Inter are guilty of hubris against Real Sociedad

We often tend to underestimate the role of life in life Assets (understood in the Latin sense or as fate in general, both good and bad); so that the of situations, contexts, in vulgar illusion that everything depends on us, from our strength and our possibilities. But that's not how life works. Inter's second place finish in the Champions League group is, to put it bluntly, extremely serious. Because here we can have all the conversations we want.

We can say that Inter are currently in the top four European teams (to Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich); We can underline how well it was built, how united the group is and how much the individuals have grown; how Inzaghi's work bore fruit and that of Marotta and Ausilio was impeccable; even that the team is first in Serie A – with 12 wins in 15 games, 37 goals scored and 7 conceded, +30 goal difference, second is Juve with +14 – and last year they reached the Champions League final.

And yet he might not have reached this final if it weren't for the gods pulls – we can say it – very benevolent in the direct elimination phase: Porto in the round of 16 (an excellent team but certainly within Inter's reach), Benfica in the quarter-finals (in free fall or almost, having run out of fuel after a great first part of the season), Milan in the semi-final (a squad is certainly not among the top 4 in Europe, but not even among the top 10), until the final act against the best team in the world.

To be clear, Inter won these games fantastically. Not a given.

But if he had drawn City, Real, Bayern or the various teams of Liverpool and PSG first in the elimination phase, we would probably be talking about a different result. That means what? That a lot of luck certainly counts in life and in sport, but also that, if possible, Happiness needs to be helped. Last year Inter had an excellent group, qualifying second with 10 points behind the steamroller Bayern Munich with full points (18 points) and ahead of Barcelona. From there, the cheap urn that Porto prescribed, perhaps the most affordable among those first classified (along with Tottenham), and the above-mentioned route.

This year, however, Inter could and should have finished first in the group, benefiting from a Benfica team in the first division that was certainly not irresistible (and had, until last night, picked up one point and conceded ten goals in five games). had). ) and a final decisive home game against Real Sociedad. That brings us to last night where The Nerazzurri needed a win to avoid the aforementioned holy monsters in the round of 16, from City to Real, from Bayern to Arsenal, from Barcelona to (maybe) Atletico, to finish with one of PSG or Borussia Dortmund. Perhaps only the latter is affordable, a Barcelona that is not irresistible and an Atlético that can always lose or win against anyone as long as it does not fail against Lazio.

Inter then reached the decisive game in front of their fans, and this time, due to their crazy and masochistic nature, they did not commit suicide, which would have been another and ultimately not so surprising chapter in the Nerazzurri's rollercoaster history. This time the defeat, or rather the draw, is much more serious because Inter have sinned hubristhe arrogance of the ancient Greeks, starting with his coach, who kept Lautaro Martinez, Barella and Bastoni on the bench, in a turnover that was, frankly, difficult understand for a game like this.

Too important a game that Inter may not even have approached in the right way.

Neutralized by Real Sociedad's (sterile) possession of the ball – which didn't lead to any chances thanks to the Nerazzurri's concentration and defensive stability – and also seemed a bit tired as he lacked the necessary competitive anger. A game that Inzaghi believed he could manage better, control, leave the ball to the opponents and not concede goals (as was the case) but then go down offensively at the right moment, a bit like Roma Mourinhana against the Basques last year (2-0). So the game was prepared like that and could have been unblocked with additions from the bench at game time if necessary.

But as the game progressed, Inter got caught in the Basque Tiqui-Taka net (62% of possession) and ended up losing energy like Chomsky's famous boiled frog. Paradoxically iThe second half was even worse than the first, and the Nerazzurri did not seem to have the strength to overthrow the front and destroy their opponents. Credit undoubtedly goes to a team, Real Sociedad, that came to San Siro with confidence, certainty and personality, but we are still talking about a team that is 6th in the league, limited and clearly inferior our.

Then let's not beat around the bush: last night Inter had to win.

He had to win and to do that he had to approach the game better: Attack them with the same owners, which would also have been a signal of importance and urgency. Of course, it's always easy to talk about it in hindsight, but it was yesterday's 90 minutes (and not just the result) that proved Inzaghi wrong, that highlighted an error in evaluation that would also prove fatal for the European path could prove – done, as also said by crossroads, by Assets, read about draws. An Inzaghi who is doing a great job this year but trusted his team too much, the maturity and strength of his team and ended up making things terribly complicated by losing control of the game.

In short, without wanting to give in to defeatism, today we feel that we are not fully aware of it how serious it was for a team like Inter – Champions League finalists who have to compete in Europe’s big leagues – second place in this group. Among those who think at the very bottom at the very bottom on the championship, on the duel with the hated Juventus Turin and on the Scudetto of the “second star” and on those who console themselves with the fact that they are still there, on the Champions League. Time and especially the field (which is the final judge, not the ballot box) will give us our answers. As long as the elders aren't right about theirs Happiness iuvat audacis: because in this case, Inzaghi's Inter risks having to fly to Madrid, Monaco or Manchester in February.