Sassuolo are fast becoming a Serie A staple. Their attractive, possession based style of play is presided over by one of the brightest young managerial talents not only in Italy but also possibly in Europe, Roberto De Zerbi. They have a cast of talented players, many of which are beginning to attract attention from bigger clubs across Europe and to boot they are one of the best run clubs in Italy.
The progress has been steady but they have not always been in the thick of a title push and a lot of hard work has gone into the side to get them to this point. To see how far the Neroverdi have come, today we look back to a game in 2013 against Inter, when the Nerazzurri welcomed Sassuolo to life in the top flight.
September 2013 welcomed another season of Serie A action. Sassuolo had been crowned Serie B champions. This was to be the club’s debut season in the top flight. Based in the province of Modena in the North West, this little industrial town was proud of their team but ultimately they were a side who had never flourished.
This began to change in the 2008 when they broke out of Serie C, with a first foray into management for Massimiliano Allegri. Allegri’s work did not go unnoticed and the manager was soon picked up Cagliari in Serie A after promotion. The next few years saw a period of status quo as the side failed to gain promotion from Serie B, that was until Eusebio Di Francesco joined the club and guided them to the Promised Land.
Inter on the other hand were in a period of stagnation. After the successful years of José Mourinho, which saw the Nerazzurri claim two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a Champions League triumph, the club entered a quieter period in terms of success failing to settle on a long-term manager with the likes of Rafael Benítez, Leonardo, Gian Piero Gasperini and Claudio Ranieri failing to replicate the Portuguese’s success.
Then in 2012 followed a year of chaos in relation to the ownership of the team. Long-time owner Massimo Moratti agreed to sell a share in the club to a Chinese led group of investors headed up by Kenneth Huang alongside the agreement with another Chinese corporation to start work on a new stadium.
All looked set for a promising Inter future but the deal collapsed from underneath them, with Moratti remaining president. The club sputtered and faltered finishing in ninth place and outside the European places, costing then manager Andrea Stramaccioni his job.
2013, Moratti wiped the slate clean installing a new manager in the shape of Walter Mazzarri and invested in backing his new coach with signings (the most high profile being Argentine Mauro Icardi) in order to reclaim their European spot. (The Italian billionaire would later go onto conclude a deal for the sale of his shares to Indonesian Erick Thohir)
Inter started as if they meant business, winning their first two games whilst drawing with champions Juventus. Sassuolo on the other hand had a chastening start to life in the top flight, losing their first three games to sides that would be in and around them in their fight to stay up.
Their first big encounter with one of the Seven Sisters (Le Sette Sorelle – the name given to the biggest clubs in Italy) was against Inter and this is where our story begins.
The game was held at Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia on a bright warm sunny September day. The Nerazzurri were on it from the off and took an early lead through Argentine striker Rodrigo Palacio in the 7th minute. A long ball down the left in behind the Sassuolo right back found full back Yuto Nagatomo who made his way into the box before squaring for the forward to tap home.
The mood around the ground changed and there was a sense that Sassuolo were there for the taking and it was only a matter of how many Inter wanted to score. The second goal duly arrived in the 23rd minute, when midfielder Saphir Taïder tapped home after Palacio’s initial shot had been saved and the ball had flown up in the air. The build-up play before hand was sensational with center-back Juan Jesus playing a neat one two with Esteban Cambiasso before Jesus strode forward through midfield feeding a through ball to Palacio.
Only one more goal followed in the first half, an own goal from defender Raffaele Pucino. When a curled ball into the box bounced up in front of Pucino who under pressure from Inter midfielder Taïder saw him head over his goalkeeper into the empty net.
The second half followed in the same vein as the first. Inter were rampant and Sassuolo became more disjointed and ragged as the minutes passed. Influential midfielder ‘Ricky’ Alvarez then got in on the act. A swift counter attack saw the Argentine midfielder drive forward, slipping a pass into the path of compatriot Palacio whose shot across goal was palmed into Alvarez’s path and the onrushing attacker had the simple task of tapping home.
Subs were in the offing and returning from serious injury was club hero Diego Milito. Another Argentine, the striker had been a key figure of Mourinho’s all-conquering Inter. This was to be his last season after being given a one year extension alongside fellow defenders Javier Zanetti and Walter Samuel.
The striker came onto rapturous applause from the Inter fans and Milito was on the score sheet less than 10 minutes later. Alvarez was the creator once more, breaking into the box down the right hand side breezing past his marker. His initial cross was blocked and as the ball broke back to the midfielder he performed an exquisite Cruijff turn buying a yard before crossing for Milito who had checked his run perfectly, to turn home from close range.
This brought about an emotional response from the Argentine who celebrated in front of the Inter fans being flocked by his teammates, welcoming him back to the side. Milito was in the groove then and laid on the teams sixth for Esteban Cambiasso. The ball was fed into the striker on the edge of the box at pace from Jonathan and the striker controlled in one touch before setting for the midfielder to curl a superb effort over Alberto Pomini in goal.
Milito was to have the final say on a perfect day for Inter with the games final goal. Freddy Guarin broke in down Sassuolo’s left again and the Argentine striker peeled off to the far post where the ball was rolled across to him and he gleefully tapped home for a magnificent seven.
Sassuolo had no answers for a rampant Inter and were glad to hear the final whistle as the players trudged off.
Times have changed. Sassuolo’s campaign saw them narrowly avoid relegation and since that term the Neroverdi have continued to build season upon season and are now one of the most exciting teams in Italy. They have become a force not to be taken lightly by the traditional big teams.
Inter’s season petered out with the team eventually finishing 5th and qualifying for the Europa league. But nowadays, under Antonio Conte, they are worthy title challengers and have assembled an exceptionally strong squad. Any encounters between the two sides are unlikely to replicate the score line seen on that day back in 2013.
MATCH REPORT
September 22, 2013 – Serie A 2013-14 Round 4
SASSUOLO-INTER 0-7
SCORERS: 8′ Palacio, 23′ Taider, 34′ Taider, 53′ Alvarez, 64′ Milito, 75′ Cambiasso, 83′ Milito
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SASSUOLO (4-5-1): Pomini; Gazzola (14′ Pucino), Rossini (57′ Bianco), Acerbi, Ziegler; Schelotto, Kurtic, Magnanelli, Chibsah (38′ Zaza), Missiroli; Floro Flores (Pegolo, Rosati, Longhi, Antei, Alexe, Masucci, Bianco,Laribi, Marzorati, Farias) Coach: Di Francesco |
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INTER (3-5-1-1): Handanovic; Campagnaro, Ranocchia, Juan Jesus; Jonathan (66′ Wallace), Guarin, Cambiasso, Taider (56′ Kovacic), Nagatomo; Alvarez; Palacio (54′ Milito) (Castellazzi, Andreolli, Belfodil, Icardi, Kuzmanovic, Samuel, Pereira, Rolando, Olsen) Coach: Mazzarri |
REFEREE: Mr. Russo from Nola
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Magnanelli, Bianco, Missiroli (S), Taider (I)