Inter's Tactical Dilema

Following Inter’s 4-3 loss to Palermo in week 1, much of the criticism has been shifted on to coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s new implemented 3-4-3 formation: something that the players and the fans have not seemed to warm  to. 

The formation can be seen to lay emphasis predominantly on the attack and the distribution from midfield to attack, this being evident in their transfer work primarily focusing on the front-line. 
With Samuel Eto’o’s departure, Inter brought in Diego Forlan and Mauro Zarate, the latter a player famous for his greediness and lack of passing on the field. 

Palermo’s pace was too much for Inter to handle as they pinned the Nerazzurri back and often seeing them beat the offside trap, a concern for any team with only three defenders on the field.
 
Gasperini’s un-Italian-like formation was excellently exploited by the Sicilians whilst Sneijder’s absence was evident on the field. The risk of running such a formation is that Sneijder will be compromised for the majority of the game, if not all, as he is famous for refusing to play out of his desired position.

Inter’s players are renowned for their unwillingness to change styles, and are calling for the formation to be reverted into the Leonardo’s 4-3-1-2 with which they flourished under late last year. However, like drawing blood from a stone, Gasperini’s compromise between Inter’s strengths and his tactical grounding is a 4-3-3 system- a compact and more stable formation he resorted to in the latter stages against Palermo.

The question is whether or not this system will work for the Nerazzurri?

“In my opinion Wes shouldn’t worry. He can play anywhere in midfield, he just has to convince himself of this. He’s certainly not a competitor for me in midfield, I don’t see my team mates as competitors,” Stankovic said to SkySports24.

Stankovic’s quote confirms last year’s World Cup finalist’s resistance in implementing a new positional play in a new and different change of formation.

Despite only winning the Coppa Italia under Leonardo, as opposed to the treble with Jose Mourinho, Sneijder’s best form was undoubtedly seen during the Brazilian’s era, of a 4-3-1-2 formation divergent to the Portuguese’s 4-2-3-1.

Under Leonardo, Sneijder played in a deeper role that allowed him to move more freely as well as having more options available for him to pass to, whilst under the former Chelsea man, Wesley played closer to the front forcing him to play shorter, quicker passes.

The restricted style of play under Mourinho, was by no means a flaw, but it restricted the midfielder’s movement around the field, thus not allowing him to score as many goals. Under Mourinho, Sneijder scored just four goals, whereas with Leonardo on the bench he was able to increase his goal scoring tally; bringing him close to his goals coring ratio when at Ajax.

The two pivotal points in midfield used by Leonardo allowed Sneijder to move more freely and distribute the more options available to him, but this has not been seen so far under Gasperini.

Gasperini’s traditional formation of 3-5-3 sees an overcrowded midfield, that leaves the defence often exposed therefore having to see the wingers track back for cover. The 5-man midfield doesn’t work for Sneijder as he can’t play on the wing, because that would force him to be a wing-back, moving him back into a defensive role when need be: a position he does not like.

Whilst in a 3-4-3 formation Sneijder is met with a similar problem, as he is does get to play his much desired ‘trequartista’ role.  Though along with Sneijder come the positional worries over Diego Forlan. 

There is no denying that the Uruguayan works best alongside another center-forward but under Gasperini- who prefers to lay his focus on one main striking point- Forlan is pushed out into a wider position due to the three man attack.

Should Gasp stick to a 3-5-2 formation, with which the striker has played in with his national side Urguguay, this allows him to sit a little bit more deeper, giving him room to move through defenders and score from in or outside the box.

The question is which player do you make happy? Play Sneijder in a position that suits him best, bringing out his best abilities or play a formation that will see the side score more goals: something that has been lacking for the Nerazzurri.

Should the players embrace change and work at the formation, with a possibility of having a wing back that can alternate the formation into a 4-3-3 to control the game, Gasperini’s men sure have the quality and depth, with the likes of new arrivals Zarate, Ricky Alvarez and Joel Obi, to make it succeed.

Whilst the new formation comes at a cost of possibly losing Sneijder; who is probably on his way out in January, whereas Zarate offers pace and a lethal shot but his unwillingness to pass to other teammates may be his downfall.

Obi offers versatility in the midfield as he can play on either side but he is traditionally accustomed to a three-man midfield: once again bringing up the option of a 4-3-3 system.

However, with European football well underway and the Serie A title to contend with, there isn’t much time to experiment. It is up to Gasperini whether to play it safe and keep the players happy or to push their limits and develop a side that could be absolutely lethal, and especially potent in attack, should they adapt to the two reverting new formations.

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