By David Lee Wheatley -- @davewh1980
Roberto Mancini
was on a hiding to nothing when he re-joined Inter and will no doubt regret having
set foot on the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza turf a second time.
Mancini
inherited a squad in transition and desperately seeking a clear identity when
he returned to Milan in November 2014.
The former
Manchester City boss succeeded greatly during his first stint in charge of the Nerazzurri
and felt the time was right to make a comeback at a club where he’d previously claimed
six trophies in four years.
A raft of big-name coaches
including Rafa Benitez, Claudio Ranieri and Walter Mazzarri had been unable to halt a sudden slide which began with Jose Mourinho’s 2010 departure.
His prior 62 per
cent winning record at Inter offered Mancini realistic hope of putting a stop to that
demise, but instead of settling down the turmoil surrounding the club, he only
seemed to inflame deep-rooted problems.
He initially encountered a
squad boasting little star quality and heavily reliant upon Argentine striker Mauro
Icardi to grab vital goals.
In Serie A
action alone, no player aside from Icardi hit double figures in strikes or
assists throughout the 2014-15 campaign.
January signings
Xherdan Shaqiri and Lukas Podolski also struggled to settle and they subsequently stuttered to a
lowly eighth-place league finish.
Furthermore, the
ex-Galatasaray supremo butted heads with Shaqiri and experienced defender Nemanja
Vidic to name just two established first-team members who fell foul of Mancini's renowned hot temper.
Mancio was
therefore faced with a massive rebuilding job last summer, which eventually incorporated attacking quartet Adem Ljajic, Eder, Ivan Perisic and Stevan
Jovetic alongside numerous other recruits.
However, the
goals failed to flow and Inter were widely branded a defensive outfit due to a series of
boring 1-0 victories.
That didn’t matter
so much when the Beneamata topped Serie A at the halfway point of last term, but
it became a huge issue when inconsistencies crept in to their game after the winter break.
Losses to the likes
of Sassuolo, Torino and Genoa had fans fuming and the media looking for someone
to blame – Mancini bore the brunt of such criticism.
Inter ended up
in a disappointing fourth position after an opening round of fixtures which
allowed the Nerazzurri to flirt with the idea of a triumphant return to the top table of
Italian football.
The defensive
outlook of his team, multiple poor signings and regular bust-ups with at least
several players made the 51-year-old coach hugely vulnerable.
That level of uncertainty over his status increased significantly with the
recent majority-stake takeover by Chinese investors Suning Group.
Rumours swirled of his imminent sacking this past weekend, with a mutual agreement being
sought in order to bring an end to a painful period for both club and coach alike.
Dutchman Frank
De Boer reportedly waits in the wings to become the latest tactician to try his
hand at restoring Inter to their fleetingly held throne as European champions
six years ago.
But he too will find a beleaguered club in need of a serious reboot, which by consequence will cause further unrest until such time as the new owners reach a stage when they are suitably satisfied with both their coach and playing staff.
As for Mancini,
he will be held up as a prime example in support of the widely-held belief that
‘you should never go back’ to a former club.
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