APPIANO GENTILE – Sports journalism is a strange world and so sometimes you get questions like the one put to Andrea
Stramaccioni today: after just two games playing with the same
tactical formation, could Inter have become predictable? The coach’s reply came in the form of an interesting and intelligent
tactical analysis: "I’ve always said that when attacking we want to have a centre
forward and at least two quality players in support. It may be two wide players, a wide player and a man in
the hole, or two in the hole. Depending on the game, our condition
and the opposition’s characteristics, the players and the
positions might change but the strength of a team lies in its playing philosophy. That’s
the starting point then, as I said, there are always variations. If you
have Sneijder then you’re obviously going to have more quality down
the middle, with different players you can spread play or vice versa. And it’s not something linked strictly to the attackers: all the players are
involved in the manoeuvre so it really is about the whole team."
The
players. The same players who, not many matches ago, were past it in the eyes of many…
That’s a topic Stramaccioni enjoys talking about, in his own way:
"Now it would be easy to say that certain assessments were wrong, that our recent showings have proved it, that on one occasion I even raised
my voice because I disagreed with certain opinions." One topic that will
remain outside the press room at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti, however,
is the club’s future transfer dealings: "I’m only going to talk
about my own players, who are doing very well."
The coach continued: "I don’t know if I’m closer now to being confirmed as
coach for next season. It would be easy to say yes looking at the good results we’ve had
recently, but I’d like to emphasise the
work done by the players and the progress the team has made – both in
terms of the football and in how they respond on a psychological
level. Going behind to Cesena at the start of the second half, after
dominating the first, might have been a problem; it could have
taken out the wind out of our sails. Instead the lads dug deep and gave everything
they had. And, with the help of our fans we managed to bounce back and turn it around.
We’re all working together to achieve our target. We have never
promised we’d finish third, only that we would do everything possible
to get there. And I’ll repeat that however it finishes we’ll
leave the pitch with our heads held high, as Inter should, having put
absolutely everything into it."