Inter-president Steven Zhang must have begged for the new Serie A season to come.
Once the football has started, the chat stops. For two hours, Nerazzurri fans stopped protesting the sale of their best stars. They stopped worrying about which players could leave the club next. They stopped thinking about how sweet life was under Antonio Conte.
For two hours, they watched their beloved team play football under the San Siro lights, and everything felt normal again. The coach and the players on the pitch played a big role in the “business as usual” feeling, with Simone Inzaghi setting up her team in the same way as her predecessor and the new boys delivered fantastic performances.
On paper, it is hardly surprising to exchange Romelu Lukaku for Edin Dzeko, and to sign Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu on a free transfer to fill the void left by Christian Eriksen is controversial at best. In addition, it is the loss of Achraf Hakimi, one of the world’s best football defenders.
It’s certainly not easy to replace a coach and superstar who made his name in Inter history by winning the club’s first league title in 11 years, but Inzaghi and his new signings looked completely at home in the 4-0 win over Genoa.
Everything was gathered on the pitch, as the new look Inter showed exactly why it is worth waiting and evaluating before making any quick assessments.
Inzaghi chose to partner with Dzeko with Calhanoglu in attack, given Lautaro Martinez’s absence through suspension, and you would be forgiven for assuming that the duo would lack fluency or understanding – but their relationship was the opposite.
In fact, each player seemed to thrive under Inzaghi’s leadership. The appointment of the ex-Lazio coach was a smart move. He is a man who plays a similar system to Conte, but worked on a low-budget budget for half a decade in the Italian capital.
Class from Hakan Çalhanoğlu! ?
The purest strike on his debut?
Inter is flying! pic.twitter.com/3MmW7EXyXy
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For a giant club in crisis, there is no better. His decision to put in place the Calhanoglu-Dzeko partnership paid off after just 15 minutes, when the Bosnians picked up the ball, rolled it in on the Turks’ way and buried a 25-yard screamer in the bottom corner.
The former Milan man had already at that time also hacked his first assist and placed a cross on the head of Milan Skriniar. If there were any doubters before kick-off, they would have been silenced inside a quarter.
The rest of the match was like a training exercise for Nerazzurri, who lost chance after chance at will against a defense that could just as easily have been replaced by some high training shots. Calhanoglu found the net for the second time early in the second half, but Ivan Perisic had deviated marginally offside in the build-up, and the goal was ruled out.
Still, it was a ruthless conclusion from a man who had taken three years to convince Rossoneri that he was a ball player, and obviously did not want to waste any more time courting the black and blue side of Milan.
Make your mark! ?
At his 200th Serie A appearance and his debut at Inter Milan, Edin Džeko finds the back of the net!
Never hesitated from the new Inter No.9? pic.twitter.com/alQRKqGJTv
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It was an almost perfect 90 minutes for Calhanoglu and Inter, who were rounded off by second free transfer Dzeko scored his first goal since leaving AS Roma. It was a vintage bullet header from the Bosnians, and the celebration said it all.
This is a team that knows they’ve been through adversity over the summer, and there may still be more to come. But President Zhang has hired a coach with a point to prove, he has signed an attacking midfielder who is ready to play pantomime villain and a striker who wants to win his first title in eight years.
For Inter fans, it’s time to look ahead. Conte or no Conte, Lukaku or no Lukaku, Hakimi or no Hakimi, they are still Italy’s reigning champions – and they play like that.
