Arrived this summer from Roma, the Bosnian striker (35) has regained all his effectiveness this season in the nerazzurro jersey and quickly made Romelu Lukaku forget.
95 matches, 64 goals and an Italian league title. Here is the mark left by Romelu Lukaku under the jersey of Inter Milan between 2019 and 2021. Suffice to say that the departure of the Belgian for Chelsea last summer sparked a wave of uncertainties, even concerns around the animation Inter offensive, now cut off from its goleador. Especially since the identity of his replacement could leave skeptical. Edin Dzeko, 35, was coming out of a delicate season for Roma with just 7 goals in 27 Serie A games and a rocky relationship with coach Paulo Fonseca. However, it is he that the internal leaders have chosen to support Lautaro Martinez on the front of the attack. And after 12 days of the championship, let’s face it: they got it right.
A life-saving change of environment
The former Manchester City and Wolfsburg striker was visibly in a hurry to put the tifosi nerazzurri in his pocket. The Bosnian has scored 6 times in his first 7 Serie A games. A performance that no Inter center forward had achieved since a certain Ronaldo in 1997/1998. Dzeko is even better than his predecessor Romelu Lukaku since he scored 7 goals in his first 11 official games with Inter against 5 for the Belgian, to which must be added 2 assists for the Bosnian.
At Roma, Edin Dzeko seemed to have covered the issue and his discomfort at the club was an open secret in Italy. In open conflict with his coach Paulo Fonseca, Dzeko needed a fresh start. “Other motivations, a central place in the team, fresh air and a completely different working group»As the journalist Davide Stoppini sums it up in The Gazzetta dello sport . Meanwhile, Edin Dzeko has found several familiar faces in the Inter squad, including two of his great friends: Aleksandar Kolarov and Ivan Perisic. Under these conditions, it is easy to understand the return to favor of the Bosnian whose disappointing performances were probably not linked to his advanced age. Especially since on the field, the mayonnaise very quickly took under the jersey nerazzurro.
A profile that fits perfectly into the interist collective
Arriving on the bench of Inter, Simone Inzaghi chose to leave with the same tactical scheme as that used by Antonio Conte and which took the nerazzurri on the roof of Italy. A 3-5-2 system in which Edin Dzeko replaced Romelu Lukaku alongside Lautaro Martinez. “Lukaku is one of the strongest strikers around but Inter have made a smart choice (with Dzeko). He is a center forward who can also play in support of another point, he moves a lot», Declared the former transalpine striker Luca Toni in the columns of the Gazzetta dello Sport about Dzeko. “In his way of evolving on the pitch, it almost looks like a number 10 sometimes. He has such intelligence and such a vision of the game», Added Johann Crochet, specialist in Italian football in L’After Foot on RMC.
Despite his large size (1.93m), Edin Dzeko is a very mobile center forward who likes to take depth and win to come and participate in the game. By his qualities, he therefore presented a suitable profile to replace the Belgian striker and very quickly felt that the marriage with the Inter version Inzaghi would work wonderfully. “I heard good things from the players he coached and saw the way the team played. Lazio (former club coached by Simone Inzaghi), I knew this would be a perfect system for me», Had indicated Dzeko on DAZN last September. “Inter is built around Dzeko. They don’t have other attackers like him. It increases their chance to score», Analyzed the journalist Davide Stoppini in the Gazzetta dello Sport, end of October.
As Edin Dzeko saw the end of his career looming after a disappointing final year in the Eternal City, his signing at Inter had the effect of an elixir of youth. Despite a 16th season in the professional world, he has never looked so close to his best. Just like for Kylian Mbappé, we do not talk about age to Edin Dzeko.
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