Euroscene: For the 12th time in eight seasons, a new man will sit on the Inter Milan coach's bench when the Italian giants line out against Lokomotiv Moscow for a Champions League tie in Moscow this evening. Following Sunday's sacking of coach Hector Cuper, it will fall to reserve coach Corrado Verdelli to handle the side tonight.
By next Sunday, when Inter are at home to AS Roma in a Serie A clash, Cuper's designated successor, the former Udinese, AC Milan and Lazio coach Alberto Zaccheroni will have taken over.
In truth, Cuper's sacking came as no shock. If there was any surprise, it was the Argentinian had lasted as long - two seasons and two months.
It was a disappointing 2-2 away draw with Brescia last Saturday night that snapped the patience of Inter owner Massimo Moratti. Coming in the wake of a 3-1 derby drubbing by European Champions AC Milan two weeks ago, this was one bad performance too many under Cuper when Inter have been consistently competitive in both Serie A and the Champions League but yet have won nothing.
Given Inter have won their opening two Champions League games, against Arsenal and Dinamo Kiev, and given also last weekend was only day six in the 34-day Serie A season, you could argue Moratti has been a little hasty.
Yet, after eight years during which he has poured approximately €500 million into the club, buying players such as Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Hernan Crespo, Diego Simeone, Clarence Seedorf, Adrian Mutu and Andrea Pirlo, Moratti probably feels he ought to have more than the 1998 UEFA Cup sitting on the sideboard.
For Cuper, too, the most damaging moment probably came on May 5th, 2002. Inter had gone into that day, the last of the season, on top of the table and needing an away win against Lazio to wrap up the title. Inter froze, losing 4-2 to a Lazio side coached, ironically, by Alberto Zaccheroni.
Subsequent reports suggested Inter's preparations for that vital game had not been totally professional and that players had been out partying in the nights before the game. That defeat confirmed a constant negative of the Cuper period at Inter, namely his inability to do well against his direct title rivals - Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and AS Roma. Cuper managed to win only two out of 17 games against championship rivals.
That game also confirmed another constant factor of the Cuper period, namely his chronic caution under pressure. Cuper's tendency to substitute defenders with defenders even late in games Inter were losing, was bad enough. Worse still was his failure to give any form of collective identity to a squad that contained a galaxy of talent.
Cuper has paid the price, although admittedly a relative one since he will earn €8 million from Inter over the next two years if he remains unemployed (his contract with Inter expires in June 2005).
There is one sobering thought for his successor Zaccheroni. Of the 10 coaches employed by Moratti since he bought the club in February 1995, no one lasted longer or earned more points per match than Cuper. The Inter hot seat is all yours, Alberto.
