Inter Milan head coach Walter Mazzarri has apologised to the club’s fans following an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at home to bottom of the table Cagliari on Sunday.
The Nerazzurri went into the clash unbeaten but imploded in an 18 minute period before half-time that saw captain Yuto Nagatomo sent off for two yellows cards, a 15 minute hat-trick from Albin Ekdal and a penalty save by Samir Handanovic.
The result left the Italian giants stunned and former Napoli coach Mazzarri hopes lessons can be learned from the episode.
“We’re sorry for the fans, who are suffering as we are,” he said on the club’s official website.
“I got a few decisions wrong regarding squad rotation and didn’t look at how much energy we would expend, which is crucial in the modern game. When things go badly like that it all contributes to everything else going worse.
“A more experienced team that goes down to 10 men becomes compact and waits for the things to blow over. We’ll all learn from this lesson. We don’t need to discuss it too much.”
Inter’s vaunted defense was ripped to shreds as Nemanja Vidić’s nightmare start to his Inter career continued. The former Manchester United captain gave away a penalty for the second time in three Serie A matches. Vidic has failed to live up to expectations since joining on a Bosman this summer and the question for Walter Mazzarri is whether he lets the Serbian defender play his way out if this slump in form, or does he take him out of the firing line for a game or two?
Mazzarri was asked about Vidic’s form after the match on Sunday and he said:
“I perhaps also made a mistake with Vidic by playing him too much. I take responsibility for it. There are players that can’t take three consecutive matches in this period. Is it physical or mental? A combination of the two. It never just comes down to physical conditioning at this level.”
With a Europa League match-up against Karabakh on Thursday, followed by two tough games against Fiorentina and Napoli, it might be time for Mazzarri to give Vidic a day off on Thursday.
