With an inform Milito, Benitez must win the Scudetto
During the previous season Inter Milan were a force to be reckoned with. Under the guidance of charismatic tactician Jose Mourinho, Inter won an unprecedented treble. Mourinho won the club its first UEFA Champions League in 46 years. The title and the Italian
cup were a routine win for the tactician. In his 10 years of management, Mourinho has managed to achieve what most coaches only dream of. For most pundits, Mourinho is already a legend. The lure of Real Madrid was too much for the Portuguese and he duly left.
Inter president Massimo Moratti was forced to recruit Rafa Benitez for the new season. Poor Benitez has some huge shoes to fill.
A club of Internazionale’s ambition will always look to win titles and Rafa will have nightmares thinking of the achievements that he has to match. Benitez has acquired a team that is equipped to the brim with prodigious talent. In Lucio and Walter Samuel,
he has the best centre back pairing in all of Europe. In Maicon he has the best right back in the world. Chivu and Santon at left back are not bad options either. The midfield is led by the mercurial Dutchman Wesley Sneijder. Sneijder’s performance last season
was such that he is tipped by many to win the World and European Player of the Year awards.
Forget the defence and the midfield, Inter Milan’s success last season was mostly down to the form of their two crown jewels in attack, Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o. The forwards struck up a brilliant chemistry in only their first season. Eto’o played out
of position on the flanks to devastating effect while Milito was ruthless with his finishing in the opposition box. The prince scored a staggering 30 goals in 51 appearances including a brace against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final. The 4-3-3
deployed by Mourinho suited the dynamic duo perfectly.
Upon Benitez’s arrival, the old formation was discarded and Rafa introduced his favourite 4-2-3-1. Two formations have a few things in common. Eto’o plays on the left flank and Milito plays as a centre forward. Benitez has played his cards right so far by
not removing the duo from their respective positions.
During last night’s romping of AS Bari at San Siro, the duo combined to devastating effect. Eto’o scored a penalty brace while Milito also opened his season account with a double. Up until last night, Milito was looking like a shadow of the player he was
last season. His finishing had been way below par as he looked visibly short of confidence. Milito’s 30 goals last season were a major factor in the Treble success and his poor form left alarm bells ringing at San Siro. Inter Milan had failed to sign a striker
upon Balotelli’s departure and the poor form of Milito meant the club would be forced to rely solely on Eto’o. To his credit, Eto’o has performed brilliantly so far and tops the Serie A top scorer charts with 5 goals after 4 rounds of football.
Nerazzuri faithful can put all the fears to rest following Milito’s brace last night. His first goal was a simple finish but his second showed the level of composure and explosive finishing the striker continuously put on display last season. Rafa Benitez
will be a very relieved man after last season. The 4-0 victory will taste even sweeter with Milito back in form.
Mourinho left Rafa with a winning formula and has told his successor to benefit from it. Despite AC Milan, Juventus and Roma strengthen their respective squads; Inter Milan still has the best and most balanced team by some distance. Rafa Benitez is an intelligent
man and he will do well not to profit from it. He just needs to field the Milito-Eto’o Partnership and we may see him win a League title for the first time in six years.
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