In May 2010, Inter were the kings of Europe after Diego Milito's deadly double downed Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final at the Santiago Bernabeu. Yet, just 15 months on, the remnants of Jose Mourinho's outstanding treble-winning side lie in utter ruins.
The Nerazzurri are now coached by their third trainer since 'The Special One' tearfully embraced Marco Materazzi in the streets of Madrid at the end of that memorable night and chose to stay put in the Spanish capital – but the newest incumbent Gian Piero Gasperini faces an almost impossible task if he is to fare better than his much-maligned predecessors Leonardo and Rafa Benitez.
For it seems increasingly likely now that chiefly due to financial problems – which Goal.com's Italian Football Editor Kris Voakes will explore in detail tomorrow – Inter will sell their two best players, Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder.
The Dutchman's exit to Manchester had been on the cards all summer, but is now surely inevitable after he confessed at the weekend that “Inter need money and I'm for sale if the right offer comes in”. As Goal.com revealed several weeks ago, unofficial talks with Manchester United have already resulted in an agreement over a transfer fee, although personal terms have yet to be settled.
The loss of Sneijder would have been a big enough blow in itself, but fans at least consoled themselves with the apparent knowledge that the only player to maintain or better his 2009-10 form last season – Samuel Eto'o (scorer of 37 goals, including five in three cup final wins) – would remain to lead the post-Sneijder Inter. President Massimo Moratti stressed on more than one occasion that "Eto'o is one of ours 100 per cent”. Until a fortnight or so ago, the oil tycoon was right, but recent developments have altered Eto'o's landscape spectacularly.
First, Inter sporting director Marco Branca revealed that there had been a meeting yesterday with Russian moneybags Anzhi Makhachkala during which the Italians “listened to Anzhi's offer” of a €35 million transfer that will also net Eto'o a four-year contract worth a whopping €20m per annum. Moratti then described the offer as “intelligent”, and the Cameroonian's agent claimed that a transfer is close to completion.
The fact that Inter have given approval for both sets of negotiations to become public knowledge means it is highly probable Eto'o and Sneijder will no longer be plying their trade at San Siro come September 1. If you are adamant about keeping your best players, you don't confirm talks to the press.
And if you are adamant about challenging for major honours, you don't sell your best players.
Any team in Europe would suffer greatly from offloading their two star men. Imagine Barcelona without Messi and Xavi, Real Madrid minus Ronaldo and Ozil, an AC Milan missing Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, Man Utd devoid of Vidic and Rooney, Bayern Munich with no Robben and Schweinsteiger.
With Inter the handicap is multiplied when you put things into context. Although they are working on reducing the average age of the squad, half of their strongest starting XI are over the age of 30 – with many of these their most important cogs such as the 33-year-old Lucio and 38-year-old Javier Zanetti. The Beneamata are clearly a side on the way down.
