Alessandro Bastoni has found his way back to the centre of Inter’s season after a difficult year in which high-profile incidents and personal concerns threatened to follow him onto the pitch.
Inter’s domestic double did not entirely soften what had been an unusually complicated period for the defender. There was the much-debated incident involving Pierre Kalulu’s dismissal in the Derby d’Italia against Juventus, followed by the red card in Zenica during the play-off final that contributed to Italy missing out on the World Cup.
There were also matters away from football. Bastoni’s response, however, has been to return to the foundations of his game: regular matches, confidence in his own level and the support of those closest to him.
Quick facts
- Bastoni has scored against Turkey and France for Italy.
- Italy drew their Nations League match with France.
- The Inter defender says family support helped him move beyond difficult episodes.
- He has started every match under Cristian Chivu so far this season.
- Inter’s minutes table places Bastoni among the coach’s most consistently used players.
After the Nations League draw with France, Bastoni spoke with the certainty of a player who feels the worst of the doubts have passed. “I will not allow one or two moments to damage a career of more than 300 matches,” he said.
“My family helped me get past those situations. I think being able to get back up is a quality.”
His two recent goals for the national side have added another marker to that recovery. Bastoni admitted that he had not expected to score twice, but insisted that belief in himself had never disappeared. “We were fantastic,” he said of Italy’s performance against France.
For Inter, the response has been visible not only in the international break but in Chivu’s weekly selections. Bastoni has been ever-present and always in the starting side during the opening stretch of the campaign, a status reserved for only a limited group within the squad.
Goalkeeper Martinez, Nicolò Barella, Manuel Akanji, Piotr Zielinski and Diouf have also featured heavily, while Chivu has otherwise rotated through his options. Bastoni’s place has remained notably secure.
That continuity matters in a long Serie A campaign, particularly for a player seeking to leave a bruising chapter behind him. Chivu’s management has carried both technical and psychological weight, giving Bastoni the rhythm and responsibility needed to restore his usual authority.
One hundred and eighty-five days on, the defender is again being judged primarily for what he does in Inter’s shirt: defending with consistency, contributing at the other end when the chance arrives, and standing among the fixed points of a side pursuing another demanding season.
