José Mourinho's Inter Milan Is Still Missing the Key Link

Inter Milan cruised to their fourth consecutive Scudetto last season as they beat runners-up Juventus by a notable 10 points gap in José Mourinho’s first season at the club.

Although the statistics may be an impressive read the game on the pitch many times showcased just the opposite.

Last year’s activities in the player mercato proved to be anything but successful as Mourinho’s purchases of Ricardo Quaresma och Amantino Mancini flopped hard as the team struggled to adapt to the Portuguese mastermind’s preferred 4-3-3 system.

This summer’s activity on the transfer market will result in massive changes for the coming season.

After securing the services of players such as Diego Milito, Lucio, Thiago Motta, and Samuel Eto’o, Mourinho quickly declared that he had finally landed the Inter Milan of his dreams.

Although the new additions are exceedingly impressive, the Inter tactician was forced to release his biggest player:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Sweden international’s departure will have no doubt left much bitter aftertaste in the mouths of the Interisti faithful and although he was an integral part of the team, to say the very least, they now need to look forward.

In the past much of the play has been centered round the gangly Swede who has no doubt been the reference point of the team during much of the past three years.

The team has often depended on the brilliance of Ibrahimovic (often rising and falling with their superstar) but with their main man gone, the team will come to be more balanced and thus more stabilized on all positions.

So let’s have a look at all the positions.

Goalkeeper Julio Cesar performances from last season cast a serious shadow of doubt regarding who really is the world’s best keeper.

The Brazilian has been an absolute rock between the sticks and looks set to continue that way.

Last season, Douglas Maicon proved why he’s considered as one of the best fullbacks in the world.

The Brazilian’s quick pace and raids on right flank which caused constant havoc for the opposing team can only improve with the arrival of Bayern Munich’s centre back Lucio as it allows the defense to work further up the field.

With the emergence of young starlet Davide Santon on the other side the backline is looking very solid indeed.

The latest acquisitions in Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o easily strike up one of Europe’s most dangerous partnerships in attack.

Milito scored a stunning 24 goals in his first season back in Serie A and gave both Ibrahimovic and Bologna’s Marco Di Viao a run for their money in the race for the Capocannoniere crown.

Just like Milito, the Cameroun is poisonous in the box and unlike Ibrahimovic he is more consistent and has proved his worth on the European stage on a constant basis.

If you compare the two it’s easy to see that they are two very different types of players,  especially in their approach to the game, but analyzed separately and only on abilities it’s safe to say that the Swede can give more to his teammates.

Ibrahimovic likes to do a little bit of everything and relies heavily on his technical brilliance which allows him to singlehandedly determine the outcome of a game whereas Eto’o’s has a more traditional approach and is lethal in the box with his perfect timing and speed when served with those through balls from midfield.

After a successful stint in Genoa, the arrival of Thiago Motta adds another dimension to Inter’s otherwise somewhat questionable midfield.

Defensive midfielder Esteban Cambiasso was brilliant last season and at times grossly underrated but others such as Javier Zanetti, Sulley Muntari, and Dejan Stankovic did only just enough.

What Inter is lacking, that final piece of the puzzle, is a creative midfielder that can dictate the play in the middle.

Although Stankovic had a handful of great games last season he’s proved that he’s gone way past his expiration date.

The midfield is lacking the quality needed in order to be able to maintain possession and control the tempo of the game...and have been since the days of Sebastian Verón.

With Ibrahimovic present, this was perhaps not so painfully visible but the dependence the team showed on the other hand, was. With the Swede gone, he’s also leaving behind a big void in creativity.

The competition in the league is growing increasingly tougher and if Inter are to maintain their position as champions (and perform admirably on the European scene) this is the position they will need to strengthen before the transfer window draws to a close.

The Inter of next season will be one of teamwork instead of heavily relying on one the brilliance of a single player.

Ibrahimovic could create something out of nothing but the same can’t be said for the new offensive partnership, which instead will have to rely on the creativity of the midfield.

Mourinho is tantalizingly close to completing what could be a dream team and with reports linking Sampdoria’s playmaker Antonio Cassano to the Italian champions the former Bari-man could prove to be the missing link in Mourinho’s puzzle.