The club prepares the new contract with the coach, who is also central to planning the transfer market. President Marotta will summon him to the headquarters after the Italian Cup final: “Cristian will remain at Inter even longer than me”
Merit and form can converge when philosophy meets concreteness. Inter are so happy with Cristian Chivu that they want to reward him (here’s the merit) with the renewal of his contract, thus also respecting the company line (here’s form) which does not foresee the possibility of starting a season with the coach whose expiring term is out of office. After the Italian Cup final, which can give a pairing achieved only in 2010 in the entire history of the club, president Marotta will summon his pupil to the headquarters to hand him the fountain pen: sign here, boy, together we will go far.
cheerfulness
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Harmony is the first effect of the championship achieved, waiting for the final verdicts that will serve to compile the definitive judgment on the season. It cannot be a single match, even if it is a necessary condition for the complete restyling of the trophy room, that influences the company’s medium-term strategies. Inter bet on Chivu a year ago, after 13 matches as Parma coach, because they believed he was the right coach and person to direct the traffic of a dressing room full of (in)gorges. When Lautaro, who directly experienced the tensions with Calhanoglu and the shock of the final lost against PSG, placidly states that “there was a need for fresh air”, he certainly doesn’t want to criticize Simone Inzaghi, with whom he actually had a good feeling. However, he wants to confirm that a thread had broken in Munich and that only common sense intervention could have repaired the damage without forcing the managers to renovate the entire plant. Chivu was good at managing the transition without shocks, agreeing to postpone the great change he shares with Marotta to more fluid moments: Inter won overwhelmingly in Italy but must regenerate to become competitive again in Europe, where the intensity of the game and the average quality of the best teams are decidedly superior.
the appointment
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There are daily contacts between the club and the coach. The agreement is to meet again after the two matches against Lazio to discuss the future. Together. In June last year Chivu accepted Inter’s offer almost without negotiations, given that there wasn’t much time with the World Cup just a few days away. Plus, the opportunity to return to his professional home was too intriguing to be tied to a salary. Now he can present himself at the negotiating table with different credentials and make his requests, not so much of an economic nature as of a planning nature: by respecting the budget that will be imposed by the owners, who are however headed towards another profitable budget, he expects to be able to influence the market to receive players more suited to his fast and vertical style. Beyond the formation, which can vary between the three-man and four-man defense, Inter needs to modify the engine, above all increasing acceleration and resistance. Marotta has already been clear about the relationship that binds him to «Cristian». He is sure that Chivu will remain “even longer than me in this team”, extending a parable that has just begun, exceeding all expectations. For this reason, he will adjust his salary from 2.1 to 3 million, setting the new contract deadline at 30 June 2028. He had behaved in a similar way with Simone Inzaghi, who obtained the renewal after celebrating the star’s championship.
management
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In the meantime, however, everyone’s attention is directed towards the double hypothesis. Chivu doesn’t want to neglect Saturday’s match either, which will be preceded by a visit to the Vatican for the meeting with the Pope, and has asked the players not to switch off after the big party on Sunday. Better not to lose the habit and attitude to victory a few days before a final. He will evaluate some changes in the lineup, for example resting Zielinski, Dimarco and perhaps Thuram who need to breathe, but he will not show up at the Olimpico with a team full of reserves. If anything, it will manage the energies by exploiting substitutions, with the aim of keeping the voltage of a high number of elements high. Bastoni will play from the start, needing minutes to recover his condition, as will Lautaro, who we will talk about separately. As for the Under 23 youngsters, no one will have space from the start in Rome. Maybe they will be able to show off in the last two matches of the championship, which are not valid for the ranking and will be treated precisely to analyze the less explored resources. We need to understand who can still be at Inter before investing in the market.
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