Walter Mazzarri paid the price for Inter’s indifferent start to the 2014/15 Serie A season and last week he was fired by the San Siro club.
With only 16 points from a possible 33, the Inter hierarchy had no option but to make Mazzarri only the second coaching casualty in the Italian top-flight this season after Eugenio Corini who was sacked by minnows Chievo last month.
This was the first time that the 53-year-old Mazzarri was dismissed from his job during the course of a season.
However, what really caught the headlines was Inter’s decision to bring back Roberto Mancini after a six-year absence.
The former Manchester City and Galatasaray coach is fondly remembered by the Nerazzurri fans as during his four-year spell, between 2004 and 2008, he guided the team to three successive Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia triumphs and victory in the Italian Super Cup,
Mancini’s appointment represents a clear statement of intent from the club which shows their ambition to challenge for the honours in the immediate future.
The sacking of Mazzarri totally contradicts the club’s decisions taken in the not so distant past.
Mazzarri, with his €3.5 million per year contract was the second best paid coach in the Serie A after Napoli’s Rafa Benitez.
The Livorno-born trainer was given a contract extension till June 2016 only last July after being identified by club supremo Erick Thohir as the man to lead Inter into a new era.
After purchasing a 70 per cent stake in the club from Massimo Moratti in October 2013, Thohir has been on record as saying that one of his first objectives was to help Inter reach the 2015/16 Champions League final which will be staged in Milan.
In this context, Mazzarri was considered the coach who was supposed to lead this ambitious project.
Inter’s close season transfer dealings exposed in no small way the club’s dire financial situation as most of their new signings were either players on loan from other clubs (Pablo Osvaldo from Southampton, Yann M’Vila from Rubin Kazan and Dodo from Roma) or free agents (Nemanja Vidic, the former Manchester United skipper).
At the same time, the old guard, namely Esteban Cambiasso, Walter Samuel and Diego Milito, were all offloaded to control the wage bill.
Actually, Inter spent a meagre €10 million on new players last summer to bolster a side that finished fifth in the previous season.
The club’s two major signings were Chilean midfielder Gary Medel from Cardiff City (€8m) and Slovenian midfielder Rene Krhin from Bologna (€1.2m).
The sacking of Mazzarri and the appointment of Mancini is set to cost Thohir’s Inter €35 million
Given this scenario, one finds it very hard to believe that Mazzarri was given the right players to transform Inter into contenders at home and abroad.
At the most, this season Inter can only be bracketed with the likes of Napoli, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina as possible outsiders for the third Champions League slot available for Italian teams.
Reports said the sacking of Mazzarri and the subsequent appointment of Mancini is set to cost the club’s coffers a €35 million.
So, I think, it would have made more sense to get more quality reinforcements than to bring in a new coach.
Added to that, the players signed by Inter during Mazzarri’s 17-month reign were considered suitable for a 3-5-2 playing system. In contrast, Mancini usually adopts a 4-4-2 module.
Moreover, Mancini, who last week penned a contract with Inter that runs up to June 2017, is likely to ask Thohir to strengthen his squad with a number of quality signings in January transfer window.
One asks, will the Asian businessman accede to Mancini’s demands given that Inter are currently being investigated by UEFA regarding possible breaches of the financial fair play rules?
Recently, Gazzetta dello Sport estimated Inter’s deficit to be over €180m for the past three years.
It now seems that the sacking of Mazzarri and Mancini’s appointment was a move to mask a myriad of errors committed by Thohir and his aides at Inter in recent months.
However, as always, results on the field will help determine whether Thohir was right or wrong in his decision to change coach.
What is clear is that Mancini still needs adequate financial backing from Thohir to herald a new era at Inter.