De Boer: Dutchman’s 85-day Inter reign doomed from the start

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  • De Boer’s reign ended before it really began.

    85 days. Frank de Boer was sacked by Inter on Tuesday lunchtime, the Dutchman lasting just that long into a reign that was handicapped from the very beginning, a Serie A defeat at the hands of Sampdoria this past weekend proving one too many for the club’s Chinese owners. Yet the same officials who terminated his reign after just 84 days were also hugely responsible for the team’s struggles, starting with the late appointment of the former Ajax and Barcelona defender just as the 2016/17 campaign was about to begin.

    12 days. Having taken control of the Milanese side earlier this summer, the Suning Group waited until there were less than two weeks before their first official match before firing Roberto Mancini. Yet bizarrely that decision might not even crack the top three if the managerial mistakes of the ownership consortium now in charge of the Nerazzurri were to be ranked.

    They handed the 46-year-old a three-year contract, which appeared to be a signal of the direction they wanted their Inter to take, yet in truth they have done little to facilitate any real change behind the scenes. Always appearing to be in turmoil over the past few seasons, the club has lurched from one mistake to the next, but the change in ownership – first to entrepreneur Erick Thohir and then to Suning – seemed set to usher in a new era.

    Some smart acquisitions were made last year, adding the likes of João Miranda and Jeison Murillo to bolster the defence, the South American duo becoming one of Italy’s best pairings. This summer, the signing of João Mário required substantial investment, with Inter shelling out over €40 million to bring in the Portuguese midfielder. But the signing of out of contract Éver Banega layed down an even clearer statement of their intent.

    Given that they also ignored major bids for the likes of goalkeeper Samir Handanović and leading scorer Mauro Icardi, there was no question their squad was talented enough to succeed. With those star names supplemented by additional talents such as Ivan Perišić, there was little doubt the side was talented enough to succeed.

    Given his lack of time with the players in pre-season, it was obviously going to take some time before De Boer’s team took shape. Sure enough, they would lose away to Chievo and be held at home by Palermo, but came back with a 2-1 win over Pescara following the first international break.

    That hinted that, given time, the new boss could indeed thrive even in the tumultuous atmosphere that has always surrounded Inter. Their next match would highlight just how far they had come, thoroughly outplaying Juventus at the San Siro and taking all three points from the reigning champions in a wonderful display.

    Pressing the Bianconeri midfield perfectly while completely nullifying their attacking options, it was a superb performance that owed so much to De Boer’s tactical acumen. Three more points came against Empoli, while they were unlucky not to also beat AS Roma with another excellent performance.

    However, from there Inter lived up to their reputation for self-destruction. Captain Icardi’s first autobiography was released, a sensational chapter detailing his disdain for the club’s hardcore supporters causing major unrest in the stands and forcing the club, player and Ultra groups to spend a weekend issuing statements addressing the issue.

    As the team took to the field to take on Cagliari, Icardi was booed by his own fans, who then cheered when he missed a crucial penalty. It was revealed in the aftermath that nobody at Inter thought to proof-read the book before it was published, yet another oversight that could have so easily been avoided.

    De Boer rallied them in the Europa League, recording a tough win over Southampton as Antonio Candreva netted one of only three goals conceded by the in-form Premier League club over the entire month of October. Another excellent victory over Torino would follow, but that visit to Genoa where Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella’s goal was enough for all three points saw De Boer relieved of his duties.

    Youth team Coach Stefano Vecchi will take charge for Thursday night’s return fixture with Southampton, while former Lazio boss Stefano Pioli is expected to be the long-term replacement. Like De Boer he will have little time to make adjustments, whilst also having to oversee a club who have overspent so much that Gabigol, Joao Mario, Geoffroy Kondogbia and Stevan Jovetic are unable to feature in Europe due to Financial Fair Play regulations.

    That lends both an unprofessional and disjointed air to the group, while Pioli will be the ninth permanent appointment since Jose Mourinho left the club in the summer of 2010. There is no denying that De Boer made mistakes both in terms of team selection and tactical approach in certain games, but his reign also showed immense potential and he clearly had a vision for the future of the side.

    Pioli would be an uninspiring choice, a recycled coach who has no real history of tangible success or a notable philosophy that could bring about the revolution this club so clearly needs. Fire-fighting is once again the order of the day in the black and blue half of Milan, Inter seemingly forever locked into a cycle of never-ending crises.

    Rather than planning for the future or planting any real roots, the Nerazzurri are prisoners of the moment and slaves to their most recent results, an approach that has brought increasingly poor results ever since their historic treble win of 2010. In 2016/17, their talent-laden squad should be truly contending for a Champions League berth, yet they currently sit 13th.

    If a list of reasons for their disappointing form was drawn up, Frank De Boer would not feature too highly, but he has been sacked anyway. His 85 days in charge were doomed before they began, and perhaps those higher up at Inter should be looking a little closer in the mirror.

    12 days to prepare, then 85 days to turn around a club and team with serious fundamental problems? Neither was enough.

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