Inter, Brozovic starts with Croatia after the injury

More than two months between the infirmary and the bench, with a taste of the pitch and an hour of pre-World Cup friendly. Against Morocco, then, Marcelo Brozovic finally returned to the starting 11 in an official match, remaining in the control room for the entire 90 minutes plus extra time. Beyond the performance on his debut in Qatar 2022 – barely sufficient – there remains the significant return to a leading role in a real football match, 66 days after that Udinese-Inter match that had plunged the Nerazzurri into despair on the verge of a break of the championship dedicated to the national teams.

The old problems

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First of all there is the issue of physical integrity. Clearly Brozovic was seen to be more brilliant than the one who faced Morocco, but the slow and measured return from the injury had precisely the function of minimizing the risk of a relapse: 9 minutes with Juventus, 29′ against Bologna and then another 10 ‘ at the home of Atalanta. A way to rediscover the feeling with the competitive spirit of the field without accelerating excessively. Then 65 minutes in Saudi Arabia a few days before the start of the World Cup: now the time has come to get serious and the selector Zlatko Dalic didn’t hold back, entrusting him with the wheel in the middle and calling him to direct operations. In Qatar you play to win and you no longer think about physical risks, especially in a group that seems very balanced. The head will return to Inter only when forced by an elimination.

Inzaghi horizon

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The Nerazzurri world – from the fans to the registered players – will obviously look to the World Cup by supporting Brozovic like the other four players playing in Qatar, but the coach will have one more question to evaluate. Just in the two months in which Marcelo was not available, something happened to Inter: rock bottom against Roma, redemption and qualification for the Champions League round of 16, the stumbling block in the Italian derby. In all this flurry of commitments, the direction has been entrusted to others: first to Kristjan Asllani and then to Hakan Calhanoglu. Here, Simone Inzaghi will analyze Croatia, refreshing his memory with Brozovic’s plays, while trying to think about which set-up to present for the return of Serie A, which begins with the challenge against leaders Napoli. There’s still plenty of time: after two months off, there’s one and a half months to take the world stage and then Inter.