Less is Mourinho

Inter have been poor in the transfer market, but James thinks Horncastle José Mourinho added more willingness to Inter Milan Ronaldinho

Inter Pinetina again last week and began training for next season under new boss José Mourinho. Journalists and fans alike were given a glimpse of the new Nerazzurri. The atmosphere was jovial. Mourinho slouched next to the president Massimo Moratti in the dugout. Moratti joked about being late for training. Mourinho laughed. Meanwhile, Adriano played Keepy uppy with a Pinecone.

One might think Inter is resting on its laurels. His transfer campaign pales in comparison with those waged by Juventus, Fiorentina and Milan. One swallow, ie, Amantino Mancini, does not make much of a summer. But do we really need Inter to participate in an arms race? The simple answer is no. They, not to forget, are the Italian soccer Jones'. Everyone is trying to maintain contact with them.

Thus, while Frank Lampard and Ricardo Quaresma would be nice, the answer to Ronaldinho is a certain Mr Mourinho. You see one of the great paradoxes of Inter in recent history has been the perception of ineptitude of his predecessor Roberto Mancini Mourinho, the man who ended the Nerazzurri 17-year drought of titles and winner of three consecutive Scudetti. The second most successful man to sit on the bench Inter was always seen as second best.

One tactic dilettante, whose naivety at times obscured by the enormous variety of get-outside the prison talent at his disposal, Mancini lost many psychological battle with Luciano Spalletti and seemed unable to line-up of their positions in anything other than variations 4 -4-2. Mourinho, by contrast, has revealed that the system intends to deploy as if they were one of the new summer signings. "4-3-3 formation that is more like me. Not a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1. It's a pure 4-3-3. The challenge is to defend ourselves with three midfielders and liberate our strikers to attack. "

Mourinho has already begun work on compacting the midfield. On Thursday, was conceived two six-a-side matches adjacent to each other. Mourinho was in the hallway between the two parties with a whistle in his hand. Each team played 3-2-1 and each player is given a number corresponding to its position. At random intervals, Mourinho could blow his whistle and call a number of player. The player had to switch places with someone occupying its position on the adjacent field.

The exercise is designed to improve concentration and speed. That organization and discipline were the only things missing at Inter in recent years. And that's why I believe that the arrival of Mourinho, at a cost of £ 7m a season has been the best bit of business this summer.(channel4)