Will this man be Inter's new manager?
It looks like another scudetto wouldn’t be enough for Inter Milan’s management.
ESPN Soccernet is reporting that Inter owner Massimo Moratti wants former Manchester United and French national team star Laurent Blanc as his manager next year if the squad fails to advance to at least the finals of the Champions League. The Nerazzurri beat Chelsea in Mourinho’s anticipated rematch against his former club, but have struggled in this year’s Champions League, losing at home to Rubin Kazan. It has been 45 years since Inter hoisted the Champions League trophy, and management seems to be getting impatient.
Blanc is the current favorite for the position for a number of reasons. He played two seasons in Serie A for Napoli (1991) and Inter Milan (2000), and won the Pirata d’oro with the Nerazzurri. He was on the French national team that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro championship. His tenure as manager of Ligue 1 Bordeaux has been a success – his club won the league last year and he has twice been nominated for manager of the year. Most importantly to Moratti, however, is the club’s success in the Champions League; Bordeaux beat Juventus and Bayern Munich in the group stage and won at Olympiakos on Tuesday. He has long been rumored to be a potential replace for Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires.
Meanwhile, the current Inter manager has had his own rough patches this season. Despite leading Serie A for the entire season, his club has been under pressure to perform well in the Champions League. Reports from various news sources have circulated throughout the year that he wants to return to England to manage – the current rumor is that he will land at Manchester City. And his behavior this season has been, to put it politely, erratic. This week he was suspended three matches by FIGC for showing up a referee, which is not his first suspension this season. Of course, the main reason he was hired was to do what his predecessor, Roberto Mancini, couldn’t do: win the Champions League.
However, he still has won a scudetto and is on his way to possibly another. Plus his squad still is in the running for the title, and have the talent to win. But what do you think?
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Inter didn’t lose to Man U last week, that was Milan.
Terrible reporting. How can you take a site seriously which can’t get the basics correct?
Inter played, and beat, Chelsea.
Sorry about that folks, thanks for keeping me honest. The post is updated but the question remains the same.
So, if that’s the case where is the expected destination for the Special One. They should keep him.