The Derby della Madonnina is one of the most iconic
matches in world football.
Inter Milan and AC Milan are two of the most storied
clubs in the world. The two Milan clubs have combined for 36 Serie A titles, 12
Coppa Italia titles, and 10 Champions Leagues. Adding extra intrigue to their
intense rivalry is the fact that they even play in the same stadium.
The latest match between the two, which took place this
past matchday, ended in a 3-2 victory in favour of Inter. The win helped the
Nerazzurri overtake their city rivals in the Serie A standings, moving into
third.
Notably for Inter, the match was the team’s first
high-profile one since a controversy involving Argentine centre-forward Mauro
Icardi.
Icardi had been embroiled in a dispute over a possible
contractual extension with Inter. This dispute boiled over around a month ago
when Wanda Nara, Icardi’s wife and agent, launched a scathing critique against
her husband’s teammates by claiming that they were not setting him up for
success. Inter responded by stripping Icardi of the club captaincy, a position
he had held since 2015. He has since been frozen out of the team and is now
likely to be transferred in the coming offseason.
As Icardi was, and still is, the club’s leading
goalscorer this season, it would not have come as a surprise if Inter had
struggled in his absence. However, in spite of some initial struggles, the team
has appeared to begin to gel.
Players such as Stefan de Vrij, Matías Vecino, Marcelo
Brozović, and most notably of all, Lautaro Martínez, have all raised their
level of play in recent weeks.
This was clearly evidenced in Inter’s derby victory over
the Rossoneri. No single player necessarily stood out – it was clearly a team
effort. Inter received important contributions from most of their key players.
What is interesting, however, is the fact that such a performance might not
have been produced had Icardi still been playing.
This team had been becoming over-reliant on the
controversial Argentine before the incident regarding his contract blew up.
Prior to the dispute, Icardi had been Inter’s only player
to have scored more than four league goals this season, with nine. On the
offensive front, everything about Inter started and ended with Icardi. However,
Icardi’s absence from the lineup had the effect of forcing Inter to play in a
more team-oriented manner. This change has galvanized the team and really
brought the superstar potential of Martínez to the forefront.
When he signed for Inter from Racing Club, Martínez was
hyped as one who would become yet another elite striker to come out of Argentina.
Despite this, he had mostly been limited to substitute appearances as Icardi
led the frontline in the starting 11. That changed after Icardi was dropped.
Since then, Martínez has begun to live up to the buzz around him with several
very impressive performances and even scored one of Inter’s goals in the derby.
At this point, even if Icardi were to make his way back into the good graces of
the club, it is not a given that he would not be deemed expendable. Not only is
Martínez arguably equally as good a player as Icardi, he also happens to be
four years younger and clearly has a far higher ceiling than his disgruntled
compatriot does.
Furthermore, Icardi’s absence has also rid the team of a
major off-field distraction and a possible source of division within the locker
room. Events like this do have an effect on team morale, and if results are anything
to go by, Inter have handled it very well thus far.
Now, it’s not as though Icardi’s career will now fade
into oblivion. He is still a talented centre-forward and clubs which could use
an upgrade at the position, such as Real Madrid or Liverpool, should consider
making a play for him in the coming off-season. The controversy around him
means that he is also likely to be signed at a reduced price if he leaves,
which now seems almost inevitable.
Nevertheless, Icardi’s removal from the Inter lineup clearly
seems to have been the right move. It appears that for Inter Milan,
this is an instance of “addition by subtraction”.
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