Inter Milan begin a new era under Claudio Ranieri as the 'anti-Mourinho' faces acid test at Bologna

La Gazetto dello Sporto's front page showcased this image of the anti-Mourinho, Ranieri, as the man who is being charged with taming the Nerazzurri serpent which has lost its way. Image courtesy: interpersempre.com

He came, he carried out a mission of complete annihilation, and he was banished into oblivion. This is how followers of Calcio perceive Gian Piero Gasperini’s short lived stint at Inter. When he departed after suffering the ignominy of being the first manager in the club’s history to be sacked without winning a single game, what he also left was a tactical mess, a trail of complete destruction of the team’s morale and loathing from the club fans as he botched his first attempt at managing a big club. While it is arguable that Inter dug their own grave by bringing in a man who adheres to the 3-4-3/3-5-2 like his Bible, an ideology so not suited to the team, Gasperini was not without his failings either, as once he knew what he was in for, he failed to see the lack of sense in imposing his ideologies on a team which was ill-equipped to deal with it.

The 3 man defence theory was completely out of place in a team whose defenders were most definitely not the paciest in the business. Gasperini did not get the pacy defenders that he wanted in the transfer market, a player who he most wanted to stay on for his work rate and pace, Samuel Eto’o, was let go. Instead the club clung on to a man who did not fit in and according to the manager’s very words, “was not needed” under the new plans, Wesley Sneijder. Stuck with the star Dutchman, Gasperini played him out of position and the lack of fluidity that the team endured was laid bare to see, most notably at the home of newly promoted Novara where Inter suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in recent years. Thus comes in the logic that Gasperini was poorly supported by the management. But a talented manager like Gasperini should have adapted to his surroundings and changed his ideologies at the moment he knew that his philosophies were not working and did not receive the support that they deserved, instead of clinging on to them like dear life. No one but his immediate replacement said it better about this.

“Gasperini wanted to bring in his ideas and tried everything to make it work. I don’t think he can be criticized, he tried to carry on his ideas until the end”

Special Agent Gasperini: The man who destroyed Inter before being banished from the club

The fact is that Inter are still suffering from a Mourinho hangover more than a year after his departure, for the Portuguese was an over-achiever in the two seasons he spent at the club, and only someone as special as him could live up to the sky high expectations he set. Since his exit, there have been four new managerial appointments made at Inter, a clear sign of the magnitude of mismanagement by the head honcho Moratti and his inability to find the new Special One. It is reflected in the attitude of the fans of the club as well, who, despite backing their President accepting him for his trigger-finger approach, believe that Moratti should have chained Mourinho to the dungeons at the San Siro, and were fervently praying in desperation that Mourinho be sacked from Real Madrid and return to his beloved Inter when Los Blancos played out a drab draw at Racing Santander as speculations arose of the Portuguese’s job being on the line after a false start to the season.

From treble winners to laughing stock, Inter have been going through an overwhelming cycle where they sunk to the depths of recruiting a former AC Milan man (thus meaning mortal enemy in the dictionary of Inter fans), Leonardo, to take over and fix the mess that Rafael Benitez left. The Brazilian did a fine job in steadying the ship, but we all know the lesson the club learned. The young manager’s skills came up a cropper against the big guns in Serie A and utterly childish in Europe and he was never going to be a trophy winner for the club (the Coppa Italia hardly counts given the mauling in the Scudetto race to Milan and the Champions League).

That is all a matter of the past now and there is a new manager in charge. In choosing an emergency replacement, Inter have chosen an unlikely candidate, the last man on earth who Jose Mourinho, whose legacy continues to haunt the club as a ghost, would have approved of. Claudio Ranieri was the most hated man at Inter in 2010, for he was Mourinho’s public enemy during the treble season as Roma and Inter went head to head in the Scudetto race while the two managers were engaged in a sparring of words. While the irony of the appointment is obvious and is there for opposition fans to mock at, there is a cold logic in it. It is in line with the famous notion in Italian football that when a club is in crisis, there is no better man to recruit than Ranieri.

A man who has made a career out of saving teams in crisis, cases in point being the renaissance jobs he carried out at Parma, Juventus and Roma, Ranieri’s directive is clear: Bring in the first win of the season at Bologna and steady the ship while the club goes through a cycle of re-building and searches for a new long term replacement. Ranieri is not a trophy winner, and Inter are most definitely not a in a position to hunt for trophies this season as of now, something that the fans have come to accept. Already, there are signs that the man is up for the job, for has promised to play the team to its strengths, most notably a return to the back four, Wesley Sneijder playing in the trequartista position behind Pazzini/Milito and Forlan and Zanetti in defensive midfield to cover for Maicon’s attacking surges.

“I am not a coach that believes in winning formulas but rather in winning players. I believe if a good connection is made between the coach and the players, you can return to win.”

“Sneijder should play in his role which is as an attacking midfielder.”

At Bologna on Saturday, Inter begin the Ranieri era and the odds are already stacked against him, for he will be without key players Andrea Ranocchia, Maicon, Dejan Stankovic and Thiago Motta, while Sneijder will be rested in order to save his energy the Champions League encounter against CSKA Moscow. Through hook or crook, Inter need a win soon, for the fan base is going through a phase where they are increasingly growing indifferent to the club, thanks to the insipid way they played under Gasp, and the team is languishing in the relegation zone in 18th place. If things don’t go according to plan, the media will soon start hunting down Ranieri while Moratti’s trigger finger will start itching again, as another sacking would only propel the club into more despair and another crisis.