Inter Can Open a New Dynasty but Antonio Conte Needs to Stay

Inter Milan, Italian Football, Serie A, Tactical Trends

Antonio Conte opened Juventus’ nine-year dynasty, and Antonio Conte closed it. Now he is set to open another one at Inter. After leading the Beneamata to the Serie A crown and breaking an 11-year drought, the Salento-born gaffer has everything it takes to unleash another age of domination over the Italian top-flight. Provided that he decides to stay.

After beating  Crotone in Round 34 and with one day of delay – as Atalanta failed to beat Sassuolo on Sunday – the Nerazzurri ended a wait that lasted 10 years to seal the 19thScudetto of their history.

It is what was expected from them and they did not fail to deliver this time. Milan’s incredible run was destined to stop at some point – which promptly happened after the year-end turn. Juventus, on the other hand, took a calculated risk when they entrusted Andrea Pirlo with the command of the operations. The Bianconeri management knew there was a chance it would not work out – not immediately, at least.

Napoli were too inconsistent across the season and the likes of Roma and Lazio were simply not equipped to keep the same pace as Antonio Conte’s steamroller.

Thus, Inter were the obvious favorites and, this time, they didn’t make the same mistakes as last season. One year ago, they already seemed the strongest Serie A roster but ended the campaign empty-handed amid Conte’s grumblings.

The coach was indeed the first to learn his lesson. The 2019-2020 campaign had been punctuated with his complaints about the Nerazzurri’s management. His reiterated outbursts took him close to a shocking divorce after just one year at the helm. Back then, we wrote that Inter should have better let him go as the last thing they needed was more in-house drama.

This time, the coach talked much less and, when he did it, it was to encourage and praise his boys rather than to have any dig at his management.

But if there was praising on the front-end, behind the curtains of Appiano Gentile the Inter players were tested hard by Conte’s obsessive dedication and work ethic. He worked a lot on their mindset. The coach hinted many times at their lack of winning mentality. “These guys are not used to win,” he said every time Inter lost a chance, be it a Europa League Final or a key Serie A game. This needed to change.

Many players owe him much. The former Juve manager can take the credit for a lot – from discovering Alessandro Bastoni, to perfectly inserting a player like Niccolò Barella into Inter’s mechanisms. This season, more masterpieces: First, he recovered a player like Milan Skriniar, whom he initially seemed to have put at the margin only to turn him back into a pillar of his defense as the season unfolded.

But the crown jewel of Conte’s achievements was the final rebirth of Christian Eriksen, Inter’s authentic Godot whom the Nerazzurri had to wait for almost one year. Conte simply seemed to ignore him, giving him a few, humiliating minutes of playing time now and then, while continuing to repeat that Eriksen needed time to understand Italian football and that he would become useful at the right time.

Whatever work Conte did on Eriksen, one thing is for sure: After an abulic first half of the season, the Dane magically switched gear right when it mattered the most and became a key element in propelling the Nerazzurri’s final sprint.

With the year turn, Inter’s change of pace was enough to crush the opposition. They did not miss a beat anymore. One of their past limitations was losing concentration and giving away points when it mattered the most – a prime example being their 1-2 loss to Sampdoria in a game that could have taken them to the top of the table many months in advance.

Now, with Milan still too young to pose a threat and Juventus in the need of some serious refoundation, the Nerazzurri seem to have the way paved to open a new dynasty in Italian football.

But they will need to hold onto a coach that they would have gladly gotten rid of only nine months ago. Still, with Antonio Conte you never know. The volcanic manager is famous for stepping down when one would expect it less.

Conte left Juventus in 2014 after a perfect record of three titles out of three seasons. He then abruptly ended his two-year stint in charge of the Azzurri after leading a little-talented, unpretentious version of Italy to a remarkable Quarter Finals run at Euro 2016. At Chelsea, he lasted only one season despite winning the Premier League at his first try.

So, what will the future hold for him? It’s not like he wouldn’t have any more challenges in black-and-blue. There is a new domination to build. Plus, he could finally try to bring back Inter into the European aristocracy – succeeding in that Champions League arena where the Nerazzurri have performed so poorly in the past few seasons.

Questions about his future were inevitably heaped on him during last Sunday’s Scudetto celebrations. The coach dogged them cleverly:

“Let’s think about enjoying this success. We won’t make the mistake of paying attention to those rumors mentioning meetings, quarrels and so on. We did something extraordinary, and I want to enjoy this moment.”

But he ambiguously added: “At the end of the season, we will make all the necessary evaluations.”

He had used pretty much the same words one year ago, when he seemed on the verge of parting ways with the Nerazzurri. We all know how it ended.

Inter fans can only hope that the outcome will not change this time around because, in the space of nine months, Antonio Conte has turned from a time bomb into Inter’s main asset. One they should keep close to them.

Related posts:

  1. Tactical Analysis: Deconstructing the Inter – Milan Derby
  2. “I’ll Need To Talk To Zhang” – Conte Hints at Parting Ways With Inter
  3. Antonio Conte and Inter Bring Sassuolo Time to a Sudden Halt
  4. Till Financial Difficulties Do Us Apart – Conte Was Not Meant to Last at Inter