For the first time since the 2009/10 season. and the famous triplets, Inter fans celebrate the big trophy - the long-awaited Scudetto has arrived, it was won four rounds before the end of Serie A. This ended the nine-year rule of Juventus, the most hated rival, and the game of fate wanted that dominance to be ended by the legend of the "old lady" - Antonio Conte...
Conte's arrival at Inter two years ago marked the beginning of a big project, and looking at it from this distance, the dilemma is whether he managed to create a championship team and cannot establish himself. Inter finished last season with one point less than Juventus, played in the final of the Europa League (defeated by Sevilla), and proved this year that they are the best in the Apennines. Mentally the strongest, the most stable, a coach who knows what he wants at every moment...
In 2010, Inter won the last Scudetto. Then he rounded off a wonderful season under the command of Jose Mourinho with trophies in the Champions League and Coppa Italia
The "Nerazuri" had all that this season, and the fact that Conte is a master at "setting the team's head" on the way to the goal is also said by the fact that Inter started to play like a champion at the moment when he focused all his attention on Serie A, because the Scudetto was the priority of all priorities. This happened after the painful elimination from the Champions League in the group stage, which is Conte's only blemish.
The numbers tell how Inter played after the December draw against Shakhtar in Milan (0:0, missing a triumph to advance to the round of 6 of the Champions League). Namely, he recorded his last defeat in the league on January 15 in Genoa against Sampdoria, and in the second part of the season - in the 13 rounds so far - he won 29 times with two draws, scored XNUMX and conceded only six goals. In that series, the rivals - above all Milan and Juve - stumbled from weekend to weekend.
MINUTES OF ERIKSEN, CONFIDENCE IN SKRINIJAR
Conte is a stubborn coach, maybe in the end he was forced to give Christian Eriksen a chance because the club could not bring reinforcements in January for financial reasons, but the Dane then became one of the key figures, even though he only played solid football. Ever since he got a real chance and crowned it with a masterful free kick against Milan in the Coppa Italia, the Dane has never stopped. He became a standard first team player, moved Arturo Vidal to the bench...
Inter has the second best attack in Serie A (he scored 74 goals, as many as Napoli, Atalanta 79), but compared to his rivals, he was distinguished by the "wall" in front of Samir Handanović. The Slovenian defended every match this season, and Conte threw all the cards at the three stoppers who did not play only when they had an injury or a couple of cards - Alessandro Bastoni, Stefano de Fraj and Milan Škrinjar.
The first two were also irreplaceable last season for an expert from Leće, and the Slovak had to deserve everything. Since the already seen transfer in the summer, he became the captain of the last line, scored some important goals - Verona, against Roma, Atalanta...
THE LUKAKU FACTOR
- Bring me Lukaku, as you know and know how - said Conte in the summer of 2019 to the management of Inter.
He wanted the Belgian so much that at one point, when the negotiations with Manchester United slowed down, he was ready to resign in the middle of the preparations. Allegedly, then the alternative for Lukaku was the current Milan striker Rafael Leao...
- I only want Romelu - Conte replied to directors Giuseppe Marotta and Piero Ausili.
And he got it officially on August 8, just before the start of the season, and quickly convinced everyone why he wanted to work with him so much at Chelsea a few years earlier, when Lukaku was wearing the Everton shirt. Then he got Alvaro Morata from Roman Abramovich instead.
Lukaku's numbers at Inter have even surpassed the legendary Ronaldo (he scored a total of 61 goals in two seasons), but they only glimpse how important he is to Inter's game, whether he plays with his back or face to the rival's goal.
- I always saw in him a player who is unstoppable if he plays the way he should play. I know that some people said that he was overvalued when we paid him to United, but now let them see how he dominates - pointed out Conte at the beginning of March, when Inter trampled on the Belgian's direct rivals and made a difference in the standings.
And everything coincided at "Meaca", so Conte - after having several verbal conflicts with people from Juventus this season - will step on the grass of "Juventus Stadium" two rounds before the end (May 15) as a champion. But, champion with Inter.
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