Inter Milan: 10 Ways for Inter to Overshadow AC Milan in 2012

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The 2011-12 Serie A season ended with Juventus as champions by four points over AC Milan.

Meanwhile, Milan's city rivals Inter finished significantly further behind in sixth place, barely sneaking into the Europa League qualifying rounds.

With Inter finishing second to AC Milan the year before, many are wondering what went wrong last season and how the Nerazzurri can change it going forward.

Here are 10 ways in which Inter can overshadow AC Milan in 2012-13.

Buy Big

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Nothing says "we're going to beat you" better than an expensive signing.

AC Milan have been in the press a lot recently regarding rumours that the likes of Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be moving on.

Perhaps now is the time for Inter Milan to announce a big arrival.

Win the Derby Matches

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Naturally, Inter Milan and AC Milan will play each other twice in the Serie A league campaign next season. That number may increase if they are paired against each other in the Coppa Italia.

Inter Milan could certainly rile their ground-sharing rivals with a couple of victories in the Derby della Madonnina.

Play More Attractive Football

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Play more attractive football. It sounds simple, doesn't it?

Inter Milan have some excellent players in the form of Wesley Sneijder, Esteban Cambiasso, Maicon, Diego Milito and such, so the notion of playing attractive, flowing football is not to be scoffed at.

If Inter can become the team everybody wants to watch, AC Milan wouldn't be happy.

Grind out Results

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It's one thing to play attractive football, but the results have to match the performance if you really want to be critically acclaimed.

Occasionally, Inter Milan are going to have to dig deep to grind out a result when things might not necessarily be going their way.

Becoming hard to beat is all part of the process.

Be More Mature

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Juventus and Inter Milan were involved in a petty back-and-forth in February over the amount of penalties that each team had been awarded throughout the course of the season.

Both teams felt they had been hard done by, but Inter Milan must take a more mature approach if they do not want negative press to follow them around.

Ensure Their Players Are Free of Liability

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With the match-fixing accusations that have fallen upon Italian players and clubs over the last few years, Inter Milan need to ensure their squad and staff are squeaky clean.

There is no room for one or two bad apples to ruin the reputation of such an illustrious club.

Whilst AC Milan haven't been guilty of anything either, Inter should still ensure that their reputation is whiter than white.

Make Sure Their Manager Will Do the Job

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Rafael Benitez and Claudio Ranieri both tried and failed to reach the dizzy heights that Jose Mourinho set at Inter Milan.

Now comes the turn of Andrea Stramaccioni, a man who accepted the job of coaching Inter before he had actually completed his UEFA Pro License.

Inter Milan need to make sure they have found the best man for the job.

Have Better Behaved Fans

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With AC Milan and Inter Milan sharing the Giuseppe Meazza San Siro football stadium, it's easy to compare notes on which fans are the better behaved.

Once again, Inter need to ensure that they have fans that are incident free and act within the rules set forth by FIFA and the Italian FA.

Clubs get punished for unruly fans, and Inter need to make sure that doesn't happen to them by leading by example.

Keep Hold of the Superstars

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If Inter Milan want to challenge AC Milan, they need to keep the current crop of stars they have.

Wesley Sneijder has been linked with a move away from the club for quite some time, but a move has never materialised.

Start by keeping Sneijder, and hopefully the rest of the squad will see the future vision.

Win Serie A

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Nothing would annoy AC Milan more than to see their great rivals lift the Serie A title.

Inter Milan were effectively responsible for ending AC Milan's Serie A title bid in 2011/12. This season, perhaps they can do even better by winning it themselves.

They will need a good start under a highly inexperienced manager.

Interesting times are afoot.

 

The 2012—13 Serie A season kicks off on August 25.