Mourinho prepares a new era at Inter
Inter dominated the last couple of seasons in Serie A, winning the scudetto three time in a row and on course for the fourth one, but they failed every time in Champions League.
jose mourinho
This was the main reason why Mancini was sacked and Mourinho was brought in at the end of last season.
Bad luck and injuries have made Inter leave Champions League early again this season and Mourinho is determined to change that.
There were speculations that Mourinho will leave Inter at the end of the season and he will return to Premier League. But the Portuguese technician has dismissed the speculations and declared that he will stay for at least four or five years at Inter and build a long term successfully team.
The first step will be to ensure the future of the key players. Cambiasso signed a new contract these days and is expected that Ibrahimovic, Samuel and others to follow.
Another important step will be to improve youth department and training facilities. Mourinho gave Santon and Balotelli as examples and declared that would like to have four or five youth players with the same potential every year.
Also another important aspect will be reducing the squad. Mourinho wants to sell the old players and bring four world class players. Currently 12 of players from Inter squad are over 30 years old. Crespo, Cruz, Materazzi, Vieira are among the players that might leave at the end of the season.
Also changing players mentality is very important, but this task is one of the favorites for Mourinho.
Why Inter could sign Aguero
After months of speculations Inter is final closer on taking Aguero from Atletico Madrid.
Although declaring several times that he is not thinking of leaving Atletico and that he feels really good and loves the club , it seems that the things have changed lately and Aguero would be willing to experience another league.
The main reason is that Abel Moreno, the coach, accused him for missing too much and that he doesn’t concentrate enough in front of the goal. It looks that this words have mad the Argentinian international and made him think about leaving. The most possible destination for him would be Inter where he is wanted by Mourinho and Moratti.
Inter already tried to take the 20 year-old forward this winter but without success. Also Aguero would be delighted to join Inter saying that he would make the best couple of attackers with Ibrahimovic.
Another decisive factor could be the strong relationship between Maradona, his father-in-law, and Massimo Moratti. On the other side one important aspect would be the amount of money that Inter should pay Atletico to convince them to let him go.
Aguero was bought by Atletico at only 18 years old from Independiente for around €20 millions and is considered one of great prospects for World football. Aguero has a minimum realease clause of €55 millions.
Is Daminuta the next youngster on Mourinho’s list?
After Santon, who already established into the starting line-up for Inter, Daminuta could be the next youngster to make the big step to the first team.
Daminuta who was signed by Inter last year made some excellent games at Inter Primavera and is closely watched by Mourinho.
His last notable performance was yesterday match in Viareggio Cup, Primavera beat Vicenza 3-1, when Daminuta opened the score after a superb free-kick. Daminuta was also part of the Mourinho extended squad into the training tournament along Santon and other few talented youngsters.
If he will continue to play like that then Mourinho could give him the chance to make the debut into the first team at the end of the season. Inter are 9 points ahead Juventus and 11 ahead Milan and in the last stages they could be champions already.
Daminuta is the leader of the Romanian U-18 team and is regarded as one of the prospects of European football. The 18-year old Romanian is a versatile player who can play anywhere at midfield or defence.
Daminuta is currently playing as central defender but is equally adept as defensive midfielder since he was playing at Poli Timisoara II.
Is Santon the new Javier Zanetti?
After winning the scudetto with Inter under-17 last season, Santon was called up by Mourinho to train with the first squad for the first time at the end of July.
Six months later Mourinho rewarded the talented youngster with a starting role in Coppa Italia quarter-final against Roma. Inter won the game with 2-1 and since then Santon started all Inter games in the detriment of Maxwell.
Santon used to play as an attacking midfielder but later was used as a full-back by Inter Primavera coach. The youngster received only words of praise from his coach, Jose Mourinho, and his team-mates.
Javier Zanetti thinks he has a great future ahead: “He just needs to keep down this road, he has undisputed qualities which he also displays in training. He is also good at listening to our advices and I wish him all the best for a great career. He has what it takes to become an amazing footballer.”
If he continues to develop like this and Mourinho use him regularly Santon has the potential to be better that Zanetti. Considering his tactical versatility Santon can play on several positions , where the coach needs him at the time.
His physically and attacking qualities are also a plus. All this could make him the best full-back in the near future.
The youngster has also a great personality which is very appreciated by Mourinho but not only.
Santon continues to win admiration and could play his first senior derby next week when Inter will face Milan. If Mourinho will use him and he will have again a apreciated evolution then it will be very hard for Maxwell to regain his place.
Should Mourinho start with Balotelli at Lecce?
Mario Balotelli has been called up by Mourinho for this week game against Lecce after some weeks of absence. Balotelli was left out of the squad in the last six matches by Mourinho after he refused to play against Catania.
Since then Mourinho has not called him anymore and it looked like the transfer window will mean the departure of the Italian under-21 international from San Siro.
But after what he said at the pre-match conference we might think that the Portuguese technician has forget Balotelli.
Balotelli could take advantage on Cruz and Adriano missing trough injury and suspension and figure into the starting line-up.
Inter crosses a bad time, considering their past results, and a good performance from Balotelli against Lecce is expected.
Last game against Lecce at San Siro, Inter won the game after a late goal scored by Cruz.
Balotelli is a player with huge potential but his behavior is sometimes unacceptable. Mourinho said once that if he would train at 50% of his capability then he could become the best player in the world. His set-pieces are deadly and his control skills are fantastic somehow similar to Ibrahimovic.
Also Ibrahimovic advised balotelli to train harder and to listen to the coach because he is young and he still has a lot to learn.
Who should leave and who should Mourinho bring at Inter?
Few rounds ago Inter were seven points ahead Juventus and looked like they will remain comfortable.
jose mourinho
The last three Serie A matches were awful for Mourinho & co. Inter managed to collect only 4 points after the lucky victory 2-1 at Siena, 1-1 draw with Cagliari and then the painfully defeat 3-1 at Atalanta. After this defeat, the second of the season, Mourinho and Moratti had their first conflict.
The Portuguese coach has lost his temper and criticized his players. Mourinho also made a list with the players that he doesn’t need anymore. Materazzi, Dacourt, Crespo and Burdisso are all set to leave but the list could be bigger.
Inter has one of the biggest squad in Europe and Mourinho want to reduce it for a better management. In principle Moratti agrees with the idea and now all they have to do is to find possible destinations for the unwanted players. Also Mancini, Quaresma and Vieira could be on the move considering the little time they played in this season. The first two could not adapt yet and Vieira was most of the time injured, but all three have offers and they could be aloud to leave.
Moratti repeated few times that there will be no transfer this winter but if all this players will leave probably there will be one or two that will come. There are also offers for Balotelli and Adriano but is unlikely that they will be aloud to leave untill summer.
Aguero, Ze Maria, Arshavin, Tevez, Ronaldo are only few targets for Mourinho but probably none of them will be solved in this transfer period.
The departure of the players could also have some negative aspects considering the numbers of injuries in the last time and that the numerous squad was one of the advantages that brought the latest successes for Inter.