Andrea Stramaccioni’s appointment as Internazionale coach has taken his old boss in the club’s youth set-up by total surprise.
The 36-year-old former youth team coach has been promoted to look after first-team affairs after Claudio Ranieri was shown the door last night with Inter 10 points adrift of the third and last Champions League qualifying place and 22 below rivals AC Milan in Serie A.
Roberto Samaden, the head of Inter’s youth team sector, was shocked by Stramaccioni’s swift ascent to the top job but backed him to make a go of it.
“Honestly, it was difficult to think this would happen so quickly for Stramaccioni,” Samaden admitted.
“When we signed Andrea the idea was to start a new project but we would not have imagined that things would proceed the way they have.
“This is a new experience because it has never happened before, but we will face it with calmness.”
The Rome-born Stramaccioni led the Nerazzurri’s youth team to victory in the inaugural NextGen Series in London at the weekend.
And he does have the quality to succeed, according to Samaden.
“(Inter owner Massimo) Moratti has always valued the youth team sector,” Samaden said.
“Stramaccioni is talented and that is what I noticed from the first moment I saw him.
“I have known him for some time and he is intelligent and humble. It’s not easy to know how far he can go, but he has done a good job with our youngsters.
“I think he can do well in this new experience.”
Arrigo Sacchi, who was given his big break at AC Milan in 1987 after two successful years in the lower leagues with Parma, welcomed Stramaccioni’s appointment.
Ranieri’s dismissal is the 16th coaching change made in Serie A this season.
Inter have won just one of their last 10 league games and last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Juventus dropped the club to eighth place.
Sacchi, who is now the co-ordinator of the national youth teams for the Italian federation (FIGC), said: “Inter’s campaign has been below par.
“When things go badly it means that mistakes have been made by everyone.
“All the federation staff and I had wanted Stramaccioni for the under-17 national team coaching position.
“He is an interesting young coach. He is prepared, despite Italy not being a country ready to invest in young coaches.
“I think he has the possibility to have a say at Inter. However, he is not a magician and in order to do well he will need the right environment where he can work with calmness.”
Inter legend Sandro Mazzola criticised the decision to part with Ranieri at this stage of the season.
“Inter have been struggling for a while and the results were not arriving,” Mazzola said.
“You would have to be inside the club to understand what went wrong, but I would have waited before coming to the conclusion to dismiss Ranieri. I don’t think the coach is totally to blame.”
Former Roma coach Carlo Mazzone believes Inter have made a mistake in handing the reins to a 36-year-old.
“I’m happy to see young coaches get to Serie A but where is their experience?” he said. “We are talking about top clubs. I feel sorry for Ranieri.
“It’s not good to see so many coaching changes taking place.”
Who is he?
Born: January 9, 1976
Playing career
Started as a central defender at local side Zeta Sport before earning a youth team contract with Bologna. A serious knee ligament injury aged 19 forced him to retire.
Coaching
Began at provincial youth club Az Sport, winning a regional title aged 25. Hired by Rome side Romulea and won a national title in 2003.
Went on to work for Serie B side Crotone before being headhunted by Roma as Under-15s coach. He won two league championships in 2007 and 2010.
The takeover by Thomas R. DiBenedetto at Roma led to Stramaccioni being sidelined and Inter stepped in. In his first season led the Primavera team (Under19s) to the inuagural edition of the NextGen Series, beating Ajax on penalties.
Methods
Known for his meticulous planning. Even at youth team level he would record the opposition on video.
When playing away he would also measure the size of the opposition team’s pitch and during the week reproduce it on the training ground to the exact centimetre.
At Inter he had his players learn 30 different free-kick and corner routines that could be used at any given set piece.
Pep Guardiola is his coaching idol and Francesco Totti his favourite player.
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