Mauro Icardi

[Universe]

It's pretty sad. Given his scoring record and age, there is every possibility that he could have been one of our greatest scorers.

I think the saddest part is that he consistently performed and played at a high level despite the players that were around him. Perisic (less so this season) and Skriniar aside, he is truly world class. It is ashame that his attitude leaves a great deal to be desired and that his efforts over the years have been undermined by his actions in the last weeks.

He already is one of our greatest goalscorers.

Regarding the bolded part, I've always maintained that Icardi is a limited player. An elite poacher, but limited. And ironically, I attribute that limitation and simplicity to being great contributors to Icardi's longevity and success at this club. That's because literally all he does is does is score. Regardless of the chaos around him, the constant change of teammates and coaches and tactics, all he needs to do is put the ball in the net when it comes to him. To his great credit, he has done that at a world class level for years.

However though, as we've seen (several times now), there are periods every single season when both his own level and that of the teams, fluctuates and drops wildly. This season has been particularly bad (not so much in terms of points) but in the fact that our yearly downturn in form has coincided with some unprecedented locker room issues.

Perhaps we're at the point where we need to move on from such an elementary approach to football - crossing to Icardi for 90 minutes. Some argue the solution to this problem is to surround Icardi with better players and better tactics. They say, "in a team like Arsenal or Barca, Icardi would score 40 goals per season." In my eyes, that would only slightly reduce the symptoms of our problem, not cure it totally - because Icardi is part of that problem IMO. The way that Icardi plays does not get the best out of his teammates, or really help them to do more. Even if you do surround Icardi with amazing players and an attack-minded coach like Guardiola, you'd simply have better teammates still trying to spoonfeed Icardi because they are unable to rely on him to do more than put the ball into the net. It's not a mutual synergy with Icardi. It's a one-directional, linear flow of mass input. It's purely just diminishing returns.

Truth is, no elite football team in the world plays 10 v 11 to feed a poacher like we do, no matter how good that poacher is. If Icardi went to Barca, it's not like they would play beautiful tiki taka with the other 10 men and then feed Icardi a great final ball for him to finish. It doesn't work that way. Barca plays great tiki taka partly because of the work that their #9 does in that build up process - the movement, the sense, the linkup, the understanding of one's teammates, the passing, the dribbling and close control in tight spaces, the technique, the speed etc. All attributes that Icardi lacks and can not contribute to.

On that note, I can't think of almost any club where Icardi could go and be their starting #9, without them having to dramatically change the way they play i.e. set themselves up purely to feed him.

Perhaps we should consider that maybe playing and 'getting by' with this approach is doing us more harm than good, or at the very least, is just an unsustainable bandaid solution to our long-term goal of being one of Europe's elite.

 

[Wallace]

I can imagine a minnow would change their entire system for Icardi if they get him.

Subtle hint there.

 

[satubito]

It's looking more and more likely. Yeesh what a shitshow. I'm no fan of Spalletti but if he can get this group to perform and retain a CL spot then maybe he deserves another season amid all the drama.

Given how we've played lately, I'm on board for giving him a chance again next year. Give him the opportunity with better players than what we have now at our disposal, and I have a good feeling the results will continue to come. Players like Barella and Chiesa would no doubt relish the chance to play for him. We just need to rid the team of the bad apples and bs, and give the lads a proper full time capitano.

 

[delaurentis]

Remember the Cannavaro situation? JuBe unsettled the player/put him under pressure.
The situation regarding Icardi reminds me of this. It would not surprise me this is all a set up, so a team can snatch him when his value drops.

 

[varmin]

Remember the Cannavaro situation? JuBe unsettled the player/put him under pressure.
The situation regarding Icardi reminds me of this. It would not surprise me this is all a set up, so a team can snatch him when his value drops.

That means Marotta is a jube rat.

 

[firmino]

You're joking, right? blivious:

Cannavaro joined juventus in 2004 (and left in 2006, when moved to real Madrid). Marotta was hired by juventus in 2010.

So if he's a spy of juventus, it certainly doesn't have anything to do with cannavaro.

 

[forzainter257]

That means Marotta is a jube rat.

I would understand if Icardi was flawless and Marotta all of a sudden created conflicts between players, but that's not the case.

So far Marotta's actions only worked for our own good:
- fined Radja and as a result he got his shit together
- didn't release Perisic on buyer's conditions with having a couple of days to deadline despite Ivan's desire to leave Inter.
- managed putting a player to his place who started to act like Inter is nothing without him.

He is actually doing what a normal CEO should be doing, what's the matter?

IMO rube need CB's more than a striker, so if Marotta was a rube rat his mission would be Skriniar.

 

[Wobblz]

I don't think we're anywhere near to being as much of a threat for juve for them to even consider putting any effort in destabilizing us. After all, we're putting a pretty decent shift ourselves.

 

[Matrix_invincible]

He already is one of our greatest goalscorers.

Regarding the bolded part, I've always maintained that Icardi is a limited player. An elite poacher, but limited. And ironically, I attribute that limitation and simplicity to being great contributors to Icardi's longevity and success at this club. That's because literally all he does is does is score. Regardless of the chaos around him, the constant change of teammates and coaches and tactics, all he needs to do is put the ball in the net when it comes to him. To his great credit, he has done that at a world class level for years.

However though, as we've seen (several times now), there are periods every single season when both his own level and that of the teams, fluctuates and drops wildly. This season has been particularly bad (not so much in terms of points) but in the fact that our yearly downturn in form has coincided with some unprecedented locker room issues.

Perhaps we're at the point where we need to move on from such an elementary approach to football - crossing to Icardi for 90 minutes. Some argue the solution to this problem is to surround Icardi with better players and better tactics. They say, "in a team like Arsenal or Barca, Icardi would score 40 goals per season." In my eyes, that would only slightly reduce the symptoms of our problem, not cure it totally - because Icardi is part of that problem IMO. The way that Icardi plays does not get the best out of his teammates, or really help them to do more. Even if you do surround Icardi with amazing players and an attack-minded coach like Guardiola, you'd simply have better teammates still trying to spoonfeed Icardi because they are unable to rely on him to do more than put the ball into the net. It's not a mutual synergy with Icardi. It's a one-directional, linear flow of mass input. It's purely just diminishing returns.

Truth is, no elite football team in the world plays 10 v 11 to feed a poacher like we do, no matter how good that poacher is. If Icardi went to Barca, it's not like they would play beautiful tiki taka with the other 10 men and then feed Icardi a great final ball for him to finish. It doesn't work that way. Barca plays great tiki taka partly because of the work that their #9 does in that build up process - the movement, the sense, the linkup, the understanding of one's teammates, the passing, the dribbling and close control in tight spaces, the technique, the speed etc. All attributes that Icardi lacks and can not contribute to.

On that note, I can't think of almost any club where Icardi could go and be their starting #9, without them having to dramatically change the way they play i.e. set themselves up purely to feed him.

Perhaps we should consider that maybe playing and 'getting by' with this approach is doing us more harm than good, or at the very least, is just an unsustainable bandaid solution to our long-term goal of being one of Europe's elite.

A striker who just scores but provides nothing for the game isnt particulary a bad thing but it depends on if its good for the team.
Inzaghi for example didnt do anything but scoring too but that Milan team back then was great. I think Icardi would fit greatly in teams like Barca where he has brilliant team mates who provide enough for the game so that his little contripution does no harm.
In case of Inter, we now see that a striker who does more for the game, would be the better choice.

 

[PHM1605]

A striker who just scores but provides nothing for the game isnt particulary a bad thing but it depends on if its good for the team.
Inzaghi for example didnt do anything but scoring too but that Milan team back then was great. I think Icardi would fit greatly in teams like Barca where he has brilliant team mates who provide enough for the game so that his little contripution does no harm.
In case of Inter, we now see that a striker who does more for the game, would be the better choice.

Milan back then played 4-3-1-2. That formation works well for a poacher like Inzaghi or Icardi, cuz he has an additional partner to create space.

Barca plays 4-3-3. We play 4-2-3-1. Such 1 striker formation works better with a complete forward or a false nine than a poacher. There isn't any big team out there play poacher as lone striker, is it? Btw I don't think Barca style suits Icardi at all, let alone splashing 100m+.

 

[Wobblz]

A striker who just scores but provides nothing for the game isnt particulary a bad thing but it depends on if its good for the team.
Inzaghi for example didnt do anything but scoring too but that Milan team back then was great. I think Icardi would fit greatly in teams like Barca where he has brilliant team mates who provide enough for the game so that his little contripution does no harm.
In case of Inter, we now see that a striker who does more for the game, would be the better choice.

That Milan side played in a different era when it comes to overall team movement/defensive contribution from outfield players/pressing, I'm speculating here but I'm pretty sure that Milan attack would be rendered completely impotent by most modern defenses.

The irony is, as a Barca youth product, they decided he's not the type of player that would fit their system. I think that continues to be the case since Icardi hasn't exactly lived through a catharsis of any kind in his style of play - he just got better at doing his thing.

 

[firmino]

I would even argue about him getting better. I do not see any revelant improvements, compared to what he was two years ago.

 

[dax21]

Even if he improved, you wouldn't be able to notice it because his role doesn't really allow for it. He got better with dropping lower and trying to assist other players. Then a month ago a lot of people here complained how he does it too much now and how it was actually better when he was selfish. It's all there, in this thread, just a dozen or so pages back.
Would he work well in Barca's tiki-taka? I don't see why not, as Barca's squad is in a transitional phase right now and there isn't as much identity as couple of years ago.
I still firmly believe that if you have a decent pair of wingers who can put 5 quality crosses into the box, Icardi will score at least one if not two. It's ugly football that isn't particularly entertaining but that's something else.

In that famous Milan squad, Inzaghi indeed played alongside Shevchenko. At the same time Inzaghi was considerably more flawed than Icardi and he benefited a lot from tactically/technically inferior defenses of his era.

Let's also not put all the blame on Icardi, while at it. If Spalletti wanted a more compact and flexible attack, he would've tried it out with him. But the man who wasn't afraid to bench Totti lost a lot of balls when he came to Inter.

 

[rfU]

That Milan side played in a different era when it comes to overall team movement/defensive contribution from outfield players/pressing, I'm speculating here but I'm pretty sure that Milan attack would be rendered completely impotent by most modern defenses.

name a defensive set up, aside from atletico, who could stop Sheva and Inzaghi? Guessing you didn't watch Madrid when they shifted to 4-3-1-2 so that CR7 could have less leg work defensively

At the same time Inzaghi was considerably more flawed than Icardi and he benefited a lot from tactically/technically inferior defenses of his era.

not sure what being technically inferior has to do with anything as defences those days used to focus on defending 70-80% of the time (in anycase I disagree). Tight man marking and hard tackling were the order of the day back then. Strikers like inzaghi would have a field day with Bonucci / David Luiz

 

[Wobblz]

AS I said, that's a bit speculative to state but the fact that players like Inzaghi are extinct is a pretty clear testament to how the game has changed from back then.

 

[delaurentis]

I'm not talking about JuBe, Other teams in Europe might use tactics to lower the value of a player. Then they can pick him up much cheaper.

Football is a hard business, Create havoc and pay less, Icardi performs better in new team and his value increases.
There is to much money involved, Do you think Icardi and his wife/agent would act this way if they have no reassurance from another team?

 

[Herr J]

You're joking, right? blivious:

Cannavaro joined juventus in 2004 (and left in 2006, when moved to real Madrid). Marotta was hired by juventus in 2010.

So if he's a spy of juventus, it certainly doesn't have anything to do with cannavaro.

He was clearly making an example, and where Marotta just joined us from Juve, just to make Icardi move to the said 'team'.

He CLEARLY didn't mean that Marotta had ANYTHING to do with the Canna-deal!

 

[dax21]

not sure what being technically inferior has to do with anything as defences those days used to focus on defending 70-80% of the time (in anycase I disagree). Tight man marking and hard tackling were the order of the day back then. Strikers like inzaghi would have a field day with Bonucci / David Luiz

Way too many current day strikers have a field day with Bonucci. He exposed himself hard last season at Milan, he is weak without Chiellini babysitting his ass. He works within Juve's system but he can hardly carry his own weight. So many blunders in the past two years by him.
Inzaghi gambled with the offside line hard, squeezed into hard places despite objectively lacking pace and had a lot of good luck. He had a knack for the goal but very little technical ability. Inzaghi was an anomaly, as witnessed by the fact that there were no such strikers during or after his time to this day. Positioning was his biggest strength.
Defenders evolved through the last 15 years, strikers merely adapted to them. Inzaghi preyed on positioning mistakes of defenders back then. Nowadays back lines are very disciplined and such things simply wouldn't work.

As an Interista I obviously took heavy dislike to him back then because directly comparing him with Shevchenko side by side, Inzaghi looked like someone who doesn't even play the same sport yet enjoyed success. Especially because all of our strikers of that time were complete and excelled at multiple things. Now that I'm older and that I appreciate good off the ball movement more than meme flicks it's easier to understand and appreciate that kind of players. But to repeat myself - Inzaghi was an anomaly, a player that shouldn't be able to exist.

 

[rockball]

Sell Icardi for ~100m.

Buy Griezmann for ~100m.

*wake up from dream*

 

[KevinB]

Sell Icardi for ~100m.

Buy Griezmann for ~100m.

*wake up from dream*

Why settle for Griezmann when apparently Mbappe had a Jonathan poster on his wall