Seven matches in 21 days: Chivu ready to rotate the entire squad

Seven matches in 21 days — one every three — will turn Inter‘s schedule into a continuous test. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the sequence includes Parma after the break, then Bruges and Shakhtar in the Champions League with an away match against Bologna in between, and finally Fiorentina, Venezia, and the derby against Milan. A schedule that is “clogged, heavy, which Chivu intends to overcome in the best possible way by drawing on all the resources within the Nerazzurri squad.”

It is in this context that several players who have so far been little used are expected to play a more central role. The most discussed case is that of Stankovic: in the first five league matches, Aleksandar has been the least used player in the entire squad — excluding reserve goalkeepers and injured players — with just a total of fifteen minutes. An average of three minutes per match which, at first glance, might seem worrying.

However, La Gazzetta clarifies that there are no alarms: the club’s plan was already defined in the summer, when Inter exercised the buy-back from Bruges for 23 million euros, after having collected about ten the previous season. “No alarm,” writes the Rosea, specifying that the midfielder “needed and will still need a physiological period of adaptation to a more demanding league — especially from a physical point of view — like Serie A,” after two years on loan between Switzerland and Belgium. His return to the Serbian national team has confirmed, according to the newspaper, his qualities on the big stage.

In addition to Stankovic, the Rosea lists other players waiting for more playing time: Mkhitaryan (62 minutes, all against Udinese), Bonny (68′), Pavard (118′), plus Luis Henrique, Jones, Carlos Augusto and Sucic. No appearances, however, for the two summer signings Provedel and Spence: the former Lazio goalkeeper is said to be getting closer to his debut, expected during October, while the English winger is said to have recovered from the physical problems inherited from the World Cup and is ready to challenge Diouf for the right flank.