Inter’s charge towards the Serie A title is thanks in part to the club restoring harmony behind the scenes, a leading Italian journalist explained today.
Antonio Conte nearly walked out on the Nerazzurri last summer after publicly criticising the club for not protecting him enough, an outburst which strained his relationship with CEO Beppe Marotta.
Inter’s head coach wasn’t entirely convinced by the idea of staying for a second season, but as explained by Libero’s Fabrizio Biasin, the mood at the club could not be any more different now.
“Conte and Inter’s directors were working on the same project as professionals last summer, but they would never have gone out to have a pizza together,” Biasin wrote in a column for today’s print edition.
“It was in January this year that things changed, when Inter confessed all their weaknesses to the world (with Suning’s ownership struggles and their inability to sign players).
“Instead of watching their project crumble, Inter faced their problems head-on and found the right formula to put everyone and everything in the right place.
“At that moment, Conte returned to being the coach Marotta had known from their time at Juventus: pragmatic, a maniacal worker and focused solely on his players.
“Marotta, meanwhile, returned to being a reference point for Conte to within the club, an excellent director who was capable of keeping everyone calm despite all the rumours and speculation.”
Inter have opened up an 11-point gap at the top of Serie A after a run of 10 straight wins, making them odds-on favourites to win the Scudetto next month.
Conte’s long-term future with the Nerazzurri remains uncertain, given the club’s well-documented financial problems, but Biasin assured his relationship with Marotta was no longer any sort of issue.
“We’re still waiting to find out whether Inter will be able to dine at Europe’s top table again, but Conte and Marotta would certainly go out for a pizza together now,” Biasin concluded.
