Is Leonardo the right man for Inter?

I was really astonished by the news that European Champions Inter had appointed Brazilian Leonardo as their new boss, the reason being that Leonardo spent a large chunk of his playing career at Inter’s bitter-rivals AC Milan.

Rivalry

Not only did Leonardo play for AC but he also managed the Rossoneri last season.

His AC side could only finish in third place in Serie A last season behind Juventus and perennial champions Inter. It was deemed to be not good enough by the AC hierarchy and he left the club by mutual consent.

Experience

Before becoming AC Milan boss he had worked behind the scenes at the club in various roles. His year in charge of AC Milan is his only managerial job to date. A year in management doesn’t exactly qualify you to become the manager of the European Champions.

Confidence

Yet the Inter hierarchy believes him to have the required skills. A statement on the Inter website read: “Welcome to Leonardo. It will be the Brazilian coach to lead the team from December 29.

“Leonardo has a contract that will bind him to Inter until 30 June 2012. For Leonardo, the most sincere and good luck, we believe that he has the class and experience of a champion and his mentality will get the team together to get results.”

He must have the confidence of president Massimo Moratti. However Inter fans must be questioning their president’s judgement with his recent choice of managers.

I thought Rafa Benitez was a strange summer choice of replacement for the Real Madrid bound Jose Mourinho but the appointment of Leonardo is an even stranger appointment. Neither bosses really covered themselves in glory in their previous roles.

I want to know why Moratti thinks that Leonardo can do any better at Inter than he did at AC. I believe that Leonardo is only a caretaker, a temporary solution while somebody else is found to do the job in the long-term.

Money

I sense that Massimo Moratti has chosen Leonardo because he is cheaper than other big name options. Moratti knows he will have to give Rafa Benitez a big pay-off and giving Leonardo a contract for 18 months is cutting down the risk of having to pay-out big if he needs to sack the Brazilian.

The Inter president has invested a fortune in the club and it seems he is looking to limit the risk of losing money unnecessarily.

Struggling

Inter are currently 13 points behind bitter-rivals and league leaders AC Milan with two games in-hand in Serie A. The Nerazzurri are currently also eight points behind fourth place Juventus. Serie A resumes on January 6^th after the winter break with Inter hosting second placed side Napoli.

That doesn’t give Leonardo much time to get to know his players and work on tactics. However Inter have a good squad of players, so all they need is the right man to motivate them. Rafa Benitez certainly wasn’t that man but is Leonardo?

Calm

Leonardo won’t panic that’s for sure. He’s a very cool, calm and collected individual. It’s not in his nature to lose his cool. Maybe he is the sort of character Inter need right now to get them back into contention for the Serie A title.

Can Leonardo lift Inter up the Serie A table?