It was a season of transition for inconsistent Inter Milan in 2013/14. There was plenty of hope when former Napoli manager, Walter Mazzarri, was named as the new man at the helm and, whilst he did significantly improve their league position from last year, he hardly set the world alight in his debut campaign. It all looked to be going well at the start as the Nerazzurri ran off some impressive results to open the new term but they failed to show any kind of consistent form throughout the season. They simply dropped far too many silly points - drawing as many games as they won. Mazzarri is certainly partly to blame for never getting the team to truly gel but issues off the field also contributed. Once again, a manager in the post-Mourinho era was clearly not given the same financial backing. Other than the precocious talent of Mauro Icardi who had a very respectable debut season for the club, the summer signings were very underwhelming. The squad Mazzarri inherited was ageing and many of the old guard have slowly begun to drift away. Diego Milito's goalscoring touch seems to have deserted him after a string of serious injuries whilst Esteban Cambiasso is also on his way out. The saddest departure will be that of Javier Zanetti who showed tremendous character to play again this season after what looked a career-ending injury suffered last year. He retired with an emotional send-off at the San Siro. Inter did make a quality signing in January as Hernanes came in from Lazio so perhaps the rebuilding process is slowly starting to take place. The Brazilian made a very positive impact after he arrived but, by that time, Inter were already virtually out of the running for a Champions League place. They were pretty much consigned to a Europa League spot for much of the second half of the season and it showed with some rather apathetic performances. Brazilian wing-back Jonathan was a surprise package as his rampaging runs down the right flank reminded many of the days when Maicon used to do the same for the club. Rodrigo Palacio scored 17 times in the league which is a very respectable return but he did go through a massive drought at one point and clearly needs help. Mateo Kovacic looks a real talent in midfield and the club will do well to keep hold of him. He is the type and age of player that Inter must now be looking towards to build for the future. Whether Mazzarri will be around to shape that team is still up for debate. Former club president and the man who appointed Mazzarri, Massimo Moratti, sold his shares in the club to new owner, Erick Thohir. The Indonesian businessman may want to have his own hand-picked man at the helm.
