The clue is in the name: the Derby d'Italia, or Derby of Italy. Arguably Italian football's grandest rivalry, it is contested by two of the most decorated clubs on the peninsula -- Juventus and Inter Milan. Its name was coined in the 1960s by famous Italian journalist Gianni Brera. It wasn't just another regional rivalry like the Derby della Mole between Juve and their neighbours Torino, or the Derby della Madonnina between Inter and AC Milan. It was an epic rivalry between the two calcio powerhouses, spanning two different cities in two entirely different regions.
Derby d’Italia: The contrasting fortunes of Juventus and Inter Milan
Juventus’ domination of Italian football over the last couple of seasons has been absolute, though it wasn’t long ago that their Derby d’Italia rivals, Inter, ruled the roost.
Shaun Botterill
The latest edition of this derby takes place on Saturday, with Juventus heading in as strong favourites. They’ve won four of their last five league games against Inter, with their recent derby success coinciding with their return to being the dominant force in Italian football. From floating in mid-table they have romped to two consecutive Scudetti, and few would bet against them adding a third this season.
That's a remarkable turnaround from three years ago, when it was Inter, not Juventus, who were dominating Italian football. The Derby d'Italia at the San Siro in April 2010 was won 2-0 by José Mourinho's side, with Maicon and Samuel Eto'o scoring the goals that would go on to help the nerazzurri seal their fifth consecutive Serie A title. It was no fluke that they would also go on to win the Champions League later that season, while Juve continued to flounder in mid-table.
How, then, have things turned full circle, to the point where Juventus are comfortably the best side in Italy, and Inter just battling just to finish in the top half? How have Inter turned from playing clinical counter-attacking football with some of the world's best players, to a side that conceded more goals than everyone in Serie A except relegated Pescara last season?
The simple answer to the Inter question, is a glaring lack of foresight. They had dominated Italian football for four seasons prior to their Scudetto win under Mourinho in 2010, and had done so with remarkably little squad turnover. Six of the players who started Inter's Derby d'Italia away in Turin in October 2005 were involved in the aforementioned 2-0 win five years later. While interchangeable attacking players like Adriano, Luis Figo -- and, less glamorously, Obafemi Martins -- came to be replaced by Diego Milito, Goran Pandev and Samuel Eto'o, the defence stayed largely the same.
Inter had managed to find stability in a league where chaos is the norm, building their league titles on the back of a strong, stable defence. While that benefited the nerazzurri in the short term, the resulting complacency has led to their current predicament. The average age of the Champions League-winning starting 11 in 2010 was almost 30, and though it was a world class team, the only man who seemed to notice the impending disaster was Mourinho, who jumped ship at the end of the season.
Because, by the time Inter had reached their zenith and beaten Bayern Munich to record their third European title, they’d missed their chance to find and phase in new blood. The squad was entirely reliant on an ageing team, with only the coach realising that they’d imminently need stripping apart and rebuilding from scratch. When their old veterans started to fade, they had no one ready to step in and take charge.
Inter hung on for second place in 2011, though it wasn't long before the old wagon finally ground to a halt. Sixth in 2012 was followed by ninth in 2013 -- their lowest league finish in almost 20 years. The inevitable outcome has been transfer market flails bearing the hallmarks of desperation; players no better than solid mid-tablers like Gaby Mudingayi, Rodrigo Palacio and Matías Silvestre have been brought in, in the vain hope they'll miraculously stop the rot.
On the bench, Rafael Benítez, Leonardo, Gian Piero Gasperini, Claudio Ranieri and Andrea Stramaccioni have all fallen victim to the circumstances and been hired and fired since Mourinho's departure, unable to stop the unstoppable slide. With new boss Walter Mazzarri notoriously averse to playing youngsters, perhaps he's not the perfect man to hurry along the rebuilding process which has now gotten underway. However, at least Inter are finally acknowledging their need to start again.
There’s no doubt that without serious investment Inter’s rise back to the top won’t be as quick as Juventus’ was. To reinstate themselves at the top of Italian football, the Old Lady have spent big over the last few seasons. In the summer of 2011 -- just prior to the start of their new Scudetto-winning streak -- they spent little short of €100 million. That’s a total far exceeding what Inter president Massimo Moratti has been willing to spend recently, with just over €30 million splashed by the nerazzurri in the most recent transfer window.
Rather than focusing on signing talented youngsters for a long-term project, Juventus have been able to spend to sign proven stars guaranteed to have an immediate impact in the first team. Kwadwo Asamoah, Mirko Vučinić and Arturo Vidal are obvious examples, and none came cheap. Meanwhile, they've looked to sign highly-rated youngsters like strikers Manolo Gabbiadini and Simone Zaza, keen not to make the same mistake as their Derby d'Italia rivals.
With Moratti unwilling to spend so highly, Inter haven’t had the luxury of both, and -- with the exception of a couple of more experienced players like Hugo Campagnaro and Marco Andreolli arriving for little or no fee -- have instead looked straight to the future.
While they haven't helped themselves with the sales of Italy U-21 internationals Luca Caldirola and Giulio Donati this summer and Philippe Coutinho to Liverpool last season, the arrivals of Mauro Icardi and Ishak Belfodil from Sampdoria and Parma -- undoubtedly two of the most exciting young strikers in the league -- alongside 21-year-old Bologna midfielder Saphir Taïder offers reason for optimism.
Young Brazilian centre-back Juan Jesus and Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovačić are also showing promise, and even Ricky Álvarez -- written off by many after failing to impress following his move from Vélez Sársfield in 2011 -- is even looking good.The road back to the top is a long one, though Inter now look like they're heading roughly in the right direction.
Despite opening the season with two wins, they shouldn’t cause Juventus too many problems in the Derby d’Italia on Saturday night, and definitely aren’t expected to push them in a Scudetto race. However, keeping a hold of their best young players -- and adding some more -- means it might not be too long before we see Inter challenging near the top once again.
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