Ivan Zazzaroni, editor of Rome based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, analysed Inter’s important 3-0 win over Sassuolo on Saturday in an editorial in yesterday’s paper edition of the Rome based newspaper.
“Conte remains a man of revenge. In Reggio Emilia I saw again Conte’s team, the one that rarely expresses a good football, but can always win, the one that suffers immensely in the cup, where the level rises considerably, because they have athletic qualities, not technical, sufficient.
“Conte wants a team that resembles the Conte footballer, he does not chase the insistent dribbling, but the rapid play, the centrality of the wing backs, which is a paradox, the immediate recovery of the ball and the counter attacks and the demands of application, concentration, tactical discipline.”
He highlighted why Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen has failed to adapt to Conte’s tactical system since arriving from Premier League side Tottenham in the January transfer window earlier this year, in a deal worth €20 million.
“For this reason in Conte’s team there cannot be much room for someone like Eriksen. The Dane is a man of maneuver and needs to get repeatedly into the heart of the action.
“Out of curiosity, and for the urgency of clarity, I went to review the composition of the National team at the 2016 European Championships, that is the period in which Antonio had the opportunity to choose, even if from a bunch that lacked the star power.
“The midfield was formed by Florenzi, Parolo, De Rossi and Giaccherini, players who undoubtedly in the current Inter have counterparts.”
The Italian journalist commented on how Antonio Conte’s teams often have a strong sense of organisation.
“Conte’s specialty, obsessive in teaching, one that much more than others need to train with consistency, like Sarri, but with almost opposite principles of play, is organization, that is, the ability of the team to be prepared for the various challenges.
“They cannot disregard physical condition, a willingness to sacrifice and a very high balance. ‘But here at Inter it is all difficult’ Antonio said, ‘I do not say what they throw on us’. Sh*t, I suspect.”
Finally, Zazzaroni spoke about the situation surrounding Marcelo Brozovic. The Croatian was forced to miss the Neroverdi game after testing positive for Covid-19, but prior tests had found him negative. He has since tested negative again and will feature against Borussia Monchengladbach.
“It adds confusion to confusion, doubts to doubts, Thursday he was negative, yesterday again positive. Better, weakly positive.
“According to what has been explained to us several times by experts and also by the inexperienced, he could have infected his teammates. We are waiting for definitive and convincing clarifications.”
Inter’s next game is a crucial Champions League clash against Gladbach this week, a key game if the team want any hope of progressing to the next round of the competition.
