Inter walked into Lumen Field like Mark S clocking in at Lumon. They stepped out on the field in much the same way the main character from the TV show Severance gets into the lift at company headquarters and becomes an Innie; Innie Milan, a team that has no knowledge of what’s going on outside of football. Work is their life.
Advertisement
Saturday’s game in Seattle was Inter’s 61st of the season. They are exhausted, but specific files still need refining. For Cold Harbor and Allentown in the TV show, see Urawa Red Diamonds and River Plate. There was even an Eagan watching over everything—Kevin Egan, the DAZN commentator in the U.S.
The addition of the Club World Cup to the football calendar has brought some of the themes of Severance to the greatest show on turf. Exploitation and capitalism. Autonomy versus control. The meaning of work. Is this still a game?
“If you’re not inside this world, it is hard to understand the sacrifices a player makes,” Inter centre-back Alessandro Bastoni told the podcast Supernova in April. “We play so much that we’re always away from our families.”
The Club World Cup is the fifth competition Inter have participated in this season. This, as Bastoni explained, is like having a Severance chip implanted. Inter have dorms at their training ground in Appiano Gentile. In fairness, it feels like a luxury spa but this reflects a longstanding tradition in Italian football, where teams spend the night before a match together — even for home games — to sharpen focus and prepare more thoroughly for their opponent.
Bastoni has spoken about the realities of life on the road (Photo: Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
Between the Euros, Serie A, Coppa Italia, Super Cup, Champions League, Nations League, World Cup qualifiers and Club World Cup, football is Lumon.
“The conversation always boils down to ‘eh, but you earn millions’,” Bastoni said. “But for me that’s completely wrong: time is priceless and no one can give it back to you… I sleep at home two or three nights a week.”
Or none at all when a major tournament is going on in some foreign land. Arguably no team has spent more time on the SVR’d Floor of football than Inter this season. And while they are not completely severed from their Outie, they may as well be.
Advertisement
Inter shine a light on the indifference of the football calendar.
After losing the Champions League final 5-0 to PSG in Munich, the players really needed to get away. Instead, Bastoni, Davide Frattesi and Nicolo Barella reported for international duty in Florence.
A week had not passed and they were in Oslo for a critical World Cup qualifier against Norway. Little of the analysis that followed Italy’s 3-0 defeat factored in the wear and tear, the mental strain. Inter’s players could have used a lie down, some R&R, a cocktail with an umbrella. The distraction of friends and family would have been welcome.
Instead they boarded a flight to Los Angeles for the Club World Cup.
The execs couldn’t rest either. Simone Inzaghi’s decision to leave Inter after their defeat in Munich meant they were without a coach. Reaching the Champions League final had extended their season by a week and rivals with vacancies of their own to fill were able to use that time to take more established coaches like Max Allegri off the board.
Inter were instead stuck in a flow state that became a doom loop. Attempts to hire Cesc Fabregas were complicated by his stake in Como. He would need to sell his shares in order to avoid a conflict of interest. That would take time — time Inter didn’t have — and besides, he was happy by the lake.
Forty-eight hours before taking off for L.A., Inter appointed Cristian Chivu, a member of their treble-winning team in 2010. There was no time to unveil him in Milan. His presentation doubled instead as a pre-Monterrey press conference.
Seven of the players who started against PSG were in Chivu’s first XI at the Rose Bowl. The 3-5-2 was the same as they played under Inzaghi. Inter clocked in again. The lift dinged. They were back on the SVR’d Floor, the Club World Cup logo figuring as a golden hamster wheel.
Inter prepare for another turn around the hamster wheel (Photo: Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
Perhaps unsurprisingly in this context, Inter fell behind against Monterrey as they did against Urawa Red Diamonds. Games needed to be chased. The tension never eased.
In between these matches, Francesco Acerbi snapped. A fan came to Inter training wearing a PSG shirt and had the cheek make a comment about how he defended against Bradley Barcola. “I’m a serious person,” Acerbi fired back. “I don’t like being made fun of. I come over (to sign an autograph) and that’s OK. But if I turn and hear ‘Acerbi-Barcola’, no. That’s why I’m mad. I’ll fill you in.”
Advertisement
Inter came back to draw against Monterrey. They came back to beat Urawa Red Diamonds. Lautaro equalised in both games and in both, Inter deserved to win. It was a relief to Chivu. He had overhauled his back three, fielded a trio of left-sided wing-backs simultaneously, and tried to play the kids.
This was no an experiment either. It was something of a necessity. Chivu was reluctant to start Bastoni, Acerbi, and Mkhitaryan again. Marcus Thuram and Davide Frattesi are injured, as is Hakan Calhanoglu, whose father keeps dropping hints about a move to Galatasaray. Mehdi Taremi is stranded in Iran.
All of this has meant Chivu has had to speed up the rejuvenation Inter’s owners wanted to affect this summer. Hired, in part, because of his past in the youth sector, he has played the academy graduates who were either sent out on loan or bought back. He has given minutes to new signings Luis Henrique and Petar Sucic, who arrived in the mini, one-off window FIFA opened ahead of the Club World Cup.
Carboni wins the game (Photo: Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
It was therefore fitting that one of the next generaton, Valentin Carboni, got the stoppage-time winner against Urawa.
As in Severance (spoiler alert), divergent priorities keep the dramatic tension high with Inter. A 62nd game of the season is due to take place against River Plate at Lumen Field on Thursday. Depending on the outcome, a 63rd, a 64th, 65th and 66th could follow.
On the one hand, Inter desperately need rescuing from more football. And yet, as the season drags on and on, Innie Milan act like they don’t want to leave after all. They want to stay in — for the prize money, out of innate competitiveness, for the shot at redemption the Club World Cup promises.
It is a story about divided selves, conflicting emotions, love of the game and a troubled work-life balance. The next episode — River Plate — will be here before you know it.
It likely won’t be the last.
(Photo: Steph Chambers – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Pacers vs. Thunder live updates: 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 start time, picks and predictions
If the internet/social media had existed during this game, it would have broken into a million pieces. This game had a little bit of everything.By 1968, the Lakers had lost six times, once in Minneapolis and five times in Los Angeles, to the Celtics in the finals, and twice in seven games (1962 and 1966). The Lakers had enough.In July 1968, Los Angeles acquired the game’s greatest force — Wilt Chamberlain, who led the league in rebounds and assists the previous season — and combined him with Baylor and West: the NBA’s first superteam.After dispatching the Hawks and Warriors, the Lakers were in the finals again against an aging Celtics dynasty that had finished fourth in the Eastern Division.By this time, Russell was in his second season as player-coach, and in 1968, his first season at the helm, Russell’s Celtics […]
England’s Harry Brook and his uneasy relationship with India
Perhaps it should not have come as too much of a surprise to see Mohammed Siraj aiming a verbal barrage at Harry Brook during his helter-skelter performance on his home ground.The dark art of sledging — usually bowlers letting batters know exactly what they think of them— is less common than it once was in these days of cricketers from opposing countries becoming more and more familiar with each other in franchise competitions.AdvertisementBut England’s white-ball captain is something of a rarity in having an uneasy relationship with the most powerful country in cricket, which was evident in Siraj’s outburst and India’s joyous celebrations when they dismissed him one run short of a century in the first Test.This was an eventful first Test innings against India for England’s gifted 26-year-old. There were spectacular shots in front of an appreciative Headingley audience […]
Zápas proti Belgii mě bavil víc než s Portugalskem, říká Hanušová. Ve čtvrtfinále cítí šanci
„Chtěly jsme Belgičanky porazit, abychom měly lepší pozici pro čtvrtfinále a hrály proti Němkám, takto jdeme na Španělky. Kdyby nám víc vyšla třetí čtvrtina a padly trojky, tak jsme klidně mohly vyhrát,“ přesvědčovala zkušená pivotka Alena Hanušová, s devíti body druhá nejproduktivnější česká hráčka zápasu po Veronice Voráčkové.Čtyřiatřicetiletá opora Brandýsu nad Labem Hanušová se vrátila do reprezentace po čtyřleté pauze a dokázala, že se stále neztratí ani na nejvyšší mezinárodní úrovni.„Trošku mě rozčiluje, že každý řeší můj věk, jsem sice nejstarší hráčka v české reprezentaci, ale v jiných týmech jsou i starší holky. Kdybych na to neměla, tak tady nejsem,“ zdůraznila rodačka ze Sokolova. Proti Belgii odehrála zatím své nejpovedenější utkání na turnaji a taky dostala jasně nejvyšší porci takřka osmnácti minut.„Tento zápas mě bavil třeba víc než ten proti Portugalkám. Odehrála jsem větší porci minut než proti nim, protože ty hrají na menší pivotky, Belgičanky jsou vyšší, […]
Athletic Club condemn fans as Nico Williams mural painted over amid Barcelona interest
Athletic Club have criticised individuals who painted over Nico Williams on a team mural amid transfer interest from Barcelona.Williams’ image on the mural on the outskirts of Bilbao, which also features his older brother Inaki Williams and the club’s former player Iker Muniain lifting the Copa del Rey, appeared to be painted over in red, accompanied by the words: “Leave or stay, you’ve lost respect”.AdvertisementThe Athletic reported on June 19 Barcelona had reached a verbal agreement with Williams over personal terms, with the Spanish champions not viewing the forward’s €60million (£50m, $62m) release clause as an obstacle to a deal this summer.Athletic said they had contacted street artist Carlos Lopez over restoring the mural and said those who defaced it had disrespected the club.The club released a statement titled “Supporting Athletic means acting with respect”, which read: “Respect is one of […]
Flávio Prado descarta brasileiros no Mundial de Clubes e aponta favoritos: “PSG, Real Madrid ou Manchester City”
Flavio Prado, em discurso no Canelada, da Jovem Pan (Reprodução) Comentarista da rádio Jovem Pan se mantém firme com opinião de que Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense e Botafogo não serão campeões do torneio A Copa do Mundo de Clubes da Fifa chega neste final de semana ao final da segunda rodada e os times brasileiros Flamengo, Palmeiras, Botafogo e Fluminense são líderes de seus respectivos grupos surpreendendo a todos os analistas mais pessimistas. para o jornalista Flávio Prado, no entanto, nenhum deles têm chance de brigar pelo título da competição. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE Em participação no programa “Canelada”, da rádio Jovem Pan, neste domingo (22), o comentarista esportivo descartou qualquer possibilidade dos quatro representantes do Brasil disputarem o título, apesar das surpreendentes boas atuações e ótimas campanhas em seus respectivos grupos na disputa do Mundial de Clubes. “Estou muito surpreso com o […]
Fotbalisté Juventusu na MS klubů i podruhé vyhráli
Zatímco řada evropských týmů se na klubovém šampionátu, kterého se v rozšířeném formátu poprvé účastní 32 celků, trápí, Juventus je zatím suverénní. V prvním duelu skupiny deklasoval Al-Ajn 5:0 a vysokou výhru si připsal i dnes. Do vedení pomohl favoritovi už v šesté minutě soupeřův vlastní gól, po čtvrthodině pak zvýšil povedenou ranou do horního rohu těsně zpoza vápna Yildiz.Třetí celek uplynulé sezony marocké ligy ještě v úvodní půlhodině snížil poté, co zblízka přehodil brankáře Thembinkosi Lorch. Po změně stran nejprve Juventus zahodil dvě velké šance, ale v 69. minutě už po kombinační akci zvýšil svým druhým gólem v utkání Yildiz. Ve čtvrté minutě nastavení pak střídající Dušan Vlahovič potrestal faul gólem z penalty.Juventus by o postup mohla připravit už jen velmi nepravděpodobná souhra okolností. Definitivu může získat v noci, pokud Manchester City v druhém utkání získá aspoň bod. Od 21:00 nastoupí ve skupině H Real Madrid proti Pachuce. Do vyřazovací fáze projdou z každé z osmi čtyřčlenných […]
Related
Pacers vs. Thunder live updates: 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 start time, picks and predictions
If the internet/social media had existed during this game, it would have broken into a million pieces. This game had a little bit of everything.By 1968, the Lakers had lost six times, once in Minneapolis and five times in Los Angeles, to the Celtics in the finals, and twice in seven games (1962 and 1966). The Lakers had enough.In July 1968, Los Angeles acquired the game’s greatest force — Wilt Chamberlain, who led the league in rebounds and assists the previous season — and combined him with Baylor and West: the NBA’s first superteam.After dispatching the Hawks and Warriors, the Lakers were in the finals again against an aging Celtics dynasty that had finished fourth in the Eastern Division.By this time, Russell was in his second season as player-coach, and in 1968, his first season at the helm, Russell’s Celtics […]
England’s Harry Brook and his uneasy relationship with India
Perhaps it should not have come as too much of a surprise to see Mohammed Siraj aiming a verbal barrage at Harry Brook during his helter-skelter performance on his home ground.The dark art of sledging — usually bowlers letting batters know exactly what they think of them— is less common than it once was in these days of cricketers from opposing countries becoming more and more familiar with each other in franchise competitions.AdvertisementBut England’s white-ball captain is something of a rarity in having an uneasy relationship with the most powerful country in cricket, which was evident in Siraj’s outburst and India’s joyous celebrations when they dismissed him one run short of a century in the first Test.This was an eventful first Test innings against India for England’s gifted 26-year-old. There were spectacular shots in front of an appreciative Headingley audience […]
Zápas proti Belgii mě bavil víc než s Portugalskem, říká Hanušová. Ve čtvrtfinále cítí šanci
„Chtěly jsme Belgičanky porazit, abychom měly lepší pozici pro čtvrtfinále a hrály proti Němkám, takto jdeme na Španělky. Kdyby nám víc vyšla třetí čtvrtina a padly trojky, tak jsme klidně mohly vyhrát,“ přesvědčovala zkušená pivotka Alena Hanušová, s devíti body druhá nejproduktivnější česká hráčka zápasu po Veronice Voráčkové.Čtyřiatřicetiletá opora Brandýsu nad Labem Hanušová se vrátila do reprezentace po čtyřleté pauze a dokázala, že se stále neztratí ani na nejvyšší mezinárodní úrovni.„Trošku mě rozčiluje, že každý řeší můj věk, jsem sice nejstarší hráčka v české reprezentaci, ale v jiných týmech jsou i starší holky. Kdybych na to neměla, tak tady nejsem,“ zdůraznila rodačka ze Sokolova. Proti Belgii odehrála zatím své nejpovedenější utkání na turnaji a taky dostala jasně nejvyšší porci takřka osmnácti minut.„Tento zápas mě bavil třeba víc než ten proti Portugalkám. Odehrála jsem větší porci minut než proti nim, protože ty hrají na menší pivotky, Belgičanky jsou vyšší, […]
Athletic Club condemn fans as Nico Williams mural painted over amid Barcelona interest
Athletic Club have criticised individuals who painted over Nico Williams on a team mural amid transfer interest from Barcelona.Williams’ image on the mural on the outskirts of Bilbao, which also features his older brother Inaki Williams and the club’s former player Iker Muniain lifting the Copa del Rey, appeared to be painted over in red, accompanied by the words: “Leave or stay, you’ve lost respect”.AdvertisementThe Athletic reported on June 19 Barcelona had reached a verbal agreement with Williams over personal terms, with the Spanish champions not viewing the forward’s €60million (£50m, $62m) release clause as an obstacle to a deal this summer.Athletic said they had contacted street artist Carlos Lopez over restoring the mural and said those who defaced it had disrespected the club.The club released a statement titled “Supporting Athletic means acting with respect”, which read: “Respect is one of […]
Flávio Prado descarta brasileiros no Mundial de Clubes e aponta favoritos: “PSG, Real Madrid ou Manchester City”
Flavio Prado, em discurso no Canelada, da Jovem Pan (Reprodução) Comentarista da rádio Jovem Pan se mantém firme com opinião de que Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense e Botafogo não serão campeões do torneio A Copa do Mundo de Clubes da Fifa chega neste final de semana ao final da segunda rodada e os times brasileiros Flamengo, Palmeiras, Botafogo e Fluminense são líderes de seus respectivos grupos surpreendendo a todos os analistas mais pessimistas. para o jornalista Flávio Prado, no entanto, nenhum deles têm chance de brigar pelo título da competição. PUBLICIDADE PUBLICIDADE Em participação no programa “Canelada”, da rádio Jovem Pan, neste domingo (22), o comentarista esportivo descartou qualquer possibilidade dos quatro representantes do Brasil disputarem o título, apesar das surpreendentes boas atuações e ótimas campanhas em seus respectivos grupos na disputa do Mundial de Clubes. “Estou muito surpreso com o […]
Fotbalisté Juventusu na MS klubů i podruhé vyhráli
Zatímco řada evropských týmů se na klubovém šampionátu, kterého se v rozšířeném formátu poprvé účastní 32 celků, trápí, Juventus je zatím suverénní. V prvním duelu skupiny deklasoval Al-Ajn 5:0 a vysokou výhru si připsal i dnes. Do vedení pomohl favoritovi už v šesté minutě soupeřův vlastní gól, po čtvrthodině pak zvýšil povedenou ranou do horního rohu těsně zpoza vápna Yildiz.Třetí celek uplynulé sezony marocké ligy ještě v úvodní půlhodině snížil poté, co zblízka přehodil brankáře Thembinkosi Lorch. Po změně stran nejprve Juventus zahodil dvě velké šance, ale v 69. minutě už po kombinační akci zvýšil svým druhým gólem v utkání Yildiz. Ve čtvrté minutě nastavení pak střídající Dušan Vlahovič potrestal faul gólem z penalty.Juventus by o postup mohla připravit už jen velmi nepravděpodobná souhra okolností. Definitivu může získat v noci, pokud Manchester City v druhém utkání získá aspoň bod. Od 21:00 nastoupí ve skupině H Real Madrid proti Pachuce. Do vyřazovací fáze projdou z každé z osmi čtyřčlenných […]
Be the first to leave a comment