Diouf’s one-two is just as good as Pio Esposito’s backheel

Playing at 6.30 pm on 22 August, in a metropolis sweltering under the heat of global warming, should be regarded as an unconventional weapon and banned. Yet the twenty-team Serie A, some of whose sides have little hope of competing, has long imposed such a human sacrifice, mitigating it with officially sanctioned hydration measures; the fans respond as one, especially if the team has just won the title and is clearly the side to beat. And six minutes after the dubious gimmick of the ball-carrying child kicked off the usual fanfare of every actual New Year’s Day, Andy Diouf’s two-step assist for Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s right-footed strike unleashed the anticipation of the 75,000 at San Siro, convinced they were in for an early harvest. But the Inter v Monza match, even if only by chance, at a certain point ceases to follow the script: absolute debutant Mathis Mout, having just turned 19, carves out a channel for Gustavo Varela’s diagonal equaliser, like a true striker. There’s still time, but despite the weather at their backs, a chill runs down the spines of the Nerazzurri as they watch Josep Martínez.

Will Piotr Zieliński’s half-volley early in the second half, which made it 2–1 following Samuel Pizzignacco’s blunder coming off his line, be enough, they wonder? Of course not, as experience tells us: an entity so elusive that it takes the form of a premonition, the spirit of certainty, the incantation against the inevitable. After all, this stadium, in its penultimate opening fixture, witnessed Federico Bonazzoli’s overhead kick begin to seal the fate of Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan (without, however, saving Cremonese). And the opening day, even in August, has always been the stage for surprises and upsets: especially when the opposition is managed by Ivan Jurić, a man who would sell his soul to stay in the saddle of the mechanical bull and show his grim face to the young players entrusted to him. For seven minutes, the Brianza side try to get their act together and regain their composure, figuring out how to play through the defence without leaving themselves exposed: if they’ve done it before, they think, they can try again. It’s the Meazza Stadium, it’s the opening day; it was here that Massimo Barbuti of Ascoli knocked out the very first ‘Biscione’ Milan side. The 75,000 fans decked out in Scudetto merchandise are far from calm: not with that goalkeeper, not with the twelve-year age gap between the visitors’ fresh-faced centre-forward and the already glorious – and already generous – Manuel Akanji. Anything can happen, never say never, things you wouldn’t believe.

But Christian Chivu has Francesco Pio Esposito. Starting the match, mentally supported by Roberto Mancini and the national team staff, he proved a sure-fire antidote to Inter’s lingering fears of losing Lautaro Martínez: the 21-year-old from Stabia had already played a part in the first goal, making a run into space and playing the ball out to the right for Andy Diouf. Here the script is reversed, though the outcome remains the same: just past the 54th minute, Nicolò Barella plays in Petar Sučić, who is only just held back by Manga Foe Ondoa. Whilst the ball lay on the edge of the box, Diouf set off like a train from the wing to overlap: yet the wing-back is not his natural position, but his summer performances – including goals in friendlies against Juventus and Karlsruher – convinced Giuseppe Marotta to bolster the squad with the sole and literal contribution of the more defensive (and less of a playmaker) Djed Spence, setting aside any illusions that Anan Khalaili or Luis Henrique himself might be worth at least part of the recent nostalgia for the new ‘Galáctico’ Denzel Dumfries.

In short, Sučić – yet another player blessed with talent – breaks free from the grip of Ondoa and Mout, leaving the former to watch him from the ground as he faces the final defender: Samuele Birindelli, who usually plays on the other side. The Croatian’s outside-of-the-foot pass to the onrushing Diouf is a gentle caress, perfectly timed: a clockwork mechanism links the fine craftsman with his team-mate’s brutal pace, as the Franco-Cameroonian from Monza closes in on him. Andy breezes past him and – aided by an opponent’s attempt to ‘mess with’ the ball – gains enough of an advantage to surge towards the byline. Birindelli is a seasoned player; he is the captain and the son of another full-back who enjoyed a highly successful career: he knows he must keep a close eye on the winger’s movements, avoid leaving himself open, and not let himself be bamboozled or beaten by his run. But the former Basel and Lens player has that special trick up his sleeve – the double step – once the hallmark of every provincial Garrincha and now a rare commodity in the football world; one of the reasons, probably, why Chivu has so far refrained from chasing down Moussa Diaby, having tested his compatriot over the first two gruelling matchdays.

Number 17 begins his run with his left foot, then, whilst the ball is equidistant from his feet, lets it slide towards his right foot, feigning a cut-back favoured by Arjen Robben and his imitators: not Diouf, though – Diouf is looking for the byline and the cross; Diouf is playing the wing far more effectively than any recent occupant of the position or his supposed replacement. Birindelli falls for the feint – predictable to a certain extent, but only within the context of a second or two – and in turn opens his legs to the immediate and powerful low cross, which meets the angelic flying backheel of the younger of the Esposito brothers.

A goal in the style of Crespo, in the style of Maniero – yes, in the style of Mancini, who watches it whilst already anticipating building the new era of his Italy, one of redemption, around the lad from Campania. But a goal – certainly a beautiful one, as we’ve come to expect from true centre-forwards – is one thing; two assists involving a double step from a player whose natural position is that of a central attacking midfielder, however, are a unique asset that Inter are capitalising on right from the start to stake their claim to success.

The replay highlights the resignation of the midfielders in red, Diouf’s coordination in maintaining his balance with his left arm raised, and the combination of physicality and technique as the decisive factors. Goal, 3–1, the match is in the bag (which is just as well, in this sun) and rounded off by Yann Bisseck’s 4–1 strike. The league has resumed for those who remain, and who become first-team regulars because the others are leaving.