Two Inter Players Will Miss The Game Against Real Sociedad As Empoli Sack Their Manager
Written By Onyeka Daniel
After a run of four games without a win in the 2023/24 Serie A season, Empoli have sacked their coach Paolo Zanetti ahead of next weekend’s Serie A clash with Inter Milan.
More Details
The club have confirmed Zanetti’s departures, after losing to Hellas Verona, Monza, Juventus and most recently, a 7-0 loss to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico over the weekend to condemn them to the bottom of the table.
According to reports, their former manager, Aurelio Andreazzoli will be the man to replace the 40-year-old on the bench and will be in charge when the Tuscan club face current League leaders, Inter Milan this weekend.
LATEST POSTS
Empoli and Inter could hardly have gotten off to more different starts to the Serie A season. For the Tuscans, it was three defeats going into the international break. They have yet to score a goal in the Italian top flight yet this campaign.
Empoli lost 1-0 to Hellas Verona, before falling to 2-0 defeats at the hands of Monza and Juventus. Meanwhile, Inter started their season in perfect fashion – with victories over Monza and Cagliari by 2-0 scorelines, and then a 4-0 thrashing of Fiorentina.
This weekend, thinks got even better for Inter – and worse for Empoli. On Saturday evening, the Nerazzurri faced city rivals AC Milan in the first derby of the season. They handed the Rossoneri a 5-1 defeat. Meanwhile, Empoli lost to Roma in what proved to be an absolute demolition job – the Giallorossi put seven goals past the Tuscan team without reply.
The club have responded to this dreadful early form by making Zanetti the first coach to face the chop during the Serie A season. He had joined the Tuscan club last summer, and previously worked with Sudtirol, Ascoli, and Venezia. Zanetti had failed to keep Venezia in the top flight in the 2021-22 season.
However, the young Italian coach managed to keep Empoli well clear of the drop zone last time around. The Tuscans finished 14th place in the Serie A table last season. However, this time around, Empoli’s start to the season sees them in serious relegation danger already. Therefore, Empoli are taking immediate action. Zanetti is out the door.
The replacement, Andreazzoli will in fact be the man who he had replaced last summer. He has already been in charge of the Tuscans on three separate occasions, the most recent being in the 2021-22 season, and the 69-year-old will once again sit on the bench, likely starting with Sunday afternoon’s match against Inter.
Meanwhile…
Turkish midfielder, Hakan Calhanoglu will miss Inter Milan’s Champions League opener against Real Sociedad through injury. This according to a recent report from Italy and the report has it that a thigh problem will keep the 29-year-old from featuring in tomorrow evening’s match.
So far this season, Calhanoglu has started every single on of Inter’s matches in Serie A. The Turkish international has certainly established himself as a key player for the Nerazzurri over the past couple seasons. From his position at the base of Inter’s midfield trio, Calhanoglu has acted as Inter’s heartbeat, in and out of possession.
Therefore, Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi will see it as something of a worry that he looks set to have to do without Calhanoglu for at least one match. The report further stated that Calhanoglu has suffered a strain to the adductor muscles in his left thigh.
Read Also: UCL Match Preview (2023/24): AC Milan Vs Newcastle United
This will be enough to prevent the former AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder from playing tomorrow. It is not yet clear the seriousness of Calhanoglu’s injury. The Nerazzurri have quite a few matches coming up in a short space of time. Following tomorrow’s match against La Real, the Nerazzurri will face three Serie A matches in the space of less than a week.
Inter come up against Empoli away, Sassuolo at home, and Salernitana away. Further updates should arrive regarding whether Calhanoglu will be able to return quickly, or whether he could miss a week or two, or more. Given that Inter’s fixture list is now becoming congested, even an absence of a couple weeks could mean Calhanoglu misses several matches.
Calhanoglu’s natural backup in Inter’s squad is 21-year-old former Empoli midfielder Kristjan Asllani. The Albanian has featured a couple of times this season already, albeit only in cameo appearances from the bench. Davy Klaassen could also feature in that role as well as Stefano Sensi.
Colombian wing-back, Juan Cuadrado is also set to miss the UCL game, and The injury affecting him is related to the tendinitis that he had suffered during the international break. The problem is not overly serious. It should not keep Cuadrado out for long, and of course Denzel Dumfries has been in incredible form lately, so there’s no cause for alarm.
Do you have a story tip?
Kindly Email: keepup@bettitude.com
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
About Author
