Calcio Debate: Will Mourinho’s 4-3-3 Work At Inter?
Jose Mourinho has outlined his intention to use his favoured 4-3-3 formation at Inter, but will it work? And do the Nerazzurri have the players to fit into the system? Carlo Garganese investigates…
Calcio Debate: Will Mourinho’s 4-3-3 Work At Inter?
Jose Mourinho’s 4-3-3 formation was an absolute revelation during his first two seasons at Chelsea. The defence was water-tight, the midfield was efficient, both defensively and offensively, while up-front the likes of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and Joe Cole caused havoc in the wide roles, with the man-animal figure of Didier Drogba inflicting the damage in the central position.
Chelsea romped home to successive Premier League trophies, until a certain Roman Abramovich decided to get involved, signing two, unnecessary, big name players who weren’t made for the 4-3-3 system - Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko. Mourinho battled against the tide during Manchester United’s title-winning 2006/07 campaign, trying to find solutions, but eventually he decided he’d had enough of Abramovich’s interference, leaving by “mutual consent” early into last season.
Having since returned to the game with Inter, Mourinho has revealed that he plans to implement his 4-3-3 system at San Siro.
The day he took the job, it was clear that Inter did not possess the wide players who could fit into this formation. Amantino Mancini has since arrived from Roma, and Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma may follow, but there are still question marks whether this represents the Nerazzurri’s best way forward.
For starters, the club possesses a whole host of strikers who can only play in the central attacker role. These include Adriano, Julio Cruz and Hernan Crespo. David Suazo seems to be a mix between a central and wide player, while I personally have serious doubts whether Ibrahimovic can fit into this system. The Swede certainly can’t play on the right or the left, while a central role would rob him of all of his creativity. He is also far too undisciplined. Mario Balotelli could certainly adjust to the winger role, but could a 36-year-old Luis Figo? With so many options, Mourinho would do well to keep everyone happy. Based on the above, how also could Adriano and Ibra share the same field together?
Intriguingly, ‘The Special One’ provided an answer to this final problem on Wednesday. Instead of playing with two widemen and a striker, he would employ three “pure strikers”, thus enabling Adriano and Ibrahimovic to co-exist together.
"We always have a philosophy and a starting point. The 4-3-3 is the scheme I really like and when I talk about this scheme I mean three pure strikers,” Mourinho explained.
“The position of the strikers isn't important and it can change from match to match. The challenge will be defending with three players in midfield in order to give the team the complete freedom of going on the pitch with three strikers. At that point playing Adriano and Ibrahimovic together won't be a problem."
I’m not one to doubt Mourinho’s judgement, as he is quite possibly the best tactician in world football. If anyone can make it work, it is Mourinho. However, I have serious reservations at the prospect of three “pure strikers” such as Ibra (not that I would call the Swede ‘pure’), Adriano and say Cruz all playing together. It would be extremely difficult to find the right blend. I have never been a fan of big six foot-plus forward partnerships, and for this very reason I will need some convincing over the link-up of Adriano and Ibra in particular. And if Mourinho does decide to play with three pure strikers, where does this leave Mancini? And what about Figo? Neither can play in a three-man midfield.
This brings me onto the midfield itself. Inter should have fewer problems here. Cambiasso, Vieira, Zanetti, and even Chivu can all prosper in this tactical set-up. Even though they will be a man down, these players are extremely intelligent and have fantastic defensive qualities. The main question mark revolves around where the goals, and creativity, will come from in this area. Frank Lampard would help solve the former, not the latter, but his transfer is still very much in limbo.
Inter’s defence is still the strongest in Serie A by quite some distance, and with Mourinho’s tactical expertise it can surely only get even better. The possible problem revolves around the formation, as the coach himself admitted. The Italian league is much slower than England, and midfield possession is far more important, so could a lack of numbers in this area leave the defence under-protected?
It will be fascinating to see how Mourinho approaches the new campaign from a tactical point of view. All I can say is that I find it very hard to believe that he will employ three pure strikers in the mould of Ibra, Adriano and Cruz.
What are your views on this topic? Will Mourinho’s 4-3-3 work at Inter? Do the Nerazzurri have the players to fit into the system? Can “three pure” strikers play together? Can Ibra and Adriano play together? What about the lack of numbers in midfield? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…
Carlo Garganese
www.goal.com
LOL, um no it won't what a dumbass. I read somewhere that a good coach adapts to his team, not the team adapt to the coaches needs.
