Ciao ragazzi! This is a counter article to this optimistic piece by Inter Worldwide writer Santo Merlo, who outlined the reasons Inter should consider keeping disgraced former captain Mauro Icardi.
Link to the article: https://interworldwide.net/2019/06/25/the-icardi-conundrum/
An “In-form” Icardi is one of the best strikers in the world.
I don’t think many, if any Inter fans would disagree with Santo’s statement here. A world class hitman, target man, whatever you want to call him, Inzaghi-esque without the over the top celebrations to go with it.
However, in my opinion, these qualities scream one word to me…replaceable. Icardi’s contribution on the ball when contributing to the build up of attack is almost non-existing. A lethal goal poacher who lives in the box (yes, i am well aware of the FEW long range goals he has scored) but for the vast majority of his time at Inter, Mauro is not an on the ball type of forward.
We don’t know the real story.
When Mauro was stripped of the captaincy mid-season, shockwaves were sent throughout the Inter fanbase.
Who is at fault? Spalletti? Wanda? The Balkan clan? One thing is certain, there were no protests among the camp when Mauro was stripped, a united Inter took to the pitch against a weak Rapid Vienna but looked to be content with the situation.
The matches that followed were a pain in the backside when Mauro featured, often in and out of the squad with no consistency, poor performances masked by a penalty + a nice gesture in giving Ivan Perisic a spot kick momentarily saved faced for the Argentine.
Ultimately though, the damage was done. And this can be found through the never ending, attention seeking antics of Icardi’s agent and wife (still sounds stupid) Wanda Nara.
“My husband deserves this, my husband deserves that”, not ‘my client deserves this’. Imagine all of our precious partners had the authority to speak for us in the workplace, would all of your co-workers value you and your contribution? What about if that partner commenced verbally bashing the work rate and effort of all your co-workers?
But don’t let this tirade against Wanda leave you feeling sorry or making excuses for Mauro, a 26 year old full grown adult that was given the responsibility of captaining one of the biggest clubs in the country. Numerous rumours have stated that no one in the squad really felt like Icardi was a ‘leader’ so to speak. Quiet in the dressing room, dejected after a poor result, often leaving early. Maybe Pablo Osvaldo was onto something a few years back?
To put it simply, your’e either so sick to death of the drama that it outweighs the 100+ goals scored from Mauro, or you are ready to give him (and her) another chance. Me personally, I am one of the fans that is simply over it, and would rather side with the efficiency of the new project put forward by management, while watching Mauro & Wanda become some other clubs problem.
The Price Tag Issue.
This is the doozy, the big one. 12 months ago, Mauro was valued at a minimum release clause of 100 million Euro’s. Now it is being reported that Inter are ready to accept bids within the 50-60 region, which to be fair is probably closer to his real value but knowing that we once could have cashed in on triple figures has no doubt left management, the board, and the fans shaken up.
In a day and age where FFP, capital gains and meeting UEFA’s silly demands are at an all time high, its understandable that many fans are not ready to part ways with Mauro for the reason of not letting him and Nara get what they want.
So what do they want?
Reports will tell you that they want to stay, other reports will say it’s all just a game to bide time and run down the mercato, thus enabling Juventus to come in and get Mauro on the cheap. A move that would no doubt devastate and infuriate Inter fans, and in my opinion, that is exactly what they want.
I refuse to buy into the whole, ‘Mauro loves Inter, he only wants Inter’ fantasy talk. Wasn’t it only before the new year that Mauro had offers from everywhere according to Nara? If we didn’t give him (them) the 10 million per season contract they were demanding, they were ready to walk. So any fans still holding on to some sort of dream where the ex-capitano makes a come back and starts banging them in left, right and centre simply need to wake up.
The Replacement.
The talks of a swap between Icardi & Paolo Dybala seems to be losing traction over the last week or so, and for good reason. The longer the Icardashians can keep up this charade, the harder it is for Inter to create a swap deal or even adequately replace the #9.
Romelu Lukaku & Eden Dzeko are the two names constantly in the news headlines. Both bring unique, individual qualities to the table that are admired by Conte and it is no secret that Antonio wants the Belgium (Lukaku) at Inter.
I agree that Romelu reactivating his old form is easier said than done, and that a 70-80 million gamble simply isn’t worth it. I believe there are many options available on the market that would be a cheaper alternative to Lukaku, but as i previously mentioned, I am ready to go all in on supporting and backing Conte & Marotta to make the right decisions in this scenario.
Eden Dzeko is an easier decision, YES!
I know i know, ‘HuRr DuRr he Is 33’ i hear ya. I agree, he is 33. But Dzeko has proven to score goals everywhere he goes, he is assimilated and used to serie A, and can form a formidable bond with a core group of players in the team.
The asking price for Eden is 20-22 million from Roma, but everybody knows we aren’t going to scratch the surface of this fee. SKY sports reported as early as today that Inter are not interested in paying more than 10 million cash for Dzeko, with a youngster expected to be included.
These reports seem solid, as this is generally the way Inter have been conducting their transfer business of late (see Barella, Nainggolan, Sensi).
To Conclude.
I get it when Santo & other fans says we are talking about enormous losses in capital gains over 12 months. And i agree that management may need to find a more viable solution than just saying ‘Conte says NO’ but never in my time as an Inter fan have i seen so much drama and disrespect from such a high profile member of the club. It is simply exhausting, and one must wonder without all the Mauro drama last season, would have we won 2-3 more games and not had to go through the pazza pain?
In regards to Mauro ‘Loving the shirt & colours’ & players seeing Inter as a ‘stepping stone’ to a big club (also referencing Cancelo) let’s not forget it was technical director Walter Sabatini who put forward the proposal of selling Icardi to make the funds necessary to redeem Cancelo & Rafinha, two players that I believe actually did love the shirt and who vocally made it clear how much they wanted to stay. I remember seeing how dejected Cancelo looked at the airport in Turin, and spent the whole season liking Inter players social media posts while being benched by Allegri & De Sciglio.
‘Time will tell, but we need to take a Marotta approach and approach the situation in a calm an collected manner’… couldn’t agree more on that one Santo! Thanks for the thought provoking article!
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