Ranocchia to Inter: Good for Gli Azzurri?

January 4th, 2011 | by: Julian | Comments Off

Andrea Ranocchia, heir apparent to Alessandro Nesta, is officially an Inter player. The defender described the move as a “dream come true” and seems fully committed to his new club. How will this affect gli azzurri?According to the player himself:

“This is what I dreamed of since I first started playing football. Now it has come true. I feel ready, even if I am here with great humility to put myself at the service of the team. I realise this is only the start for me. The knee injury is behind me now and it certainly helped to strengthen my character. I am very excited and it feels wonderful to be here. I’m sure there will be games where I’ll be on the bench or even in the stands. What I am focusing on is always making it a difficult choice for the Coach. I played in a three-man defence and a flat back four at Genoa, so it won’t be a problem for me to adapt to different roles. In fact, as a child I wanted to be a striker and my idol was Ronaldo.”

As we’ve discussed before, Ranocchia is the one up-and-coming defender to keep an eye on. Along with Leonardo Bonucci, he formed the best Italian centerback pairing in the league last year at Bari. At Genoa this year, he played well but there was a real fear that part of his confidence could be destroyed. Gasperini was a very attacking coach and often played a 3-4-3, with Ranocchia playing out of place in a three man backline. Like most defenders, he’s more suited to a four man backline, working alongside a stopper as he tends to act more like a libero. Inter swooped in recently and brought him in to cover for the injured Walter Samuel, which means that he’ll probably play alongside Lucio for most of the season. Undoubtedly, he can learn a lot from the man who kept Droga in his pocket during the Champions’ League last year.

Which brings us to another benefit of the move, as well- Andrea can finally test himself on the big stage, at one of the top clubs in Italy. He isn’t cup tied so can play in the Champions’ League too. Now he isn’t only promising. He has the chance to prove himself at the highest level possible. Playing against such tough teams can only be a good thing for his development.

On the flipside, there’s the possibility that perhaps he won’t play for Inter. He could sit on the bench and rot, much like what happened to Santon. Leonardo himself is a very attacking coach, based on his time at Milan, and his teams often focus on attack over defense. Much like at Genoa, then, Ranocchia may be at a team where his position is seen as the least important.

Personally, I think it’s only a good thing. Even at its worst, Inter could hardly focus less on defensive than Gasperini did. Champions’ League experience and being under the limelight on the big stage is the only way we’ll ever know if he’s the real deal, as well. Prandelli will be able to watch him and see how he holds up when the games are crucial and trophies are on the line- just like the ones he’ll be playing in whilst on gli azzurri.

What do you guys think?