Inter have had a quiet season and have experienced perhaps the least off-field press in years.
It is precisely because Inter Milan has not been able to provide enough material for the good deeds that in the past few days, the Italian media has hyped up the topic of the Nerazzurri, and there are two over and over again.
One is the referee controversy.
Torino, Rome media and some bigwigs have been hyping up "the referee let Inter win the winter championship" and "Inter's goal is not canceled is the biggest scandal in Serie A in the VAR era", interpreting the sensationalism to the extreme. The fundamental purpose is to hope that the referee will embarrass Inter in the follow-up matches.
It can be seen that while Inter is always anxious because of the chasers, the chasers are also anxious because they have won consecutive victories but have never been able to overtake. The top two heroes of Serie A have entered the most difficult stage - both physical and psychological - and all kinds of bulls, ghosts and snakes are also shirtless. Whoever can't hold on to the two teams at this time may pay a heavy price.
The other is the Forward Acquisition. The mainstream voice at the moment is to complain about Sanchez and Arnautovic, and call for Inter Milan to bring in a "third striker" who played a key role in the second half of the season like Lukaku last season.
However, Inter Milan really did not have the budget, layout and non-European quota to buy strikers in the winter window, and the so-called buying of big-name strikers did not exist. This is a reality that has to be faced.
It's all a cliché that has been said many times recently, so let's brush it off.
Let's talk about three issues that have not been talked about in recent times, but which tacticians are emphasizing.
First, has Inter's biggest longboard in Serie A in recent years, the running ability, declined?
Second, is Inter's recent malaise in form due to fitness and running?
Third, how can Inter get out of the slump next?
Problem one, in the past three seasons, Inter Milan has always been the top three teams on the Serie A running list, from the Conte era to the Inzaghi Jr. period, the Nerazzurri is essentially a team that strengthens the attack by pressing, solidifies the defense by sweeping, and relies on physical strength, the so-called "3 points with physical strength".
This season, Inter Milan can only rank 6th in the Serie A running list, so a post bar boss said: After the big change of 12 in and 12 out this summer, Inter's biggest longboard was lost.
Is the conclusion correct? Not entirely, I should say.
It's not Inter who have slipped down. The team's average league run per game is still about 111 kilometers per team, which is about the same as in previous seasons. The drop in the rankings is due to the improvement of the running ability of other teams. The so-called "one eliminates the other", and Inter's advantage has "shrunk" accordingly.
Let's look at question two. Inter have been a bit sluggish since Christmas, but the problem is not that they don't run enough.
For example, in the battle between Inter and Verona, the total number of runs of the team is 115449 meters of the whole team, which is much higher than the average. But the game still stumbled.
The fundamental reason is that the team's speed is declining, and the proportion of sprint runs is also decreasing, that is, the total number of runs is still high, but the "high-quality runs" are seriously insufficient.
Take one player as an example: Inter's "big killer" Thuram Jr. this season.
The Frenchman scored goals against AC Milan, Roma, Napoli, Lazio and other teams this season, and assisted against Juventus and other teams, and is a real big man. However, since December 17, Thuram Jr. has scored zero goals and assists, suffering a goal drought.
The reasons are obvious, first of all, the fatigue has accumulated and the form of the players has declined, and no one can go up and down all year long. In addition, Inter Milan has played more weak teams recently, and the opponent is stuck on the fence, which is not conducive to Thuram's style of play. In addition, the coach has recently changed his tactics, allowing Lautarodo to retreat, Thuram to play the fulcrum, and the opponents have also surrounded him at every turn, all of which have allowed the Frenchman to leave his "comfort zone".
For various reasons, Thuram's speed advantage cannot be brought into play. Before and after the Milan derby, Thuram Jr. reached a maximum speed of more than 34 kilometers per hour, but now he can often only play the fastest sprint speed of 31-32 kilometers per hour, which is a big drop. What embarrassed Inter was that when Thuram couldn't rush up, the problem of the lack of speed of other people in Inter was completely exposed, so in the last 4-5 rounds, Inter Milan was slower than the opponent in terms of speed, and the last two rounds were even slower, resulting in many problems.
Inter's share of sprint runs has also dropped sharply. So far this season, there are only four players in the top 40 of Inter Milan in the league on the Serie A sprint distance list (Dimarco, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Thuram), and the first three are not strong in speed. This leads to Inter always feeling slower than the opponent, in many aspects such as counterattacking, inserting gaps, grabbing, fighting for the second landing point, etc., are all in trouble, and it is also the fundamental reason why Inter has been running a lot recently, but always feeling "not waking up".
The problem arises, how to solve it?
In fact, Inter Milan introduced Buchanan in the winter window, which may have discovered this problem. Nowadays, the most effective weapon for Inter to play positional warfare and grasp the transition is to move frequently, in order to use it after opening gaps on the wings. Dumfries is a "heavy tank" who rarely runs more than 33 kilometers per hour after joining Inter, while Buchanan is a "Scud" who runs 35+ mph in European competitions, and there is reason to expect the Canadian to bring something new to the table.
In addition, Inter also need to make good use of some substitute rotation players.
For example, Frattesi, Bisek. Lately, Frattesi has often been at the top of Inter's sprint speed charts. His absolute speed is not fast (just over 33 km/h), but he is more suitable than other tired players. Bisek is a defender, but as long as he plays, his name is usually included in the top 3 of the post-race sprint speed list.
In short, football is a sport that is not only about who has long legs and who has more tendons. Speed is very important in many ways, and the proportion of sprints is more important than the total number of runs. Let's see if Inter can solve the problem of lack of speed in the near future and contribute more pictures of "stepping on Hot Wheels" in the future battles.