Jose set to bring to an end a 45 year wait?
As Inter move towards their record fifth Scudetto in a row, on the back of their 2-0 victory over Lazio at the weekend, it seems somewhat unusual to consider that despite their league success and the fact that the club is set to compete against FC Bayern Munich for the 2010-2011 Champions League, that Jose Mourinho could be anything less than happy at Inter.
But he is.
To be fair to Inter and their fans, Mourinho has been at pains to point out that his love for the club, its fans and the hierarchy behind the club remains stronger than ever. A fact he made pointedly in the Nou Camp when after the final whistle, he raced towards the 5000 Inter fans in the 96,000 capacity stadium and sprinted onto the Nou Camp pitch and repeatedly made the gesture that the stunning victory over Barcelona was for them to enjoy. I enjoyed it too, I had Inter to win the game as part of a nice little Asian handicap bet!
Jose’s problems tend to be more to do with his issues with the Italian FA and the Italian media. The Portuguese star has been banned several times during his tenure in Italy for his outspoken actions and words. The latest being a 3 match touchline ban for suggesting that the Italian FA were effectively shackling his team, complete with a handcuff gesture, by asking referee’s to be unduly harsh towards Inter players.
Viewed on its own, Mourinho’s continual baiting of the Italian FA and fractious relationship with the Italian media is hardly the ideal preparation for a team hoping to win its fifth Scudetto in a row and the Champions League.
At the beginning of the year, few experts would have expected it. Inter were expected to be caught and overhauled at some point by the likes of Milan, Roma and Juventus and while the former two teams have been generally involved in the title race most of the season, it is Inter who lie top of the table with just two games to go.
Few betting experts also gave Inter much of a chance of Champions League glory as a sports betting tip at the start of the season, especially given the form of Barcelona, the resurgence of a Galactico driven Real Madrid and the combined challenge from England’s top sides, but it is in Inter who will be traveling to Madrid on May 22nd to contest the final against Bayern Munich.
To have enjoyed such a successful season on the pitch against such turmoil off it, is an incredible achievement, especially when you consider that Mourinho has himself stated that he isn’t happy with life in Italy at the moment.
What could he achieve then if he was happy?
So the next couple of weeks will define Mourinho’s legacy. He seems unlikely to want to stay in Italy much longer, given his stated dislike of the Italian FA and Italian press. However he could leave Inter Milan as the most successful club in Scudetto’s recent history and as current Champions of Europe, ending a wait that stretches back 45 years to 1965 for the Inter fans.
It is also a period of transition for Inter. Their squad contains a large number of older players and soon, they will have to be moved on and replaced with younger blood. That won’t come cheap and Mourinho may not be the man who oversees that delicate operation.
But he may well be the man responsible for giving them and the Inter fans, their greatest season in living memory.
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