Marzia Hazra, thefirst90minutes' 'Italian Football Correspondent', reports on the tight title race involving Inter, Juventus and Milan...
After a rather exciting start to the season when the likes of Lazio and Udinese were camped at the Italian summit, the league has now been restored to its normal order. Inter, Juventus and Milan are occupying the top three spots in that specific order and after this week’s performances the Scudetto race has turned into anything but the one horse race that so many predicted ahead of the season. After some years of Inter domination the competition in the league has finally began to tighten with Juventus and Milan both relentless in their quest for new silverware.
Inter not so invincible – especially without Ibrahimovic
Inter, throughout the seasons, have showcased their dependence upon their talisman, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Last season the Nerazzuri almost threw away the Scudetto during Ibrahimovic’s absence but as we all know he came in with half an hour remaining of the game against Parma on that fateful day and bagged a brace after Roma had been virtual champions for over an hour. Although he has spared the team from blushes on countless occasions an uninspired Ibrahimovic can be seen sulking around too often and his weakness against better qualified opposition is notorious around the Peninsula.
Despite the star-studded squad, Ibrahimovic since his switch from Juventus has grown to be the brightest gem in both Mancini’s and now Mourinho’s jewels. The minutes on the pitch when the forward has been missing have been extremely few and Mourinho is very lucky that the Swede has avoided any form of serious injury. There is however one downside with playing almost every single game in Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia – it tires the forward and hence he cannot keep the quality of his play up to standard.
Not only is the Sweden international Inter’s top goal scorer by far, he is also their creative force. Considering that the second highest goal scorer at the club is right back Douglas Maicon one can only imagine the team without the services of Ibrahimovic’s. Inter and Mourinho are yet to find a consistent radar partner for the gangly forward in the offense and with the obvious amount of weight carried around by Ibrahimovic it’s notable that he hasn’t cracked under the pressure yet.
The last couple of weeks have showcased laborious play and hard to come by results and also had me seriously questioning if Inter really could pick up the Scudetto for a third consecutive time. Considering that the squad is generally viewed upon as one of Europe’s best the team have struggled surprisingly hard when the injuries appeared as well as when put against teams that play with a great deal of intensity – as Inter normally play at their best if they can set the tempo and dictate the game.
Inter haven’t become the unstoppable force Mourinho envisioned when he took over the reins at Appiano Gentile. Many disciplinary issues involving several players, most notably perhaps Adriano and Balotelli, have seen the harmony disrupted among the squad. Another problem is the formation as several of the players have had obvious difficulties adapting to Mourinho’s favorable 4-3-3 as the team is trying out something along the lines of a 4-1-2-1-2 and a classic 4-4-2.
This season Inter have had more difficulties in pursuing the same recipe that landed them the title in these past couple of season – mauling the minnows and snatching up points even when things look gloomy. The club also prioritises the Champions League over the Scudetto this time but it remains nevertheless an important target. Inter are not so invincible without Ibrahimovic and the injuries have proven to be somewhat of an Achilles heel for the reigning champions. The Nerazzuri may have been praised for the “never-give-up” mentality and rightfully so, but that has been lacking in recent weeks. However, having been secure and alone at the top for some time now, can they still manage with serious competition for the first time since the club started their dominance over Serie A?
Sheer will and hard work has gone a long way for Juventus
Juventus have adopted a true blue collar mentality after their promotion back to Italy’s top flight where working in unity has become the top priority. The Bianconeri, although only three points behind leaders Inter with half the season remaining have been written off by most pundits and legends alike from the very beginning. How that is after last year’s third position I don’t understand and when did sheer will and hard work stop counting as key ingredients to success?
Despite the alarming rate of injuries that during its worst time meant only two thirds of the squad were available, under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri the team has been surprisingly consistent. Not only that, the team has managed to close the gap from Inter considerably since the start of the season.
The injury crises forced the Juventus tactician to introduce several young players into the starting eleven whom normally would have watched most of the action from the bench, instead the players have gone out of their way to prove their worth on the pitch and when several of the club’s key players such as Gianluigi Buffon and David Trezeguet are set to make their returns the TInkerman will have a rather luxurious problem at hand. Some also say that the Bianconeri lack that extra creative force that is supposedly holding back the offense but with 32 goals scored and the presence of Sebastian Giovinco and Claudio Marchisio I don’t really see what all the fuss is about.
Despite the group effort Juventus have showcased two players that have been particularly prominent in the club’s quest for the Scudetto; Carvalho Amauri and Alessandro Del Piero. The summer signing from Palermo has had a direct impact on the Turin side and the Brazilian-born striker has clinched more winners and salvaged more points than any other Juventus player. Legendary captain Alessandro Del Piero has on the other hand had his greatest impact in the Champions League and Il Capitano simply refuses to stop curling in those trademark free kicks.
Juventus have proved over the last couple of months that they have all the qualities needed to genuinely push for the desirable Scudetto and by refusing to let the numerous injuries take over, the team has got the overhand of its competitors.
Milan still in the running
With the Champions League out of the equation there were lots of promises from the Milan camp that all focus would be on bringing the Scudetto home to the “right” side of town. After getting into a nice winning streak after their disastrous start, the Rossoneri have only managed to string together inconsistent results lately. Just like their cross town rivals Ancelotti’s men have had difficulties on the pitch with important players on the sidelines and are six points shy of the top.
In all fairness the players have been distracted by several things lately. The hype surrounding David Beckham’s loan deal and the whole media circus surrounding Brazilian playmaker Ricardo Kaká has disrupted the flow both on and off the pitch. With the uncertainty currently clouding Kaká’s future at the club one has to wonder what kind of replacement Milan are planning on bringing in – or if any at all? The club already has the irreplaceable Gennaro Gattuso out for the remainder of the season and with Alessandro Nesta still fighting his back problems combined with the aging backline it’s rather surprising to see the that the only real signing is right back Felipe Mattioni.
If Milan were to relieve Kaká of his duties his fellow countryman Alexande Pato would get a hard time indeed as the club’s only pure offensive fire. It is the same Pato that has started coming out of his shell. The young Brazilian has blossomed into a world class player during his first year at Milan and with the help of the club’s star studded team and pure talent there is no telling how far this 19-year old will go. Six goals in his four latest outings say a lot and on top of that the humble teenager happens to be Milan’s leading scorer.
So many promises ahead of the season and none really lived up to so far. Milan are looming around the corner and even though some say their chances of the Scudetto are close to unrealistic we will have to keep in mind that things change mighty quickly in the world of football and when the top two make mistakes the Rossoneri have to make sure be there and pick up the pieces.
Bookmark with:
