Serie a 2010/2011

Eto'o is doing fine. Milito is struggling due to rafa's game plan as is sneijder. Under mou wes would play deeper thus allowing him space to deliver the through balls milito thrives on. The same can be said about the defence with the high rafa employs. Basicly rafa is trying to force his gameplan onto a squad instead of implementing a gameplan that fits the squad.
 
Rafael Benitez And Inter: Diesel In A Petrol Engine?

We’ve all seen it at petrol stations across the world. The driver sat with their forehead resting on the wheel, realising the costly & potentially ruinous mistake they have just made. Perhaps Massimo Moratti is feeling that way about his Inter side right now, although given some of his appointments in the past, perhaps not.

But truth is plain for all to see, the previously unstoppable machine that was Inter under Jose Mourinho is stuttering & failing to spark into life, looking for all the world like its running on the wrong fuel. While the former Liverpool coach has his critics he has an impressive enough record to warrant an important club like Inter considering him, but to follow the Portuguese was never the right move given their history.

Mourinho to Benitez

Clough & Revie for the 21st Century?

Before the season began I made the analogy that this was like appointing Don Revie to replace Brian Clough, a reversal of the situation that forms the basis of “The Damned United”. Filling the void left by a Mourinho departure has proven difficult at Porto & Chelsea, but Moratti compounded his own clubs misery by charging that task to a man who’s ego would never allow him to just keep the engine ticking over, to continue from last season without making changes.

Winning the treble is the ultimate dream of any serious club, & one that Inter achieved last year thanks in no small part to the drive, intelligence & tactical ingenuity of the self-proclaimed Special One. He took advantage of a veteran team, sat deep & played on the counter to devastating effect. This defence-first approach served him well & not only exploited the weaknesses of great teams like Barcelona, Bayern Munchen & Chelsea, but shielded the flaws of his own side.

That aging defence, built on the impressive Lucio & Walter Samuel were usually happy to defend the edge of their own area, allowing play to evolve in front of them with no space behind, letting the two players read the game as they do so well. Samuel Eto’o & Goran Pandev were asked to sacrifice themselves to protect the flanks, which they were happy to do, a move attributed to Mourinho’s widely applauded & excellent man-management.

In attack the skill & vision of Wesley Sneijder helped both the Dutch midfielder & Diego Milito to enjoy perhaps their finest seasons, with both players nominated for countless awards & the Argentine striker second in the league scoring charts. Every department played in a way that suited the personnel available, despite the club not signing too many players since the departure of Roberto Mancini.

field of play soccer the beautiful game

Average positions of Inter under Mourinho. Note Chivu, Samuel & Lucio looking more like a back three with Maicon & Pandev almost as wingbacks.

Benitez came in this summer & immediately began to ring the changes. He implemented a pressing style similar to that employed by Sacchi’s teams, a coach much admired by the ex Valencia man, who spent time at Milanello studying that dominating side at close quarters in the early 90′s. Not long after arriving he made a statement that eerily echoed that infamous Clough-Revie TV interview saying;

“Mourinho has done a great job here, but I’m different. I like to win, but to play well if it’s possible. My objective is to keep a winning mentality but play better football”

Clearly not a believer in the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it” Benitez reconstructed Inter in his own style, moving the defensive line far higher & implementing his usual 4-2-3-1 set up. This means those central defenders are no longer reading the game ahead of them & adjusting, they are constantly forced to turn & chase back, a trend that suits neither man.

The removal of the shield in front of them has meant greater use of Chivu & Maicon as orthodox fullbacks, again exposing the flaws in both. Maicon was shown up by Gareth Bale of Tottenham last week – a game expertly assessed by ZonalMarking.net - with no man ahead of him to help protect & Lucio far too high up the pitch to give him time to cover across.

Last months Derby d’Italia saw the same happen to Chivu against Milos Krasic, 45 minutes the Romanian will not forget. Seeing him lambast Benitez on numerous occasions this season over a lack of protection shows just how much this shift has affected the team. Benitez, often lauded as a master tactician, seems at a loss to arrest this slide, which is a real cause for concern.

Much like Clough at Leeds or diesel in a petrol engine this simply will not work. The problem grows ever worse, with the side currently being carried along on the goals of Samuel Eto’o, but his scoring streak will not last. With the Club World Cup coming up the fixture backlog will grow, & an old team looking every year of its age could well do without the distraction.

Sneijder, Milito, Pandev & Lucio look shadows of the men that bestrode Europe last season, & only one man can take responsibility for that. With fans leaving messages of love at the San Siro for Mourinho he clearly does not have the popular vote, nor can he cite boardroom disruption for the teams troubles, at Inter Rafael Benitez was given ideal conditions to work in. His vanity prevents him returning the team to the style that served it so well &, as a man who’s fortune lies in oil, Massimo Moratti knows all too well that to prevent lasting damage it will soon be time to flush the pipes.
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Rafa's issues
 
Liverpool know all about his vanity. Time and again his tactics got the team in trouble then desperately needing a win he'd change to a more offensive style and the results would come. After a good run he'd inexplicably revert to his favoured style and the results would turn against the team until yet again he'd be facing a "must win game". A vicious cycle.

He also messed players around terribly if they fell out of favour. Like Peter Crouch who he claimed he wanted to keep but then left him out of squad for the last few meaningless games of the season.
 
Alan, the issue is not Benitez not attacking, it's got to do with him attacking in a way that does not suit his players. He has made a gross tactical error and is paying for it. totally different to what happened with you lot.
 
I never said it had anything to do with attacking. I just pointed his vanity in context at Liverpool
 
smokey said:
Alan, the issue is not Benitez not attacking, it's got to do with him attacking in a way that does not suit his players. He has made a gross tactical error and is paying for it. totally different to what happened with you lot.
Click to expand...

bottom line is Rafa sucks as a Manager he should go coach 2nd division teams!
 
Rafa won't make it to twente. Absolutely disgracefull performance vs chievo. Eto'o will probably get banned for 3 games as well for the headbut.
 
Even I'm surprised how bad Rafa is doing. I thought Serie A suited him, hell he said so himself. Considering how poor the Serie A is Inter apart he really has made a cock up of epic proportions.
 
Rafa has had a horror start to his Inter tenure....

It has alot to do with injuries.... maybe its his training techniques that need to be investigated.
 
SinghDude said:
Rafa has had a horror start to his Inter tenure....

It has alot to do with injuries.... maybe its his training techniques that need to be investigated.
Click to expand...

If you keep having the same muscle strain issue and virtually each and every player has suffered from it, it isn't bad luck anymore.
 
nivek said:
Shame..
Click to expand...

He told the press mancini was safe even though he was talking with mourinho for 3 months. The same with zac before.

Its all about timing. He needs the team to focus for wednesday, telling the press that rafa is a deadman walking wouldn't help. Rafa won't survive till january unless there is a dramatic turnaround.
 
Ok thanks, he's been doing well this year in UEFA and Serie A definitely.
Just a moment to reflect but he's achieved a lot, winning the UEFA with Barcelona and Inter next year!
 
Eto'o is only banned for serie a games. He can play in cl,italian cup and world club cup games. Milito should be back vs lazio so its only sunday vs parma were we will really on the youth team strikers and pandev.
 
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