Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has received the full backing of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport.
The newspaper defended the 47-year-old from his critics in an editorial published in today’s print edition, via FCInterNews, posing the question of “Would a replacement really do any better?”
It is no secret that Inzaghi has had his critics since taking over as Inter coach, and particularly this season.
However, Tuttosport contends, the job that he has done has not been anywhere near as bad as many have accused, and in fact considering the conditions that he has worked in, he deserves to be commended.
First, there is the criticism that Inzaghi received last season for failing to win the Serie A title from what had at one point looked like a commanding position.
It has been held against the former Lazio boss that he failed to win the Scudetto as his predecessor Antonio Conte, but as Tuttosport notes, there is a key difference between the two coach’s league campaigns.
In the case of Conte, the Nerazzurri’s efforts in the league were aided by the fact that they did not have any European football to distract them or sap their energy over the second half of the campaign.
Inzaghi, by contrast, guided Inter to the round of sixteen of the Champions League for the first time in over a decade.
Whilst the Nerazzurri were not able to get the better of eventual finalists Liverpool in their round of sixteen tie, they won praise for the quality of their performance against some of the continent’s most formidable opposition.
Apart from the fact that these two matches against the Reds meant that Inter had to commit resources and energy, there is also the fact that it was in the second leg at Anfield that Marcelo Brozovic picked up a calf injury.
Though this injury only sidelined the Croat for a few matches, it was widely considered to have been an absence that cost the Nerazzurri at least a few points, as they struggled to cope without their key midfielder.
Had Inter not been in the Champions League round of sixteen, it is not hard to think that they could have seen out the league campaign and won the title, Tuttosport argues.
Then, there is the fact that Brozovic has also been absent for long spells this season.
The same has been true of Romelu Lukaku.
From the perspective of Tuttosport, the fact that Inzaghi has managed to find ways around injuries to these two key players in two positions is something for which he should be commended.,