Chinese Civil War: Inter in disarray ahead of Milan derby

Six months after their takeover, the Suning Group still need to bring order to a club that is in complete disarray on and off the field ahead of the Milan derby

Every coach, no matter how successful, has to address the prospect of being fired at some point in their career. Few, though, have to do so on their very first day in the job. Yet that was the remarkable position Stefano Pioli found himself in during his presentation at Inter's new boss on November 10.

"I'm not worried about my future," he insisted, trying valiantly but in vain to dispel rumours that he is merely keeping the San Siro hot-seat warm until the summer of 2018, when Atletico Madrid boss and former Inter midfielder Diego Simeone becomes available.

In truth, though, such is the currently chaotic state of affairs at Appiano Gentile, that it would be a surprise if Pioli lasts that long. That is no reflection upon the Parma native's coaching credentials, which are, admittedly, underwhelming for a job of such magnitude, but rather indicative of a club in real danger of tearing itself apart.

At present, Inter are divided, directionless and dysfunctional, in even greater disarray off the field than on it, which is saying something, given the Nerazzurri sit ninth in the Serie A standings, 13 points behind leaders Juventus, and lie bottom of their Europa League group.

On the one side of this split, there are the new Chinese owners, the Suning Holdings Group, and club president Erick Thohir, who is reportedly being advised by agent Kia Joorabchian. On the other, there are sporting director Piero Ausilio, chief football administrator Giovanni Gardini and vice-president Javier Zanetti.

Ausilio insists that everybody is rowing in the one direction. "There's no truth that Inter is a divided club," he declared. But all of the evidence would suggest otherwise.

Roberto Mancini parted company with the club just over a fortnight before the start of the 2016-17 Serie A season and was replaced at the helm by Frank de Boer. According to reports, the decision to get rid of Mancini was taken by Thohir, with Ausilio, Gardini and Zanetti said to have been unenthused by the prospect of replacing him with De Boer, a man with no previous experience of Serie A, either as a coach or a player.

The former Ajax boss also inherited a squad in poor physical condition after a disrupted pre-season programme blighted by arguments between Mancini and his bosses over the summer transfer recruitment plan, as well as uncertainty surrounding the future of captain Mauro Icardi, whose agent and partner, Wanda, was angling for a new contract for her spouse while at the same time threatening to take him to Napoli.

De Boer, therefore, clearly needed time to resolve several outstanding issues before he could even think about implementing his footballing philosophy. He was given just 85 days.

Despite a dreadfully inconsistent start to the season, which was typified by a dismal defeat at home to Hapoel Be'er Sheva being followed by a thrilling 2-1 win over Juventus, CEO Michael Bolingbroke told the club's shareholders on October 28 that he and the rest of the board remained "100 per cent behind" the new coach.

Yet just three days later, De Boer was dismissed. Bolingbroke stood down the following week. There is, of course, a chance that Bolingbroke was being economical with the truth when he said De Boer retained his full support but why risk looking so foolish by publicly supporting the ex-Netherlands international if he knew the Dutchman's job was in jeopardy? What seems far more likely is that Bolingbroke, like other key figures at the club, had been kept in the dark by the club's new owners.

Certainly, it was telling that not one of Ausilio, Gardini or Zanetti were involved in the interviews carried out with prospective new coaches. The Suning Group handled the search for De Boer's successor all on their own yet there was Ausilio publicly insisting days after the appointment of Stefano Pioli that criticism of the way in which Inter were going about their business was ludicrous.

"I smile when I hear certain things [in the press]," he claimed, "because they're normal for any football club." Nobody else is smiling, though, and certainly not the fans, many of whom are still feeling bitter about the whole Mauro Icardi affair, which made their club's management look utterly incompetent.

Certainly, the Argentine did nothing to dispel the notion that he is far too reckless and irresponsible to be entrusted with a Twitter account let alone a captain's armband. However, given the striker's propensity for courting controversy, did nobody at Corso Vittorio Emanuele II feel that it might have been a good idea to have read Icardi's book before it was released?

Once again, Inter proved the authors of their own downfall, just as they have been since winning the treble in 2010.

Indeed, Inter have a model of mismanagement in the intervening six years, with long-time patron Massimo Moratti having decided to step aside after failing to build upon a success that had temporarily put the Nerazzurri back among the game's elite. The oil tycoon's successor, Thohir, promised to restore the club to its former glory but his unsuitability to the job was almost immediately evident during his farcical handling of a proposed swap deal with Juventus involving Mirko Vucinic and Hernanes, which sparked a fan revolt.

Former Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo was, consequently, unsurprised that the Indonesian decided to sell the club to Suning in June of this year.

"It was inevitable as Thohir's project has been a failure," he told Radio 24. "The club's budget was in the red. My vote for his management is a four out of 10."

How Suning score has yet to be determined but it is imperative that they start showing the kind of leadership that has thus far been conspicuous by its absence at San Siro. At least during Moratti's time, there was always one man calling the shots. The Sunging Group, thus, need to implement a clear chain of command. They need to decide whether to back Zanetti, Gardini and Ausilio - or bring in their own men, as they did by replacing Bolingbroke with Liu Jun.

As former Inter coach Leonardo told La Stampa: "If you don’t know who is in charge, who makes the decisions, then it’s normal the machine will get jammed.

"Thohir didn’t have time to establish that before there was already talk of a new sale. That situation created instability.

"Zanetti, Gardini and Ausilio must still feel part of the structure. But the Chinese would do well to install their trusted men, they’re the ones who can give authority, sustainability and credibility to the club."

The Suning Group took over six months ago; it's high time that they take charge.