Why this season’s Milan Derby is the most interesting in years

AFTER an abysmal display in the 1-1 draw with Slavia Prague this week, Antonio Conte was going to be angry. Overseeing victories in each of his first three Serie A games with the Nerazzurri was not going to appease him, and anyone who had seen the bombastic coach following bad results at Juventus or Chelsea knew he would not take such a performance in the Champions League well.

Yet his words at the post-match press conference would take a surprisingly honest turn. “There’s a lot of work to do and we need to improve, but that was not our football,” he told reporters. “When I say we shouldn’t let ourselves get swept up in enthusiasm, I mean it. I’m here to help these lads improve, so put the blame on me. I refuse to talk about individuals, because we were all below par today, starting with me. I’m the first onto the naughty step, the main dunce.”

No excuses, no targeting any of his players, simply an acceptance that everyone involved needed to be better. But if that was an unexpected response from Conte, it was also diametrically opposed to anything Inter supporters had seen over the last few years, previous boss Luciano Spalletti preferring to find as many excuses as possible whenever his side failed to deliver victory.

Beppe Bergomi‘s face as he listened to Luciano Spalletti “explaining” the situation at #Inter on Sky Italia tonight. I imagine everyone who loves the Nerazzurri had the same reaction! pic.twitter.com/BEqUIvYpGj

— Adam Digby (@Adz77) March 31, 2019

Since his arrival, Conte has pushed the club to move away from that kind of environment, working tirelessly to eradicate the blame culture that his predecessor had allowed to permeate every facet of the team during his tenure. Quickly, Inter sold on any player who had been involved in what had been an endless cycle of petty arguments and treachery.

Mauro Icardi, Ivan Perisic, Radja Nainggolan and Joao Mario were all shipped out, replaced by players who would exude professionalism at all times. That shift is perhaps best embodied by Diego Godin, exactly the type of veteran leader that the club was so sorely lacking when childish in-fighting engulfed this team last term.

That won’t happen on Conte’s watch, and the former Atletico Madrid defender is not the only established figure brought in by the Nerazzurri. Romelu Lukaku is a player the coach desperately wanted during his time at Chelsea, and now he finally has the Belgium international as the focal point of his attack.

The 26-year-old may have struggled at Manchester United, but he is already proving a perfect fit for Conte’s 3-5-2 formation, scoring in each of his first two starts for Inter. The Nerazzurri will hope to see Alexis Sanchez enjoy a similar renaissance at San Siro once he gets up to speed in training, while Italy internationals Stefano Sensi, Nicolò Barella and Cristiano Biraghi will have no problems slotting straight into the side.

Already established in the heart of the Inter defence, Milan Skriniar was rightly unimpressed with the draw at home to Slavia Prague. “It’s unacceptable to play like this in the Champions League,” he told Sky Italia, going on to add that Inter will “definitely play the derby with more hunger, as that is different to every other match.”

It certainly is, and as the city looks forward to the latest clash between its two giant clubs, the approach taken across town by AC Milan could not be more different to what has happened at Inter. Instead of a high-profile coach like Conte, the Rossoneri took Marco Giampaolo from Sampdoria, a man who had never managed to steer a team to finish higher than ninth place in Serie A.

During spells with Cagliari, Siena, Catania, Cesena, Empoli and Samp, the 52-year-old had developed an exciting playing style, but has yet to find a way to translate that into consistent results. In similar fashion, 25-year-old deadline day signing Ante Rebić was the oldest player signed by the club this summer, Milan opting for unproven young players rather than tried and tested performers.

Giampaolo has struggled to blend his young, inexperienced squad into a cohesive unit, so far overseeing a loss to Udinese, then unimpressive 1-0 wins over newly promoted sides Brescia and Hellas Verona.

“I won’t just brush the dust under the carpet, I know full well we need to improve and there are issues we have to deal with,” Giampaolo said after last week’s narrow victory. “We must be honest, I don’t hide. This team is trying and is accustomed to playing as individuals, whereas I must get them working in the service of the collective. We must learn to attack better, that is true.”

They will need to do so quickly because the derby awaits and that is a unique prospect for even the most well-prepared side. Giampaolo insists he will instruct his team to “play our game and be Milan,” going on to add that the derby “has its importance and is fun and so it must be, it is not a war.”

Inter will present a formidable opponent when the Derby della Madonnina gets underway on Saturday night, Romelu Lukaku telling Sky Italia that “we are a great team and anyone who comes up against Inter knows it will be difficult for them.”

They do, and Antonio Conte is highly unlikely to share Giampaolo’s view on it being “fun,” adding another layer of intrigue to this derby of contrasts.