanovic found himself shelved for the first half of the season before taking up a place in the middle of the park as Mazzarri searched for a best eleven. Even during a string of starts however, Kuzmanovic failed to influence proceedings and only completed the full ninety minutes twice in 15 appearances in Serie A. By the end of the season Serb found himself back warming the bench for the majority of matches as Mazzarri finally bowed to growing fan rage over his inexplicable desire to repeatedly pick Kuzmanovic over Kovacic.
Partly because of his part in keeping Kovacic off the field and partly because of his inability to influence matches at all, Kuzmanovic was painted as precisely the type of player who was causing Inter to crumble. Slow, boring, uninspiring. ‘Always around but never quite there.’
The 2014/15 season started as the previous had finished, Kuzmanovic out of favour with manager and fans, finding time to grace the pitch only in the slog of the Europa League. He returned again during the final weeks of Mazzarri’s doomed reign as the club faced another injury crisis but struggled, as usual, to influence proceedings.
Sometimes however, a change in coach and style can reinvigorate a player, and there is evidence that Mancini may be the man to save Kuzmanovic’s Inter career. The Jesi born tactician has endured a mixed start to his second term at Inter but has shown he wants a faster more dynamic and more aggressive Inter on the pitch. This change seems to have revitalised Kuzmanovic who, although far from being a world beater, has appeared much more willing and able to influence proceedings. Mancini has utilised him both as a central midfielder and on the left and he has seemed more comfortable when not tied to a strictly defensive roll where his lack of speed so clearly and painfully exposed.
Although definitely not a player who should be anywhere near the starting line up, Kuzmanovic does provide an excellent option off the bench, someone with experience, who can cover a number of midfield positions and who can come on to shore things up and keep them tight, and should he continue his rejuvenation under Mancini he could yet prove vital to any late scramble for European places. Despite calls for him to be sold for much of his Inter career, he can play an important roll in the club, at least until Inter are able to focus on boosting the squad rather than the starting line up.
Do you agree with Sam? Discuss below or hit him up on twitter @SamOlsenbywv
Good phrase ‘Always around but never quite there.’ In my opinion, he is a good backup, but not for a starting eleven. Inter standard on player should be higher. But yes, he definitely deserves to stay.
Everything depends of what you expect from Inter and the way that our team can reach our goals. My opinion about Kuzmanovic is that he’s a mediocre player with no room for serious improvement. I don’t see his qualities, he’s not so good in defending part, he’s slow, doesn’t have ability to give final pass or for scoring goals. If we expect to grow and improve i don’t see Kuzmanovic role in our midfield at all. He’s too far to be a starter and for back up role i strongly prefer some youngster or talent who can help when is needed and gain experience.
he is better because he played al lot, but still very slow and undecided player. good for the bench i’d said
Well, he still can provide some utilities on the pitch, so why not. Let’s just wait until a real force of player arrives or his price starting to get higher, which basically he would already become one of the important piece on the pitch.
OMG…..never tought i would read a Inter fan Write that Kuzmanovic deserve to be at Inter! In my opinion he should not even have a career as fotballer…..how he has mangaged to fool so many that he can play is truly remarkable…..no no no and again NO Sam he doesn’t deserve a place in Inter…..and now that he has played and displayed himself maybe and just maybe we can fool some other poor bastard to take him of our hands……iam very confused Inter can Invest in players like Periera,Kuzmanovic ,schelotto , dambrosio, nagatomo,Guarin( a total sum of around 60-70 million transfer+wage) and when players like Konoplyanka and Shaqiri, naingolan and many other quality player are available we suddenly hesitate…….I can only blame this on the scouts and the sporting director….my God the money we have spent the last years and all of it down the drain……hope that Mancio can turn things around…FORZA INTER!
Good article Sam, I agree with you. He’s a decent option for bench considering the lack of quality we currently have at Inter. He proved to be at a significantly higher level than Obi and Krhin. Still I don’t understand why he is preferred over one of Guarin/Hernanes duo for this week’s match against Lazio.
We all know how inconsistent and deadbrain Guaro is, but we always expect a flash of brilliance with him because he got some talent.
I personally prefer to keep him until our youth prove to be reliable… unless we can sell him for 7m…
Only Kovacic and Hernanes (he is not in form lately but has it all) are better than Kuz in our midfield.
Seriously Kuz is already one of the better player this season, even in the last 2-3 game of Mazzari he’s been outstanding and its continue, or even improved with mancini. He deffinetly have a role in the team. Lots of you guys are already in “kuz is a disaster” state of mind and doesnt apreciate what he does on the pitch lately.
Eroll, put on your glasses next time you watch a game and the slowest player excluding the players warming up is Kuzmanovic…..
Perfectly written article! I’ve been getting so tired of what seems like fans not even watching games, just naming the same players over and over again, and blaming everything on them.
he deserves to stay as a waterboy. people give guarin shit while kuz is even worse.gtfo
Kuz definitely deserves to stay. He’s been a pivot players connecting the defense and offence, although not the best, but he still does the job. I can see in the last few games, he’s been trying to be a box-to-box midfielder (including some last few games under Mazzari). This will give us more options on the attack as he can penetrate into the defense out of nowhere and surprise them. On defense, well, the more players the merrier 🙂 Guarin is plotted to do similar job, but he just failed. Miserably. No question.
In conclusion, Kuz might not be Cesc Fabregas or Iniesta who dribbles, but he surely can distribute the ball and be an extra man in both sides of the pitch. The only thing is, his falling down and dive against Chievo reminds me a lot of Sergio Busquets, not so cool!
Kuz deserves to stay. He has really upped his level this season and he can offer some depth to our squad which is crucial if we want to compete in Europe. He is better player than most of our fans here think he is.
Although we have to get rid of Guarin. I just hate his inability to make decisions on the pitch.
Agree 100%. I am no fan of Kuz but he is handy to have on the bench as he can cover several positions. Guarin would be a good impact player in the last 20 but he is paid too much to justify that roll and he is not consistent enough for a starting berth. He has to go
I agree with the points you made about Kuz but if an offer comes in for 5 mil or more I would take it.
My inner grammar nazi got the better of me: role, not roll 😀
Exactly! He makes way too much money
The best thing about Kuz is that he does or try to do what the coach ask him. I known that makes him guilty of lack of creativity. But he is the perfect player for not so important games or to close games we are winning by two goals or more. The only thing I kind of disagree with from the article is that Kuz had already picked his game before Mancini arried. Maybe I am just confused and I am mixing games. Anyway, I agree that his new position in the pitch under Mancini has helped him. He just really needs to work on his strength and speed. Do weight training or something I don’t know 🙂
He seems a little more dynamic since Mancini come in, willing to get forward more and get in around the box. He is also pressing much higher. I believe this is a purely tactical change, with Mancini wanting him to get to the edge of the box and press higher. It seems to have helped him, although his lack of pace can see him get caught out at times.
I believe in football we need a 1st team player, squad rotation and back up player. Kuz one of those back up player we need. in other side, I can’t say which one Guarin belong to
Guarin’s salary stops him from being anything other than a first team player. Inter simply cannot afford to pay someone 100,000 per week to sit on the bench. He has to start or he has to go!
Sorri but i cant say anything but agreeee..kuz never be favorite player in inter. But his style and rejuvenation under mancio can save his ass…! Inter must gave him new contract he deserve
I’m disagree with you and i’ll tell you why. First of all, i want to say, that you pointed out correctly weaknesses and strengths of Kuz, but you missed one. He can’t hold the ball properly. This, plus his slowness and combined with our slow CB (rannochia and juan), makes our team vulnerable to counter-attacks. This is clear to be seen in our last match against Chievo. In my view, if we get good bid for him ( above 5 mln) , we should sell him and reinvest the money in more reliable player.
Wait wait wait. JJ is a slow centerback? Are you from the future where he is like 45 because I can’t see him being slow otherwise.
hahahaha good point
reliable player for what? 1st team or subs? what Sam trying to say, we need a backup player like him. low salary, keep quiet even he never play, can make a decent play when he called up like him, Andreolli, or any youngster
His pass percentage is actually fairly high. I think because he stands out so much and because the fans dislike him, his mistakes are often highlighted more. Also the position he plays in means that if he loses the ball it usually gives the opposition a better chance to counter. Personally I dont think he is suited to a purely defensive roll because of his speed, Medel is obviously the man to play in that purely defensive position. I think if he is used as a CM or LM his lack of speed can be covered more by Medel. Obviously as I said in the article however he is not good enough to start.
Also what player can you recommend Inter invest in if we get 5 mil for him? Cant buy much for 5 mil nowadays!
I mean he isn’t good enough for starting material. But, if we can get rid of some of those players like Kuz ( Guarin, Nagatomo, Pereira and obviously Vidic), we could menage to get money enough for 2 quality assets. Particulary for Kuz, when he get lost the ball, he is too slow, even to commit a fault and prevent the counter attack. This is what i don’t like in his game. I’m agree that he plays much better under Mancini and he’s really determined, but if we can get some good money for him – sell him:) We have bench players – Obi, Khrin ( despite i haven’t seen too much of him). Just right now, we need starters, not good substitutes.
You didint watch Kuz, did you? That guy has great passing skills and excellent ball retention. He is slow, but he barely ever makes mistakes that leads to conceeded goal. He can be also creative. Look at Medel for instance, he is not the same profile of player, but, he is headless chicken (little better than Gargano) who only know to tackle and runaround without any sense of positioning.Cambiasso was slower than Medel by far but he become the best DMF in the world in his prime and he is still better than Medel. So, technic and positioning is far more important than speed whan it comes to midfielders.Kuzmanovics biggest quality is that he is very grateful player who never complains about sitting on the bench.
Agree 100%. Hopefully guarin start to improve as well.