mazzarri inter

 

Ben Boucher (@sportsnut1908) continues to deliver articles for SempreInter.com. This time he has worked a hell of a lot to get to the bottom with what it takes to win a Scudetto, interesting read exclusively on SempreInter.com:

After such a disappointing season leading figures at Inter have talked about ‘respectability’ and being ‘competitive’ again. A new coach has been hired in the hope he can turn this predominantly negative situation around. In my opinion Inter should never aim for second best, I don’t want to be competitive: I want to win titles. If you set the bar as low as third place and fall short, then what? So I’m setting the bar at Scudetto winners and nothing less. The numbers below show how far short the Nerazzurri fell in terms of contending for the title last season. The table shows the averages that have been required to win a Scudetto over the past nine seasons after the competition reverted to a 20 team format.

(Click on the image for a larger version)

(Click on the image for a larger version)

For Inter the Scudetto challenge effectively ended on the 15th December in Rome where they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Lazio. This was their fifth defeat of the campaign and as you can see a side rarely wins Serie A with more than 4 defeats. If it wasn’t over then, Di Natale and Co finished the Nerazzurri off in the first fixture of 2013. New coach Walter Mazzarri must look through the ashes of last season and find ways to immediately address some very obvious problems.

A team can’t compete for silverware with a negative goal difference, alongside that losing 16 matches will leave a side some distance away from where you’d like to finish. The figures in blue (in the table above) are those which Inter would need to produce if they are to return to contention, the reality of catching this currwnt Juventus side might require even more. So apart from stating the obvious: Score more goals, concede less, win more matches and lose fewer: what areas will need addressing before the next league campaign gets underway?

Inter’s attacking play – Inter simply don’t generate enough shots on goal, Juventus average three more shots per match and two extra attempts on target each 90 minutes played. This doesn’t sound much but over the course of a 38 game season it is small details like this that make the difference. Good sides will generate around 20 shots each game but Inter managed just 15. Further evidence for the need to change is the amount of time spent in the final third of the pitch. Juventus spend 5% more time in attacking areas than Inter while the Nerazzurri spend 3% of that time difference in their own defensive third, again not a huge gap but over a season it is these fractional variables which can count towards the final league position achieved. The extra time spent in advanced areas of the field leads to clear advantages in terms of set pieces and penalties. Juventus scored a whopping 31% of their goals from these situations. How many times do Inter look out of ideas at Free kicks and corners? This must be a priority on Mazzarri’s list.

Defensively dire – Despite having one of the leagues best goalkeepers Inter looked like they could concede at any moment. Allowing opponents a full 4 shots per game more than what the eventual league winners concede is a sure fire way to cause your own problems. Inter have been unable to solve the issue of space between defence and midfield since Jose Mourinho left the club. If they are to return to the top of the standings this is another area which needs to be quickly addressed. Inter also won just 50% of their aerial duels and suffered greatly with physical players once Walter Samuel had been ruled out for the season. The final area of concern was Inter’s inability to pick up runners from midfield, how may times would Juan Jesus or Andrea Ranocchia be left attempting to both win the ball and cover a runner who hadn’t been tracked?

Following on from this article I will look at what possibilities Mazzarri has in the current squad to build a team capable of challenging for the title. I will also discuss our returning young players plus how Inter’s early mercato moves (Icardi et al) might improve the situation.