Juve-Inter: Marotta strategic scudetto. From Agnelli to Zhang, at the top

They say that when Andrea Agnelli said goodbye to him in October 2018, proposing a joint press conference as he later did for Allegri and Paratici, Beppe Marotta said no and preferred to go immediately on TV in the post-match of Juve-Napoli to tell in person that he would no longer be the CEO of Juventus, hinting that it was not his choice. It was a decision that he suffered and that also took him quite by surprise, but the next day he was already thinking about the future and had clear in mind where he could open a new cycle: at Zhang’s Inter, with whom there has always been a great esteem, where there was a need for someone like him, skilled in the market and in diplomatic relations, the right man to return to the roof of Italy. On the other hand, Marotta had done exactly that at Juve: rebuilding.

He had found a team back from a seventh place and after a dark first year (still seventh) began the path towards rebirth. Seven championships in eight years, seven different Juve, the last one always stronger than the previous one. Until the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo, which brought Paratici to the fore, his right hand since Sampdoria, and perhaps it was the spring that pushed Agnelli to accelerate the managerial renewal. Marotta in Turin had built the perfect car, with the right mix of great shots and zero parameters (very precious). Among many champions, perhaps the Marottian symbol is Andrea Barzagli, taken in January 2011 by Wolfsburg and left after winning 8 league titles. However, the list is long: from Pirlo to Dani Alves, from Khedira to Pogba (sold for 105 million to United and a record capital gain of 72 million), all arrived in Turin for free, up to 90 million spent to snatch Higuain from Napoli to replace Tevez. , taken by the City for just 9 million. But also Vidal, Pjanic, Bonucci bought twice and of course Dybala, 40 million at Palermo in the summer of 2015. It was Marotta who led the negotiations for Joya’s contract renewal in 2017, a mission in which his successors failed. Now Juve will lose him to zero and he is ready to take advantage of it. Among the well-chosen choices, also the coaches: from Conte to Allegri, whom he tried to bring to Milan before he signed again with the bianconeri. Marotta has always been good at diplomatic work and in managing delicate situations: it was he who convinced Tevez, who wanted to return to Argentina as early as 2014, to stay one more year.

And it was he who put together the pieces of an Inter that seemed to be at the end of the project last summer, with the financial problems linked to the pandemic, the farewell of Antonio Conte and that of Hakimi and Lukaku. Many would have thrown in the towel, Marotta – together with Ausilio – lowered his head and started “pedaling”, first convincing Simone Inzaghi to get involved in Milan, then the other champions not to get scared after the sale of Big Rom, because Inter would have remained at the top. After all, the Inter adventure was complicated right from the start. Arriving during the current season in December 2018, Marotta immediately found himself dealing with the thorny Icardi case and a renewal to be renegotiated. In February came the break with the captain, then off to the revolution. He convinced Conte to marry the Zhang project, then took Barella (40 million), Sensi and above all Lukaku, paying out 65 million plus 10 bonuses. Before the pandemic, Eriksen arrived and before the investment blockade the arrival of Hakimi for 40 million had already been defined. Thus, together with Conte, they developed the perfect rematch, putting an end to the Juve dynasty that they themselves had started. He will always remain tied to Juve, but today there is only Inter. And it’s not just a song.