Quaresma, the most expensive of the signings, was used sporadically and contributed to just one goal all season before being shipped out to Chelsea on loan.
Mancini, too, was a seemingly a squad player with several of his minutes on the pitch coming off the bench. It was just Muntari who had proven to be a solid signing and was a trusted member of the squad. With lofty ambitions and another Serie A title in the cabinet, Moratti had made the right call in the following summer. What was to come was a revolution, and the fruit that followed was wonderful.
In July , he signed for the Catalan club. It could be said that the Swede had every right to feel as though he had a greater chance to achieve European success at Barcelona. They had the best manager in the world in Pep Guardiola, the best player in the world in Lionel Messi and they were the European champions themselves, having dazzled the world with their incredible football over the previous 12 months.
Thiago Motta also came in from Genoa and was thought to be a good complement to Cambiasso in midfield. In attack, Goran Pandev was brought in from Lazio to add more grit and persistence down the wings, while Wesley Sneijder, whose career was stalling at Real Madrid, was the cream of the crop that summer and his acquisition lit up most eyes.
To signal how massive this summer was, it was worth noting the players that left as well. Figo went into retirement, Viera moved back to England to join the gleaming project at Manchester City, Burdisso was loaned out to Roma while Mancini stayed in Milan, swapping blue for red and going to AC Milan on a temporary deal. An overhaul was needed to challenge, and an overhaul was what Moratti gave Mourinho. The Portuguese was now able to deploy his more preferred more frequently now, and his new additions to the side were of the ideal profile to fulfil his tactical plan.
Being the sole creator, the stage was set for Sneijder and he was given all the freedom in midfield to create chances at will for Milito.
This was an Inter side that functioned ever-so-well and in the few months from signing to the middle of the season, they proved their quality once again. Carrying on from where they stopped in the previous season, the Nerazzuri were untouchable in the league, winning 14 of their first 19 league games of the season.
This run included successes over Napoli, Genoa, Fiorentina and a success over AC Milan to claim local bragging rights. It was in Europe where they were worrying again. Placed in a more difficult group this time around with the defending champions Barcelona, and far away Eastern European outfits, Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine and Rubin Kazan of Russia, Inter would face difficulty once more.
They drew their first three matches and had to scrape to victories against Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin Kazan, while an away loss against Barcelona was sandwiched in between. In typical Italian fashion, Inter were astute, hardly giving the home side a chance and came back from the English capital with a good result. They often threw away advantages in the second half of the season and there were goalless draws aplenty.
Fortunately for them, their dominance in the first half of the season ensured they were still firm favourites to retain their title and their solid defensive foundations were a source of inspiration. They won the first leg at the San Siro , with the goal coming from a rapid transition from defence to attack that was orchestrated by Cambiasso and finished by Milito.
The three were at a combined age of 95 and brought wealth of experience to the side that provided a stern foundation that opposition attackers found difficult to breach. For Mourinho, strong foundations have always been a blueprint of his teams.
Another blueprint of Mourinho sides is his will to see his players give it their all for the team. Pandev was an example of this. An attacking player by trade, he would often find himself in his own half, making runs, challenges and leaving his heart out on the pitch. The run was now three-fold for Inter. On one side, they had their ambitions in the league, where stuttering form and focus on Europe made their title defence a little complicated.
On another side, they were keen on winning the Coppa Italia and avoiding the mistakes of the previous season; so far, they had eased through the competition — including a defeat of Juventus in the quarter-final. In Serie A, fortunately, their form picked up.
Following an away defeat at the end of March to their nearest rivals, Roma, Inter would drop points just once from then on until the end of the season. In the cup, Fiorentina were easily dispatched. The awkward scheduling meant that the two sides met in the first-leg of the semi-final in February, before completing the tie two months later in April. He enjoyed a staggering win percentage of Managing a total of 1, matches, Mourinho has sealed wins to date.
He has also seen his sides register draws and losses. He has a win percentage of With Porto, Mourinho went on to win six trophies, including two league honors and the Champions League. Written by. Published on Sep 14, , pm. Twitter Post. Inter, Real. Next News Article. The only things that change throughout his career are his clubs and players. Such an approach requires conceding possession of the ball. According to Mourinho, having possession of the ball presents a risk, while it can present safety in a defensive set up.
Simon Kuper highlights how the ideologue of totalvoerbal Johan Cruyff thought controlling the ball means controlling the space, while Mourinho thinks the space is controlled by ceding control of the ball. Possession means risk. Mourinho brought light to one of the big issues in English football — inadequate coaching of young players.
He criticized the English for pigeon-holing young players to play in one position only, while modern football demands more versatility from players. He could have learned that lesson while an assistant at Barcelona. At first glance, this could paint Mourinho as a follower of totalvoetbal, but his primary preference for defensive style of play is completely opposite to the fundamentals of totalvoetbal. However, Mourinho never shied away from turning his players into specialists, even as he criticized English football for the same thing.
The great Arrigo Sacchi believes one of the main issues for the development of the game at the turn of the century was the tendency for players to be specialized at the expense of universality, brought to the mainstream by the Dutch with totalvoetbal, which he also applied and pursued in Italy as the manager of AC Milan during their glory years as the dominant European side.
It is Makelele, and other players of his ilk, who is exactly the type of player preferred and even adored by Mourinho. Makelele was one of the most important cog in the Chelsea team that won league titles under Mourinho. No matter how much he criticized the English approach, Mourinho is a coach with preference for specialized players. This is particularly true for his midfielders. At Real Madrid, he would occasionally play the midfield trio of Xabi Alonso , Khedira and Lassana Diarra , even Alonso, Diarra and Pepe in matches against Barcelona, although in this set up in the middle of the pitch he had a player who brought creativity in Alonso.
Mourinho, after all, might actually be the pioneer of the defensive Mourinho generally seeks to select and build a physically dominant side that crushes opponents with aggressiveness and power. This is why he adores players like Fellaini who contribute so much on both defence and offense.
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