Football Season Guide

If a good beginning makes a good ending, in the new season Inter are bound for big troubles. In fact, with just a couple of weeks left before the start of the campaign, they thought it wise to sack coach Mancini and replace him with Frank De Boer, the former Ajax coach whose Serie A experience is close to none. The excuse for such move was a 6-1 defeat to Tottenham in a friendly but the feeling is that it should have been taken at the end of the past campaign, since Inter had never managed to play a decent football since his return at the club. However, Mancini had mastered their return to the European competitions and he still deserved some recognition from President Thohir. However, the change in the ownership occurred during the summer, with some Chinese entrepreneurs now holding the majority of the club, eventually led to this. Inter are obviously a work in progress at the moment with a new coach, who has to get to know the squad, and players coming and going. So far, the management had succeeded signing a few good names, to tell the truth. Ansaldi and Erkin could definitely find starting places at full-backs, with the former also a potential centre-back in a back three, such as Banega, who will most likely be given the keys of the midfield, and Candreva, who will be asked to cause havoc on the wings. De Boer should opt for a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation and these players should be perfect for his system of play. No major departures occurred yet, since the likes of Telles, Ljajic, often a starter last season, and Juan Jesus will not be missed. Bad news could still arrive, though, since Brozovic, Handanovic and Icardi keep receiving so many requests from abroad.