Face to Face: Heart to Heart

A mural of Romelu Lukaku and Ibrahimovic’s feud has appeared outside the San Siro ahead of the Milan derby this weekend

The Old ladies of Italian football have won the scudetto in all but one season in the last decade. While the arrival of rookie manager Andrea Pirlo has raised some eyebrows as to if they can retain their title, the presence of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo makes it almost impossible to write them off just yet.

In this write up I try to break down who is more likely to break the jinx, keeping in my mind how close Sarri and Napoli came in the 2017/18 season.

This season has been a much more competitive one with both Milan clubs being in top form.

The emergence of teams like Atlanta, Lazio, and Roma have at times blown the title race wide open yet It looks more like the two capital teams are going to have a two-horse race. As we have seen in recent years though, teams have come close and have always failed to apply the killer blow.

The arrival of Stefan Pioli at AC Milan last season seemed to have calmed nerves earlier on until they had some tricky results later that season, with the club hierarchy almost thinking of showing him the exit but for a last-minute turnaround.

His experience seems to have gotten the Rossoneri on top gear this season, they were unbeaten in the first part of the league and have shown the heart of a lion as they have come back to win late in games.

Players like Frank Kessie, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Theo Hernandez have been instrumental to their top form this season. We are 22 games into the season and Milan is currently in second place, just one point behind their city rivals Inter ahead of what will be the biggest derby in years this weekend. Critics say they lack what it takes to apply the final touch to win the league.

The argument for them is AC Milan has a smaller squad compared to Inter to go the extra mile even after acquiring Tomori and good old Mandzukic in the winter window coupled with their European commitments.

On the other hand Inter Milan after their exploits last season seem to be poised to win the league after a long spell away from the top. The acquisition of Antonio Conte, the man that started Juve’s monopoly looks like the best man to end it, after his win in Chelsea with his favorite 3-4-3 formation.

He looks to have a large squad and almost all the players he needs to win the league. For the first time his team even though still in a 3-4-3 shape, does press the ball high the pitch and plays from the back while they use the strength and hold up play abilities of Romelu Lakaku as a second option.

In midfield Conte has a balance of midfield generals and good players on the ball to fall on in any given day, the young Nicolo Barella seem to have been the engine of the team thus far, a combination of grit and talent in its perfect mix seems to make the young man from Cagliari almost impossible to outplay.

Marcelo Brozovic has been Inter’s unsung hero as he manages to control the tempo of the game, at any point, he knows when to pass either forward or sideways and seems to dictate play so well so much so that Christian Eriksen seems to be warming the bench more, but that’s the strength of this Inter team. They can call on either Eriksen or Vidal or even Stefano Sensi when the need comes.

The three Generals at the back have been impeccable, Skrinia and De Vrij have been rock solid with the young Bastoni emerging as one of the best center backs in Italy and I dare say Europe this season. Inter has a lethal attack just to say the least with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro  Martinez forming a deadly duo.

Antonio Conte likes specific players for specific roles.

But it’s important to note that the blue and blacks are said not to have a “Plan B” just like every Conte team, but this time it’s different and there seem to be a newly found piece to the jigsaw and that’s Eriksen who he used in the register role against Benevento and also came on against Milan to win the game.

Aside the sheer power of Brozovic and Barrela, Conte can fall on Eriksen to dictate play especially against very good pressing teams. Finally, with no European commitments, Conte’s Narrazuri’s have only the scudetto to think about.

After all, is said and done, this weekend’s Derby clash on Sunday afternoon will be mouthwatering and almost a decider for the Scudetto and yes it will be a step closer if Inter Milan manages to edge the Rossoneri to the three points.  Whichever team wins will have to be consistent to break the jinx but as it stands Antonio Conte and his charges seem to have everything set to undo the jinx just like his last league title in Chelsea. A large squad, no European football, flying wing-backs that score, a proper striker and link-up man, Midfield Generals, and a ball progressor. All is almost set for Conte to get this over the line with his favorite back three.

BY: Fiifi Manfred