Inter return to Serie A carrying a European warning that reaches beyond one disappointing night. Beppe Bergomi believes the defeat to Bruges, alongside Napoli’s loss at Villarreal, underlined the gap Italian clubs must still bridge when the Champions League becomes faster, younger and less forgiving.
The former Inter captain urged a more realistic assessment of the club’s continental prospects. In his view, expectation can become a burden when teams are asked to chase the Champions League as though they start on equal terms with Europe’s strongest sides.
Quick facts
- Inter lost to Bruges while Napoli were beaten by Villarreal.
- Bergomi believes Italian clubs need balance and collective play to compensate for a shortage of direct pace.
- He sees Inter’s immediate Champions League target as reaching the play-offs, requiring roughly 11 or 12 points.
- Inter are top of Serie A, but Bergomi places them close to Como, Roma, Milan and Juventus in overall domestic level.
- Lautaro Martinez scored twice against Bruges, while Inter’s next fixtures include Bologna, Shakhtar and Fiorentina.
Bergomi’s central point is that many European opponents possess several players capable of beating a man at speed. Italian teams, he argued, often need different solutions: coordinated football, control of the match and a structure that protects their weaknesses.
That has been Inter’s strength in recent Champions League campaigns. Bergomi did not say they advanced because they were plainly superior to every opponent; rather, their progress was built on the quality of their play and on an equilibrium that allowed them to remain competitive.
Cristian Chivu is now seeking a more aggressive Inter, with a higher pressing line and a team positioned further up the pitch. Bergomi sees a risk in that evolution. Pushing forward can leave greater space behind the defence and reduce the balance that previously helped the side in Europe.
Having been at Villarreal rather than watching the entire Bruges match live, Bergomi based his immediate reading on the goals and highlights. But he presented it as part of a wider, long-held concern about the demands of European football rather than a verdict on one result.
European caution, domestic competition
For Bergomi, Inter should avoid treating a place among the top eight in the Champions League league phase as an obligation. He considers it a difficult target for every Italian representative and believes Inter should first concentrate on reaching the play-off positions.
He suggested that the necessary return is around 11 or 12 points. The danger, he said, is that a team carrying too much anxiety about its European status can lose the calm required to compete properly.
Inter’s relatively high average age also matters in the comparison. Bergomi contrasted them with younger European sides who run intensely, press high and do so without hesitation. He described that environment as substantially different from the weekly rhythm of Serie A.
Domestically, he does not see Inter as being far ahead of the field despite their place at the summit. They have often scored more than their opponents, with Roma the exception, but Bergomi sees only narrow differences between Inter and Como, Roma, Milan and Juventus.
He praised Inter for being focused, attractive and alert in the league, but maintained that Champions League matches magnify every mistake. Once a side falls behind at that level, recovering becomes much harder, a point Chivu himself made after the Bruges defeat.
Protecting the defence
Bergomi declined to isolate Manuel Akanji after another unconvincing showing in the back three. Instead, he framed the issue as a collective defensive transition following the departures of Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij, whom he regarded as the squad’s only genuine man-marking defenders.
Inter brought in John Stones during the summer, but Bergomi does not consider the Englishman the same kind of defender. The consequence is a line more frequently required to defend open spaces, even if it contains capable internationals such as Akanji, Alessandro Bastoni and Yann Bisseck.
Defending large areas is difficult for any player, Bergomi said, and Inter must provide that unit with protection. Chivu’s attempt to produce a more proactive and attacking side makes the search for the right balance still more important.
The same question applies to goalkeeper Josep Martinez, whose bold exits have at times contributed to goals. Bergomi said it is impossible to judge those moments fully without knowing precisely what Chivu and the goalkeeping staff ask of him.
If Martinez is instructed to play high because the defensive line is high, then risk is built into the role. If the actions are personal decisions, the assessment changes. Bergomi noted that Yann Sommer made comparable errors last season, while insisting that Martinez’s positive contributions should not be forgotten.
Against Bruges, Martinez began the move that led to Inter’s equaliser, and he has made outstanding saves on other occasions. Bergomi called him a good goalkeeper and pointed to his status as a Spain international.
Chivu’s public support is also significant. Bergomi believes players are aware of the criticism circulating around them, but he described the Inter coach as particularly protective of his goalkeeper and convinced that one error cannot redefine a player.
Ivan Provedel has yet to make his Inter debut despite expectations that the goalkeepers could be rotated more frequently. Bergomi said his chance will come, perhaps as soon as Saturday given the fixture load, although he would not predict it with certainty.
He also recalled the criticism directed at Sommer last year, followed by later suggestions that Inter might be better off with him. For Bergomi, that swing in public opinion shows why Martinez needs continued backing rather than a rush to judgement.
A demanding next chapter
There was encouragement in the Bruges performance despite the result. Inter continued to create chances, while Lautaro Martinez scored twice and again offered the side a decisive reference point as captain and goalscorer.
The schedule now gives Chivu little time to linger on the defeat. Inter face Bologna in the league, then Shakhtar in Europe and Fiorentina after that, making rotation essential.
Bergomi expects Inter to remain with their 3-5-2 shape. Against Shakhtar, however, he believes the demand will be clear: win, but do so without abandoning control. Opponents will know Inter have a strong need for three points, making tactical patience and intelligence vital.
He described the next Champions League tie as one in which Inter can no longer afford another mistake. The task is not simply to attack their way out of trouble, but to rediscover the balance that has previously carried them through European nights.
Tresoldi and a choice beyond form
Bergomi also urged restraint around Nicolò Tresoldi after his hat-trick at San Siro. He rates the forward highly, but noted that one goal came from the penalty spot, another followed an opposition gift and the third required him to finish from close range.
The performance, rather than the headline total alone, should be examined, he said. Bergomi is convinced of Tresoldi’s ability, while recognising that the player must decide whether to represent Italy or Germany internationally.
That decision, in Bergomi’s view, should not be driven merely by the possibility of finding more playing time with one national team. He hopes the forward follows what he genuinely feels and chooses with conviction.
