Serie A 2010/11 Review – Ibrahimovic lord of titles
By David, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Milan’s champion has now garnered a reputation for winning domestic titles. He has now clinched eight in a row in three different countries wearing the jersey of Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and Milan. But wasn’t it a foregone conclusion at the start of the season?
A forgone conclusion
Actually it was not that obvious with Milan having hired new manager Allegri. He had won the manager of the year award twice in Italy but that was no more than a mere hint at his aptitude for winning. After all he had never won any major title with a club before, having coached Cagliari in the Italian top flight.
None of the coaches leading the twenty teams of last season’s Serie A campaign had, in fact, actually won the title. It would have been a first for anyone who could cross the line first in the eight-month race. Moreover, apart from Bari’s Ventura, all managers were on the verge of starting a whole season at the helm of their respective clubs.
Bookie’s favourites
Inter were coming into this one having been ordained champions of Europe after having had the better of Barcelona, Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the final. Distractions were seemingly not on their mind as they eventually went on to win the Coppa Italia against Roma to become the first ever club in the history of Italian football to manage the triplete, meaning that they won a treble of titles – Scudetto, Champions League and Coppa Italia.
Pastures anew for the leader
With the job done and monuments erected in memory of his
deeds, Mourinho did not betray his past and, just as he had done when his Porto
career felt moving towards its twilight, opted for a bigger paycheck and signed on for Real
Madrid. No team could guarantee that he gets more irresponsible spending in
order to get the big names who .jpg "Benitez_Inter")
have always played a major role in securing his
successes. He would later learn how Barcelona’s philosophy is more effective
and definitely tougher to relegate to second place, but that is another story.
This goodbye had left the Nerazzurri disoriented but bookmakers still did not feel confident enough to back the efforts of Inter’s rivals in Serie A. After all we were still talking about what was the squad with the better players in the league. Milan may have brought on Ibrahimovic and Robinho in the final days before the transfer market closed as Berlusconi sought to end Inter’s dominance in Milan, Italy and Europe, but Inter’s major signing, Rafael Benitez, had more experience than Milan’s Allegri. For the bookmakers he was the man who could guarantee continuity of success for Moratti.
Juventus, Roma, Lazio and Napoli were not good enough to be considered realistic options for the title so bookmakers gave small chances to Milan and the lion’s share to the reigning European champions.
What went wrong?
Pundits and bookmakers alike did not take into consideration the ‘Mourinho factor’. A charismatic leader like the Portuguese manager, who grips a hold on the group and infuses motivation, delivering psychological strength and unity, was bound to be missed on his departure.
It had been coming since March when secret talks had opened between the manager of Mourinho and a frustrated Real Madrid side intent on regaining the upper hand in Spain and in Europe. The Inter players had felt the distance growing between their manager and the Inter directors but they kept on striving for success no matter what. Mourinho would not have permitted otherwise, desiring to leave behind only good memories of his deeds with the Nerazzurri.
Players like Maicon and Milito were set to leave, probably joining the Portuguese on his way to Madrid, but they did not. Instead along came a manager from Spain with more experience in the Premier League. Benitez was not Moratti’s first choice but the experience of the ex-Liverpool man had convinced the Inter president he was the ideal candidate to take Inter to Japan and have them return with the title of World Club Champions.
That he did but was soon shown the door as the year turned and disappointments had reached unbearable levels in the Inter dressing room. The Spaniard had inherited a group still unable to suppress the dreamy look on their face when mentioning Mourinho, the true mentor of the winning Inter side. They were in love with the way he treated them as equals and made them feel as if they were the best team in the World. Benitez’s realism was unwelcome and so were his demands for new players.
Malicious choice
.jpg "Leonardo_Inter_Shirt")
Inter club directors and players alike were relieved to
snatch the opportunity at getting back at their cousins by bringing on ex-Milan
player and director Leonardo. The Brazilian’s secret was to stick to what
Mourinho had used the season before. He was subservient to his will, keeping in
contact with the ex-manager via sms throughout the rest of the season and
declaring on more than one occasion how he would gladly move apart had Mourinho
made a return to the club. The players and the fans liked that attitude,
especially since results were coming. Leonardo’s skills, albeit not quite
comprising much tactical knowledge, elevated him to the privileged position of manager
with the best ever point average as a newly appointed coach.
The specialist
Years of sitting back and watching Inter lift one Scudetto after the other had gone largely unnoticed by the Rossoneri. After all they had been excelling in Europe, overshadowing what were minor achievements for a Milan side still capable of having the upper hand against top European clubs. However, seeing Inter finally get their hands on the big-eared trophy after over forty years of abstinence was too much. Milan had to do something and prove they are still the number one club in Italy.
Berlusconi invested heavily and Galliani master-minded the return of domestic title expert Ibrahimovic. The specialist was brought in to take care of the situation and in fact it was his perfectionism and determination that got the group on track and wanting to win. The second part of the season was less fortunate for him as he got suspended for far too long and he was also being less effective on the pitch. But in the meantime the rest of his team mates had matured his same wining mentality and the likes of Seedorf, Boateng, Robinho, Gattuso and Thiago Silva stood strong when it was needed.
By the time Inter were back on track and winning one game after the other in the hope of catching up with runaway leaders Milan it was too late. The Rossoneri also performed weakly in Europe and once they were out of the competition they could focus solely on taking away the domestic title from Inter. The latter could at least console themselves with the Coppa Italia, beating Milan’s executioners in the competition, Palermo to the trophy.
The rest of the story
Napoli were the biggest threat to the two Milan clubs with the fantastic leadership of Mazzarri getting bookmakers to rethink their initial expectations about the southern club as games rolled by and Napoli persisted in staying in touch with the leaders. The Partenopei were lucky enough not to have to deal with major setbacks to their key men Lavezzi and Cavani and once they were out of the Europa League they played out a wonderful season. Too bad the voices surrounding Mazzarri and a possible departure to Juventus for the following season distracted the group in the final month, paving the way for Milan and Inter to solidify their position in the table ahead of them.
Lazio and Udinese proved huge surprises. They fought out for
the fourth place and in the end Guidolin’s group won, with the meeting at Udine
proving fatal for Lazio’s ambitions. Roma disappointed as they got entangled in
the takeover talks with the Americans and Juventus, well they proved once again
how Moggi’s know-how of the environment had been key to their past success.
There is no director capable enough of guiding this team at the moment. They
finished out of Europe after many years but perhaps it will be of benefit to them
as they try to reestablish their power back home.
The biggest surprise of all, however, could not be anything other than Sampdoria’s return to Serie B. They had good players in the squad but the departure of les enfants terrible Cassano and Pazzini in January, joining the two Milan clubs, proved fatal to a club who failed to replace each. Strange how they thought they could afford to fix games like the one against Chievo, finishing 0-0 at the start of April nine games from the end of the season, and still maintain their Serie A status. Yet strange relegations have occurred all over Europe and the World this season with Deportivo la Coruna, Monaco and River Plate all forced to taste the mediocrity of the lower division.
Who’s up for the next one?
We will be back with commentaries on the different clubs and their prospects for next season soon enough when the squads are rebuilt with the new players and perhaps also new managers. For now let us give them time to rethink their plans.
Remember also to subscribe to our Member Service and enjoy profits with our Italian Serie A expert levsky when the season kicks off. Here is the link to the page:
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