Inter, Conte returns to Milan: Inzaghi, the eternal comparison and the income that doesn’t exist

The last time Antonio Conte he challenged theInter it was February 2, 2014: 3-1 for his Juventus. A geological era ago, even more so, when it seemed impossible that the former Juventus captain would then become Nerazzurri coach. For the record, against the Beloved the Salento native has never lost: four wins and two draws. He’ll try to give him a displeasure Simone Inzaghiwho inherited the Inter bench from Conte. Also for that module affinity which seemed to make the transition more manageable. From then on, the confrontation was inevitable. Especially, it must be said, when things at Inter have not gone well: Inzaghi is or was blamed more often for his income, and much less for the progress made since his arrival in Milan.
Whoever comes after Conte, and this is a fairly objective fact, rarely does badly. Ventura in Bari or Allegri in Turin are the most obvious examples. Max, like Simone, had to live with his predecessor for years. As if the Juventus of the two Champions League finals were the same as Antonio’s. As if the Inter of the second star or of Istanbul had so much in common with that of Conte.

In all honesty, only the few remaining critics of him can think that Inzaghi still lives on an income today. It’s one thing to remember Conte’s ability to leave something, it’s another to underestimate the work of those who come after. And he had to deal with exactly what the current Napoli coach wanted to avoid. The zero or positive markets, the transfers, the continuous re-foundation of a team: this was, with some differences only in the last summer, Inzaghi’s Inter.

Of the players from 2020-2021, the year of Conti’s scudetto, only five remain: De Vrij, Lautaro, Barella, Darmian, Bastoni. All strong and important even today, but five out of twenty-three. And not even all at the same level: Lautaro scored, but from the back (and also a sparring partner in the ring); Barella and Bastoni were prospects, not champions as they became also thanks to Inzaghi’s contribution. The income, if there ever was, is certainly no longer there today. And giving Conte his first Nerazzurri knockout would be, for Inzaghi, a discreet closing of the circle.