Raja Casablanca, the shock finalists of the Club World Cup, squared off against Bayern Munich at Stade de Marrakech yesterday. The game took place ahead of the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday and the reason why the final is being discussed is that just a few years back, Inter overcame another African giant in TP Mazembe to lift this unique trophy. That trophy was the last time Internazionale lifted something of any significance as Rafa Benitez was sacked soon afterwards (apart from the Coppa Italia in the same season).
At that time, Inter were eight points off league leaders Milan. Though Inter narrowed down the gap to just two points before the Derby in April, Milan won the game 3-0 and went on to claim the Scudetto.
At that time, the city of Milan was the power centre in Italy. Today however, the trophies lying in the cabinets seem more and more like relics of the past with the likes of Juventus, Roma and Napoli staking more claim to silverware than the Lombardy giants.
Today, the Milan sides are a shadow of their former selves and as things stand, it appears that they will require time to reclaim their lost status in Italian football. The crowning of Juventus as the new kings of Italy was a watershed moment for Italian football as the power centre shifted drastically. Andrea Pirlo was let go off to Juve by Milan while Inter’s treble winning squad parted ways with Samuel Eto’o.
Recession has hit both clubs pretty hard and was one of the reasons why Massimo Moratti was forced to sell a majority stake in Inter to Erick Thohir, an Indonesian media tycoon who is now looking to open more markets for the club in a bid to bring more revenue. However, the new owner is no Sheikh or an oligarch and is aware of the importance of further slashing the wage bill – thus reports linking Fredy Guarin with a move to Chelsea.
Things have not been rosy for Milan either with new CEO Barbara Berlusconi looking to take the club in a different direction, a change in strategy that resulted in Adriano Galliani sending in a resignation letter which was not accepted. The daughter of Silvio Berlusconi wants Milan to be self-sustainable in every aspect which means that the club will not be investing heavily.
Both the San Siro sides have had fair amount of ups and downs in recent years. Inter, lying in fifth spot and Milan in 11th shows that both sides are indeed at their mediocre best but to the relief of fans, are now beginning to move with the times just like other teams have in the country.
Regardless, it will definitely take both sides a lot of time to return to where they once used to be and Sunday’s encounter will be a perfect illustration of how far they can go not just for the current campaign, but for the next few years.
