Rafa Benitez is a man under siege. The Spanish tactician is finding life in Italy very hard. Inter Milan slumped to a humiliating 2-1 loss to Chievo Verona on Sunday to leave them in 6th place in the Serie A standings and 9 points behind arch rivals and leaders AC Milan.
The plain and simple truth is that Benitez was never the right man for the job. With no significant achievements during his 5 year tenure at Anfield except for winning the Champions League, Benitez lacked and still lacks the tactical expertise and knowledge to coach a club like Inter.
Before Benitez’s arrival, Inter was the team to beat. Under Mourinho, the Nerazzurri had an impressive unbeaten home record dating back 2 years. They were 5 times defending Serie A champions and a force to reckon with in the European circuit.
Sadly, the treble winning champions are in danger of seeing their record making feat vapourise right before their eyes. It might still be early days in the league, however, comparing Inter against their own record at this same stage last season,reveals just how low they have sunk.
What is even more worrying is that Inter President Massimo Moratti continues to keep faith with Benitez. Speaking before the match, Moratti said that even in the event of a loss, Benitez would still be ‘plenty of time’. Signaling his utter confidence in the Spaniard.
“Rafa Benitez has my full confidence. At the moment we have a worrying list of injury problems but I hope things will return to normal soon.
“Even if we were to lose in Verona, there would still be plenty of time for the coach”.
So what options do Inter have if they are to get back to winning ways? Since Benitez will not be leaving any time soon, the best option in my opinion would be to switch formations to 4-3-3 with Milito Pandev and Eto’o in attack. Sneijder playing right behind the trio and Mariga as the anchor man.
Provide more options for attack mainly using the wings with players like Muntari and Coutinho. Defensively, Inter still have one of the best arrangements today. Finally attack, attack and attack!
Photo credit: from premierleagueinsider
