Yann Sommer, four goals conceded with Juventus cost bench and goodbye
The wall of hierarchies, which seemed untouchable, collapsed at the Stadium in minute 91 of Juventus-Inter: the impregnable shot by Adzic, the unexpected hero of the evening, punished Sommer, who had already ended up under accusation for the goal conceded by Yildiz. The episode ignited the debate at Appiano, where Cristian Chivu discussed at length with his staff and now seems to be leaning toward an immediate change: in Amsterdam, against Ajax — a club dear to him for the splendid four years he spent in the youth sector — it could be the turn of Josep Martinez, the Spanish deputy who has been stationary since May 11, the day of the league win over Torino.
The choice, which also carries with it a message of mobility within the group ahead of the Champions League debut, should not be read as punishment. Sommer remains a surefire point of reference, strong with the experience to get back up and star again. Rather, Inter wants to look ahead: with the Swiss expiring in June, it is time to see if Martinez can become an asset to invest in. Goalkeeper casting, after all, can also begin in the locker room before the market.
The Spanish goalkeeper, on the other hand, is not starting from scratch: he has already tasted the Champions League with Inter right in the Netherlands, in the round of 16 against Feyenoord, closed with a 2-0 win and inviolate goal. And again away, but with Leipzig, he experienced another happy memory in Belgium, in Bruges: wide victory (5-0) and new clean sheet to frame.
To the European showcase Martinez will therefore go undefeated, at a time when Inter have just conceded six goals in two games, signing their worst start in 14 years. Sometimes, to turn things around, you just have to mix the ingredients. Until now, however, it had never happened that a coach-not even Inzaghi-had preferred him to Sommer for purely technical reasons: his appearances had come only because of turnovers or injuries. Yet the club had invested 13.5 million plus bonuses to wrest him from Genoa.
With him in goal, Inter lost just one game out of ten, that painful semifinal return match against Milan (0-3). Numbers that are enough for Chivu to think about change: not a definitive act, but a clear signal. Inter is working on the present with an eye to the future, within a complex but inevitable transition.
