Football Season Guide

The memorable Simone Inzaghi era at Inter ended up in the worst conceivable way. In fact, after 3 years characterised by 1 Scudetto and triumphs in the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup, last season they were left empty-handed following defeats in the Coppa Italia semifinals, the Super Cup and Champions League finals and an incredible second place in the Serie A. Incredible, since they were by far the best team of the league, holding the best attack and the second best defence, but they literally committed suicide losing back-to-back games in week 33 and 34 when, concentrated in their European commitments, they fell off the top of the table, thus showing Napoli the way to the Scudetto. Following such disappointments, coach Inzaghi reckoned that it was time for a change and, after refusing a deal extension from Inter, accepted an offer from Saudi Arabia. Inter thus opted for a surprising move, handing the team to Christian Chivu, their former Primavera manager, who shortly tasted Serie A football at Parma last season. During the summer, Inter, who were also eliminated from the Club World Cup Round of 16, limited themselves to adding some quality to an otherwise almost perfect squad, while losing none of their stars. Up-front, last season they utterly lacked the goals from the back-up strikers: so, while Taremi is still at the club, Correa and Arnautovic were let go and they signed talented Bonny, who made his name at Parma too. They are still on the hunt for an experienced striker and this could very well mean that a fair-enough offer for Thuram is not unacceptable at the moment. In the midfield, with Mkhitaryan now 35, Frattesi often injured and Asllani still immature at times, they hired talented 20-year-old Sucic, coming from Dinamo Zagreb. Moreover, attacking midfielder Zalewski, often deployed in a more central position, was signed permanently. With right-back Darmian now 34 and always more frequently acting as a centre-back, Luis Henrique, arriving from Marseille, should become Dumfries' back-up.