The Club World Cup has provided a lot of talking points in the build up to the tournament. And a few more now the tournament is underway. Chief among them is, who does this actually benefit? From forklift drivers conceding ten goals to completely empty stadiums and matches played in blistering heat with exhausted players, the tournament is prompting discussions.
But there may be one man, or one club who can benefit greatly from these glorified exhibitions. Christian Chivu walked into Inter Milan this month hot on the heels of Simone Inzaghi’s swift exit after the Champions League Final humiliation. The UCL final was the latest in a line of Inter collapses as they went from quadruple to trophyless in a matter of weeks.
A tired looking team and pundits questioning pretty much everything about the team. Its age, its rigid formation, the full backs… In any other season, the players would be on holiday now and Chivu and his superiors would be guessing who was going where, what was happening with transfers, who would be able to step up from the younger groups. Instead, they have at least three games to check it out.
Sebastiano Esposito and Asllani starting last night, with de Lima and Sucic off the bench, was a nod to Chivu taking the opportunity to check out a few players. I would expect to see a much less experienced line up for the game against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds too.
Chivu started off with the tried and trusted 3-5-2 that Inzaghi so fervently developed. At its best, Inzaghi’s Inter bewildered opponents with positional interchanges, overloads and energy. At its worst, the shape was too predictable, lacked defensive width and left an ageing squad struggling for their life in midfield.
However, what we saw last night was a little different. In the incredible Californian heat the first half saw an energetic press, quick one touch football and resulted in a lovely move that saw Lautaro equalise at the end of the first half.
Asllani’s clipped ball over the top marked his improvement from a player who appeared more than a little lost in the closing months of last season. The Inter fan base will take a bit more convincing if he stays at the club, and he just might with Calhanoglu flirting with a move to Turkey.
The same problems that Inter struggled with last season began to show through at the end of the game and their predictability shone through. Lautaro’s offside goal was another lovely move and if the one touch football persists, Inter will get it right – they always manage to.
There’s a lack of real creativity in Inter’s midfield. Mkhitaryan is 36 years old and looks every day of it in the burning Pasadena sun. Barella is nowhere near the player he was a year ago, but is it any wonder? The Italian has been almost ever present for club and country for around 3 seasons now. He looks like he needs a long summer break.
With a team with the highest average age in Serie A pace is always going to be a problem and with no Dumfries or Thuram in the line up it becomes stark that Inter will struggle in transitions. The final issue is the sheer profligacy in front of goal. Despite the aforementioned problems they face, Inter were by far the better team in this game and should’ve scored three or four goals quite easily.
That they didn’t harps back to games that ultimately cost them the Scudetto last season. Milan away in March being the most obvious example. The midfield problems they face is mostly nitpicking, they still created a lot, but they do need to get better at putting that ball in the back of the net.
The good news for Chivu is, he’s got a couple more games at least to make a full assessment of his squad and to begin to impress ideas upon them before the window opens and the squad takes a well earned break.
Xabi Alonso might take notes.
The Calcio Blog 