Inter, Darmian goals and confidence: the former Parma is back in fashion

In the ranking of the players most used in the season by Simone Inzaghi, Matteo Darmian occupies 13th place. Beyond the close duel in the middle of the defense between Francesco Acerbi and Stefan De Vrij, the full-back from Legnano is the most employed of Inter’s second lines, with 864 minutes plus various recoveries coming off the count. And he is by far. Behind him there are in fact Marcelo Brozovic and Samir Handanovic who make history apart, because they started as owners and then remained on the sidelines due to injuries – the first – and age – the second. Further down the standings is Joaquin Correa with whom a comparison can make sense: they are divided by almost 300 minutes on the pitch. Very, very much. The meaning is clear, Darmian is much more than a reserve.

Resource

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On the other hand, there must be a reason if the owner Denzel Dumfries, flattered by the interests of the Premier League after a first-choice World Cup with the Netherlands, ends up on the bench from time to time. And not even rarely, because Darmian is already 10 first-minute appearances away this season, including eight in the league. His performance is constant (average grade 6.03), not excellent but certainly reliable for coaches and teammates, so much so that the choice often falls on him when balance and tactical attention are needed, perhaps a more balanced attitude than Dumfries which as an absolute value has instead a greater potential, with front-wheel drive. The goal against Monza, which has been missing since May 15th, is almost a detail. In his third year at Inter, Matteo is donating to the cause exactly the ingredients for which he was chosen by Antonio Conte in 2020: versatility, reliability, tactical intelligence, total availability. And if he hadn’t left the pitch against Monza…

Pay attention to the point

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Not all the fans had jumped for joy that summer over the purchase of Darmian, but his profile falls into the category of the various Danilo or Alexis Saelemaekers: you know what you can have – quite a lot – and you know what you will get. Few front pages, lots of substance. Among other things, Parma, Inter’s opponents in the eighth final of the Coppa Italia, is precisely the team that relaunched him after his return from the Premier League, the possible fate of Dumfries: Matteo came from a season of seven total appearances with Manchester United and many thought of a career in slow descent. Instead, in gialloblù he took the stage and the starting position, convincing Conte to indicate him as a market target for his ability to play the role of the attentive fifth in midfield with pedigree on both flanks or those of the alternative third of defence. At 33, Darmian is still in the Nerazzurri to answer Inzaghi’s calls, always doing it quite well. And against “his” Parma, looking for playing time, Dumfries could end up on the front page.

The words

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On the eve of Inter-Parma, however, the club chose to let him do the talking: “We weren’t able to find points to give continuity after the victory against Napoli – he explained to Mediaset -, but now there’s another race immediately in an important competition for us and which we already won last year”. Sacchi’s mistake was central in Monza: “It’s an important episode for the result, but we have to work and look forward. That’s enough. We can’t go back”. Finally, his last statements are for Parma: “He gave me the opportunity to return to Italy, that was an important year for me”.