Inter Milan fans will forever be indebted to Antonio Conte for finally ending their long wait for a Scudetto, a first non-Juventus champion of Italy in a decade.
But should he return to Lombardy with Tottenham or another club in the future, the red carpet will stay in the storeroom, partly down to the brother of one of Inter’s fiercest rivals’ greatest-ever strikers.
While Inter plundered 89 goals enroute to their 19th Serie A crown last season, one ahead of AC Milan’s tally, the football was slow and laboured, and anything but pleasing on the eye.
Such a sterile spectacle was forgotten as Inter took home the Serie A crown at a canter, but under Simone Inzaghi this term, fans have been treated to free-flowing attacking football from all angles that has left an indent on the edges of San Siro seats – simultaneously highlighting that while last season may have been a successful one, it will fade from memory quicker than most trophy-winning campaigns.
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“Fans will always appreciate what Conte did, but won’t remember him. His style of play may have got results, but it wasn’t exciting.
“The plan was just give it to Romelu Lukaku and he would do something, which is why he got not only so many goals, but plenty of assists. He kind of did everything. Now, things are very different.”
Inter’s performances on the continent were another stick with which to beat Conte. They finished bottom of a group containing Borussia Monchengladbach and Shakhtar Donetsk last season, with the fiery tactician clashing with TV pundits after their embarrassing exit, as he sought – in vain – to blame others.
It was not completely plain sailing, but Inzaghi’s Inter finished second behind Real Madrid in their group this time around to reach the Champions League last-16 for the first time since 2011-12 – an absence that, in a city where their neighbours’ colossal seven European Cup crowns looms large, has been a difficult pill to swallow.
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'We don't swim in money': Klopp lauds Liverpool's 'brilliant' recruitment after Diaz impact11 February, 2022Liverpool will be firm favourites to see off Inter over two legs, given how they slayed all before them in a supposed group of death. Yet in the absence of Lukaku and Conte, the Nerazzurri have grown into a much more multi-faceted threat.
Nicolo Barella’s suspension is a huge blow, but Inzaghi still has plenty of other potent attacking options up his sleeve.
Wily old Edin Dzeko has filled the Lukaku-shaped void, forging a potent partnership with Lukaku’s former flame Lautaro Martinez, the ageless Ivan Perisic represents the last of a dying breed of truly effective widemen, while flying full-back Denzel Dumfries has taken to Italian football like a duck to water.
The controversial capture of Hakan Calhanoglu from Milan has not only ruffled their rivals’ feathers, it has also produced results, with his menacing set pieces a real cause for concern. Meanwhile, Marcelo Brozovic will look to control the engine room – where Inzaghi believes his side can hurt Liverpool.
Either way, you won’t see the Italian penchant for shutting up shop at the San Siro tonight. Inzaghi has his way of playing, and while others may garner more positive results, the young, innovative Inter coach will at least do his best to put on a spectacle worthy of Europe’s premier competition.
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