Diego Milito : The Curious Case Of 'Il Principe'

 

Here I Am!

As football fans recover from the Champions league final of 2011 and dwell and discuss whether Messi is the best footballer in the world, a player who until last year was termed to be one of the best in the world faces an uncertain future, as his club readies itself for a summer of change and transition.

It was around this time last year that the Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan had just lifted the Champions league trophy and completed a an improbable treble, a feat never accomplished by any team in the history of Italian football. It was a time when one man could do no wrong and I am not talking about Jose Mourinho, but Inter’s talismanic forward, Diego Milito. Brought in to replace the departing Zlatan Ibrahimovic , the onus was on Milito to lead the line and ‘ll Principe’ as he is fondly known as by his fans, the Argentine, with a total of 30 goals, did not disappoint at all and was instrumental in taking Inter to heights which were unprecedented to say the least. It was Milito’s brace that ended Inter’s 45-year wait for the European cup, as he pumped two goals past a formidable Bayern Munich side in the final Madrid. Such was Diego’s dominance in Europe , that he was announced as UEFA World Player and Forward of the year which capped a perfect debut season at Internazionale Milano and transformed him into world football’s hot – property.

UEFA World Player and Forward of the year

 

Many had then proclaimed Milito to be the man to watch out for in the 2010 World Cup, however that was not to be the case as the Argentina Coach, Diego Maradona chose Higuain over the 30 year old treble winner. All throughout the tournament Milito’s use was infrequent and broadly ineffective. Argentina soon bowed out of the World Cup with a defeat at the hands of a well drilled German side and question’s were raised whether ‘El Diego’ was right to leave out a man who scored goals for fun in the recently concluded campaign. With the likes of Messi, Tevez and Higuain dominating the attack for Argentina and younger strikers also coming up, it would be a huge surprise if the 30 year old Milito manages to ever find a place in the next World Cup squad in 2014.

Kissing him goodbye ?

The performance of Inter as well as Milito in the 2010 season can be largely attributed to Jose Mourinho and his player friendly tactics, where Milito was at the centre of Mourinho’s attack and the football was effective with a robust defence and an attack with high penetration.

Who's the Special One now ?

This however was soon to come crashing down as the ‘Special One’ made his way to Real Madrid, leaving Inter to contend with two new coaches in a span of one season. The first, Rafael Benitez, a manager fond of man-management never seemed to know what to do and struggled throughout till he was subsequently sacked. During this time Inter relied heavily on their other striker, Samuel Eto’o, he however could not change the fate decided for the side from Milan this season.

Where did I go wrong ?

Soon the club signed on the services of Leonardo as coach with his unique brand of attacking football, though Inter Milan started winning games, with Milito scoring a few goals, his form however remained fickle with the Midas touch still eluding the striker. With just eight goals to his credit, Milito has had one of his weakest seasons, far from the dizzying achievements from the year before, the man they call ‘Il Principe’ more or less turned a pauper this season. To add insult to injury or in this case adding injury to disgust, the striker’s recurring muscle injury hasn’t allowed him to settle all season and has been restricted to cameo’s ever since the arrival of Giampaolo Pazzini in the winter transfer market. However, he was far from his previous self, not as agile and lacked the zing and the prowess which had made him into a World class player under Mourinho.

What have I done wrong ?

With Inter heading for a summer for change and shift in personnel, rumour mills are abound with possible transfers, with the majority citing Milito as a prime ‘to sell’ candidate, the fate of the Argentine is more or less sealed.  If we do believe in the rumour, then Diego ‘ll Principe’ Milito it seems will not don the blue and black colours of Inter Milan from next season.

Whether he does in fact leave the club and plays somewhere else, the game of this X-perb marksman will be sorely missed by the Inter supporters. He might not achieve the glory that he did last year, but to just see the man return to form would be a treat I would not want to miss.