Current Inter Team Likened To The Treble Squad As Oaktree Look To Gain More Grounds In Serie A
Written By Onyeka Daniel
Tomorrow, Inter Milan will have to move on from the euphoria of their win in the UCL as they face a tricky test against Bologna at the stadio Giuseppe Meazza to continue their Scudetto push and they will be facing one of the club’s hero from the 2010 treble squad.
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Bologna manager, Thiago Motta, says he sees some similarities between the current Inter Milan team and the side that won the historic treble in 2010. The Italo-Brazilian operated at the heart of the famous team that included a host of Nerazzurri legends, including the likes of Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso and Diego Milito.
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That squad won the Scudetto title, Coppa Italia and the Champions League in the 2009/10 campaign under the guidance of Jose Mourinho. But this weekend, Motta returns to the San Siro as an opponent for Inter.
The 41-year-old is currently the head coach of Bologna. He is widely considered one of the most promising young tacticians in Italian football. In his pre-match press conference, Motta likened the current Nerazzurri squad to the treble-winning team from 2010. He pinpoints the team’s desire to fight as the main common aspect.
“They have the same desire to fight, the compactness, and the idea of helping one another,” Motta said of Inzaghi’s team. “Do you remember Samuel Eto’o playing as a fullback?” said Motta in a reference to the famous Champions League Semi-Final clash against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
“Now you look at the current side and they all run hard and united. They help each other out. “Last year’s result gave further certainties to this Inter side, a greater awareness of a group that is growing.
“You don’t reach the final of the Champions League by chance,” insists the Bologna boss. The Nerazzurri will have to be wary of the Rossoblu though, as it was this same team that practically denied them the title two seasons ago with the famous error from Ionut Radu in goal.
Meanwhile…
According to recent reports, Oaktree Capital Management have bid around €1 billion to fund a new TV service run by Serie A and practically acquire TV rights for Italy’s top flight.
Negotiations between Lega Serie A and Italian broadcasters including Sky, DAZN and Mediaset, have been ongoing for several months but no agreement has yet been found between the parties involved. Lega Serie A first tried to auction TV rights, but no broadcaster met their asking price of €1 billion.
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Therefore, Lega Serie A have been considering launching their own TV service and a fresh offer from Oaktree Capital Management could help them fulfil their plan from the 2024-25 campaign. According to Bloomberg, “Oaktree sent a letter to Serie A officials this week, offering a so-called guaranteed minimum investment of about €1 billion as part of a multiyear deal.”
Another separate report also claim that the offer is close to €1 billion, circa €950m, for the first year but the fee would then decrease in the following 14 years. Advertising revenues of over €70m per year, would still be earned by Serie A. Representatives of Lega Serie A will have a final meeting with DAZN, Sky and Mediaset today, Friday, October 6.
But according to several sources, including Repubblica, their best offer will be below €880m. Serie A sold their TV rights from 2021 to 2024 for €910m. DAZN invested €840m to broadcast all games, while Sky bid €70m to air three games per week. Oaktree is not new to Italy as they’ve a stake in Inter Milan, with the Nerazzurri owner, Suning taking a loan from them and should they fail to repay the loan by 2024, Oaktree will take over the Nerazzurri.
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