Former Milan, Roma and Juventus coach Fabio Capello believes that Inter’s midfield unit is currently among the best in the world and has revealed where he sees the Nerazzurri in comparison to the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City.
The 77-year-old talked in-depth about various midfield departments across Europe’s top divisions in his column with La Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday morning.
With Hakan Calhanoglu pulling the strings, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nicolo Barella running the channels and €33m summer signing Davide Frattesi waiting in the wings, there is not a lot left to do for Inter’s midfield to be considered one of the best in the world, Capello writes.
He says, however, that Simone Inzaghi’s side is still one step away from the level of the teams coached by Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola.
“Inter’s great strength is the midfield, where they have the right mix of quality, awareness and vision of the game. Calhanoglu is a great conductor, Barella and Mkhitaryan have tactical intelligence and quality.
And then as the first reserve is a certain Frattes,i who I like very much and who makes a mark every time he plays.
“Everyone knows how to score goals or provide assists, everyone knows how to help the team in both phases. In terms of dynamics and quality, Inter are very well built in the middle. Playing with a back five helps.”
When asked about Manchester city as a reference point, Capello replied: “If we’re talking about full squads, Guardiola’s team is still one step above. At the moment, City are playing without an instrumental figure.
“Without De Bruyne they’re missing a genius, a player of enormous quality. Foden is trying to replace him but it’s a tough job. The one who is truly irreplaceable for me, is Rodri.”
The topic of conversation then switched to one of Capello’s former clubs, Real Madrid.
“They are excellent, too, with the Valverde-Kroos duo. Valverde is dynamic and very dangerous when he plays on the outside. He is fast, knows how to fit in and has a great vision of the game.
Kroos is the coordinator of everything, his work is still crucial. There is also Tchouaméni, Camavinga, and Ancelotti can leave Modric out and bring him on as the game progresses. And then there’s Bellingham.”
In conclusion, Capello deemed that Inter are: “a step below City and Real. But we can say with confidence that Inzaghi’s midfield is among the best in the world.”
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