From Man Utd favourite to Inter flop – If Mancini can't rescue Vidic, no one can
When the defender arrived from Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer, one of his new boss’ first acts was to offer him the chance to succeed Javier Zanetti as the Nerazzurri skipper. But Vidic declined the opportunity, with Mazzarri later explaining: "He refused out of respect for the group. He recognised that there are others that have been part of the team for a longer period of time."
Four months on, Vidic has had a fairly torrid time as part of an Inter side which has underperformed so markedly that Erick Thohir used the international break to relieve Mazzarri of his services and welcome Roberto Mancini back to the club for his second spell in charge at Pinetina.
The union between Mancini and Vidic has been a long time in coming.
Manchester City were linked with a move for their neighbours’ skipper in the English press during Mancini’s time in charge at Eastlands, and there was plenty of talk that the Italian wanted to take the defender to Galatasaray too. But now that the two have finally linked up, it seems fate is against them to some degree.
Mancini will make the immediate move to a back four after Mazzarri’s tried and tested three-man defence failed regularly in the face of less than convincing attacks from vastly inferior outfits.
A Fiorentina side struggling in front of goal netted three against the Nerazzurri, Cagliari scored four at San Siro, Parma’s 2-0 win hauled them off the bottom of the table and Verona’s two goals – even despite a missed penalty – put the final nail in Mazzarri’s coffin.
But the move to a flat back four means the exclusion of one of the centre-backs, and that is not good news for Vidic.
Of Inter’s regular back three under Mazzarri, the 33-year-old is the most out of form. Juan Jesus has largely displayed grace and style this term, leading to him being picked to start every one of the Nerazzuri’s 17 games in all competitions. Meanwhile, Andrea Ranocchia has been reasonably stable by his own fluctuating standards and is the current incumbent of the captain’s armband that Vidic rejected at the season’s start.
But the Serbian has struggled to reach the heights expected of him since donning the black and blue shirt. His season began with a trip to Torino which included a conceded penalty and a red card for the debutant, and when he returned to the side against Palermo he handed an early goal on a plate for Franco Vazquez when trying to be too clever instead of clearing the ball.
While his form has lifted from that lowest of ebbs in the opening weeks, Vidic continues to be off the pace and out of sync in Inter’s defensive line. And the result is that Mancini’s first significant act looks likely to leave his long-time target sitting on the bench on one of European football’s biggest nights.
Yet Mancio did not spend years tailing Vidic to simply cast him aside at the first sign of failure, and if anything the back four will suit his play more – as he conceded himself to AFP recently.
“It’s the formation I played in before so I’m used to it. A new coach always comes in with his own ideas and philosophy. Mancini has shown us what he wants and what he expects, which is great and also good fun,” said Vidic.
Former Inter star Marco Materazzi believes the uniting of the player and coach will see the player flourish.
"Mancini knows a lot about football," the former centre-back, who won five Serie A titles and the Champions League with the Nerazzurri, told Goal.
"He was in England and he knows Vidic. But when a player arrives in a new team, if the team is at the top – it is too easy to play and adapt. When Nemanja came to Inter, after the first two or three games Inter wasn’t good. Then he had a problem. I think it will be better for him now."
So the immediate future may not be so easy, with Mancini having to decide whether to drop his captain, his in-form defender or the centre-back he’s had his eye on for a number of years.
But there is no reason why the two shouldn’t find the answer to Vidic’s current ailments in the longer term, making nonsense of the spurious rumours lining him up for a potential January exit.
If Mancini can’t get Vidic back on form, no one can.
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