Uncertain future on ownership spoils Inter's party

'Inter is solid, the fans can rest easy,' reassures CEO Giuseppe Marotta. Words that do not reassure much, however. This may be the modern football of algorithms, but how can you plan the new season without knowing who the owner will be? And if this is Inter's situation, just imagine that of other clubs, starting with AC Milan and Juventus, torn not only by uncertain financial situations but also by troubled coaching changes that are sure to cost many more millions. On the results instead we will make up for it next year.

The challenge at the Dall'Ara between Bologna and Juventus also seems to have been engineered by a particularly sadistic director. In addition to what is at stake (third or fourth place), there is the poisonous tail that this match brings with it, with Bologna coach Thiago Motta already packing his bags to go and coach Juve after Allegri's 'sacking' for his tragicomic performance at the Olimpico. An unprecedented fact where understanding who is right is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If the coach from Livorno is objectively indefensible, also the behaviour of the club is certainly not like a lady. First it unloads all responsibility on him, making scorched earth around him, then hypocritically takes the ball (the unworthy rant) to sack him trying to lose as little money as possible

An ugly story, however you look at it.  A very Italian-style divorce. Needless to recall here all the recent economic, judicial and corporate troubles of the Bianconeri club. In this interregnum, the volcanic Max has acted as a prolonged lightning rod, also catching the wrath of the fans over the good play. Then, like an over-pressured pot, he exploded with no more inhibitions despite his lavish stipend (8 million per season);

A naivety, humanly understandable, that Allegri will pay dearly for. It also makes one smile that today, on the Bianconeri bench, the Paolo Montero, who on the pitch has certainly never been a fine gentleman, is taking over while waiting for Motta.

Another coach to the credits is Stefano Pioli, who came out of Torino-Milan (3-1) with another load of goals and bitterness despite the second place now acquired.  Useless to enter into the merits of the match, played by the Rossoneri without motivation and with many second rows on the pitch.  It is clear that by now the tear is made.  Pioli however does not deserve, as the most exaggerated ultras and commentators with poor memory claim, to end up like San Lorenzo on the grill. The coach from Parma, with an inconsistent and almost never present club,  has worked quietly and professionally with what Gerry Cardinale and company have handed him.  Surely he has made mistakes, but he has also won a Scudetto and reached a Champions League semi-final. In his place should come Fonseca or Conceicao, coaches who certainly, at least so far, have not made football history.  And it is unlikely that they will do so with Milan in the future

Gasperini, on the other hand, did well. After the bad blow in the final against Juve, he immediately made Atalanta emerge from the cold shower, guaranteeing the Bergamasks the pass for the Champions League. Beating Lecce  (0-2) and rediscovering Scamacca is an excellent viaticum for the second final (this Wednesday) against Bayer Leverkusen who, in the meantime, have won the German league without losing a game. Gasperini's fortune, besides his skill as a coach, is to have behind him a club that knows how to plan for the future without being influenced by the changing moods of the fans.

The Belgian striker made a fine farewell speech in his likely last game at the Stadio Olimpico, handing the Giallorossi three very important points - ten down after Paredes was sent off - to secure sixth place and a possible Champions League berth should Atalanta win the Europa League.

Here is another small miracle by a coach who is always somewhat snubbed in Italy, despite winning a championship with Leicester in the Premier League. After taking the Sardinians back to Serie A, Claudio Ranieri led them to safety. The challenge in Reggio Emilia against Sassuolo, beaten two to zero with goals from Prati and Lapadula on a penalty kick, was decisive. 33 years ago, a curious historical recurrence, Ranieri had already managed to save Cagliari. On the other hand, after 11 years in Serie A, Ballardini's Sassuolo were not saved, having been arithmetically relegated after Frosinone's 1-0 success against Monza.

Let's just enjoy it. Without coming up with other definitions that are overtaken by the next feat, stage after stage. We called him Phenomenon. And then Martian and Alien. And then Cannibal like Eddy Merckx from whom he is evidently inspired without resembling him in physique and spirit. Now, after what he invented in the longest stage of the Giro, with the unprecedented arrival on the Mottolino ski slope in Livigno at an altitude of 2385 metres, we simply have to call him by his name, Tadej Pogacar, rejoicing that such a champion manages to entertain us so much;

Useless to bore him with old sermons from anxious parents. Or telling him not to attack too much, not to humiliate his opponents, to conserve his energy for the coming exertions. With Pogacar it is useless talk. Because he only listens to his instincts as a champion, his extraordinary freshness that, even after a marathon of 222 km and 5400 metres of altitude difference, makes him look like a teenager just out of swimming class. Tadej is like that, take it or leave it. A pure diamond, a polar star, an author's painting that you recognise even without a signature;

This time, let's face it, he could have taken it easier. Controlling his opponents and leaving the victory to the Colombian Nairo Quintana, an old wizard of the pedal already once jersey rosa in 2014, ten years ago, i.e. in another geological era than Tadej. All useless talk, as they said. About 14 kilometres from the finish, when the road begins to bite, the pink jersey takes the lead as if those behind, his GC rivals, were cyclists with bacon. Within seconds he disappears, propelled by an invisible hand that sends him flying towards that finish line where he usually arrives by cable car. Inexorable and methodical, Tadej recovers all the fugitives, fragile survivors, shocked by that pink arrow that whistles past them up the snowy hairpin bends.

The last to be caught, on a hair-raising slope, is Quintana who, with two kilometres to go, looks at him with the resigned wisdom of old wizards. Go boy, go,  you are not for me: what I had to do now I have done. And without repentance, or old-fashioned courtesies, the boy goes to conclude his work, crossing the finishing line with the moderate exultation of the predestined;

The Colombian was beaten by some thirty seconds, a truly honourable gap. But for the other big names, the verdict is merciless: Steinhauser is third at two and a half minutes, Bardet fourth at 2 minutes 46 seconds, then his direct rivals, Martinez and Thomas, almost three minutes behind;

Another deadly shake-up, in short. In the general classification, Thomas, second, plunges to 6',41", Martinez, third, to around seven minutes. The white jersey, Antonio Tiberi, also pays the price, adding another four minutes to his gap, finishing almost 10 minutes behind Pogacar. He retains fifth position in the classification, but some disappointment remains;

Today the Giro is observing its second rest day. After four stage victories and two weeks in pink, Tadej has to take a break. It will bite him a little, but he will get over it. Tomorrow, however, the race leaves Livigno for  Santa Cristina di Val Gardena with a final climb (from Ortisei) of around 6 kilometres. It is not very hard, especially for Tadej;