When the final whistle sounded in the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on matchday 37 of the 2010/11 season, all the dams broke. Although AC Milan had officially become champions a week earlier with a 0-0 draw in Rome, all fans wanted to be part of the celebrations. 80,000 came that evening to celebrate the title and the team created the best conditions for this with a 4:1 win over Cagliari. Kevin Prince-Boateng upped the ante when he made good on his promise and performed Michael Jackson’s moonwalk in full costume in the middle of the court. After several dominant years of Inter’s neighbors, the title was sorely needed for the Rossoneri simply because of the rivalry within the fashion city. However, that should be the last championship celebration in Milan for the time being. Since then, Bavarian conditions have prevailed in Italy: Nine years in a row, the championship went to Juventus Turin, which differs from „Calciopoli” scandal and sometimes marched through without much competition.
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Milan’s two storied clubs, Inter and AC, are back at the top of Serie A for the second year in a row, but the squads bear little resemblance to the clubs’ golden years. Both teams live less from big stars this season than from a mixture of (very) experienced leaders and young talents. Compared to the glamorous victories in the 1990s and 2000s, the teams are almost understated at the moment. Today it’s not Ruud Gullit vs. Lothar Matthäus or Javier Zanetti vs. Paolo Maldini, but Edin Džeko vs. Olivier Giroud. How did these teams come about and why do they work?
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„The masterpiece of my career”
In the past season, Turin’s dominance was finally over. Despite Cristiano Ronaldo and top transfer Federico Chiesa, Juve never really got going. Thanks to the Lukaku-Martinez strike duo, Inter finally secured the title with four games to go and once again put the city in a state of emergency. In an interview with Gazetta Dello Sport, successful coach Antonio Conte made it clear how important this title was: „The masterpiece of my career was the title with Inter. Within two years we overthrew a sporting monarchy.” Mind you: These words come from the man who had previously won three championships with Juve and the Premier League with Chelsea.
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In the summer, however, the euphoria quickly dissipated. The Chinese conglomerate Suning Holdings Group, which has owned Inter Milan since 2016, was unable to continue the investments. This forced the club to bring in money and sell top performers Hakimi and Lukaku. Conte didn’t want to take part and said goodbye to Tottenham. The displeasure among the fans was great – the expectations for the current season were low.
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Those responsible opted for cost-saving solutions and signed Edin Džeko and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, two free transfer but experienced Serie A players. In addition, sports director Piero Ausilio Denzel Dumfries as a replacement for the right flank to the Lombards. And that for a fraction of the Hakimi millions. As new coach, Simone Inzaghi was tasked with rebuilding this seemingly weakened champions side and embracing the difficult legacy of the holders. However, the team didn’t let the excitement deter them and just carried on as in the previous season. Çalhanoğlu and Džeko became instant leaders and Dumfries continued to flourish since Euro 2022.
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Old but sexy
In addition to Džeko, other top performers in Samir Handanovic, Stefan de Vrij, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Perisic and Alexis Sanchez are getting on in years. The lack of shyness towards players over the age of 30 is benefiting Inter right now. In the football business, which is dominated by market values and contract terms, such players can often be had cheaply, although many are in the prime of their careers. Overall, Inter has seen an upward trend in recent years. In 2020 the club became runners-up just behind the „Old lady”, the championship came in 2021 and now the team is back in first place in the league, in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
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The team appears like a carefully assembled jigsaw puzzle. Piero Ausilio knows how to patiently search for the best possible candidates for the coaching system. This is also the case with Robin Gosens, who has been on the Nerazzurri list for a long time and will take over the role of Ivan Perisic in the coming years. The squad planning was primarily made possible by the investments made by the Chinese owners, but the strategist found solutions in the summer even without the big money. Now, apparently, a takeover by the Saudi state fund, which has already bought Newcastle United, is imminent.
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