Cosmin: Thanks for the high praise

After our first Youth Spotlight on French midfielder Maxime Gautier, we are now ready to continue our series here at InterTV with Brazilian center back Emerson Luiz. Only 21 years old, the ex-Corinthians man has matured into one of Europe's very best young defenders and has already paved his name in continental glory last season.

Luiz started his professional career in 2013 with Corinthians at the tender age of 16. Over the next two seasons he made 13 Brazilian league appearances there and caught the eye of Inter scouts in the region. Amid little fanfare but some apprehensive excitement, the central defender arrived at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in the summer of 2014 for the small fee of €825,000.

Luiz quickly became a crowd favorite with his strong performances and excellent technical defensive skills and made 26 Serie A appearances in his first two seasons, scoring 3 goals in the process. However, after the departure of Juan Jesus and injury problems for Giuseppe Bellusci, Luiz became a first team regular last season. He made 27 Serie A appearances and scored 5 goals. In all competitions he made 45 appearances with 8 goals.

He became a hero in the last game of the year. Down 1-0 to Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League final, Emerson Luiz scored two goals in the last ten minutes to send Nerazzurri fans into raptures and help his side bring home the trophy for the second year running.

The towering 6'4" youngster has already made 14 appearances this season and scored 5 goals and his partnership with Andrea Ranocchia is considered one of the best in the world. He recently resigned with Bergomi's men until 2020 on a €47K per week contract and is set to experience a brilliant career in MIlan.

Thats a nice player you got there

An amazing player!

Wow, he is such a great player mate, you're lucky!

Cheers guys, he's a gem

Bloody hell! He (technically) must be better than a few of your first XI?? Just needs those mental stats bumped up really:P Great player!

AaronHJFT: Yeah, I actually start him quite often!

Sorry for the absence!

Sorry I haven't been updating lately, I've been absolutely drowned in schoolwork. By the end of the week I should have most of it off of my plate and I'll be back to regularly updating. It's only a few days, so hopefully I'll survive a short time without FM. Thanks for understanding, I hope to be back by Friday!

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

2014-02-06 15:12#158911 Walter : exacuses...

Exacuses? Seriously Walt I expect better from you. Neal, I apologise for Walter's retardedness.

Walter: Oh shut up, update tomorrow I promise!

edu1878: I accept your apology

This season has been a rather surprising tactical reshuffle from two-time reigning European champions Inter Milan and their enigmatic manager Giuseppe Bergomi. Having spent the first three years at the club utilizing a narrow 4-3-1-2 style, Bergomi then led the Nerazzurri to two UEFA Champions League trophies using a wider, more expansive 4-3-3. A few games ago, however, Bergomi and his men have switched back to a narrow 4-3-1-2, and in this article we'll take a look at the reasons and effects of the change.


Over the last few seasons, this 4-3-3 style tactic has dominated world football in the form of Inter Milan. The three-pronged attack of Raheem Sterling on the right, Philippe Coutinho on the left, and Mattia Destro up the middle has left every defense in its path ravaged. With controllers like Andrea Poli dominating the center of the pitch and Andrea Ranocchia a solid leader the back, the fluid tactic has seemingly worked a charm.

This season, however, things have changed dramatically. Over the last few weeks, the offensive side of the team has failed to produce. Much of this falls on the shoulders of English winger Raheem Sterling. The only true right-winger in the squad, Sterling has failed to produce this season. With no ready-made replacement other than teenager Samuel, Bergomi has been left little choice than to change tactics.


With the flanks failing, Giuseppe Bergomi has decided to go back to the tactics from his first few years at the club, a 4-3-1-2 with the central attacking midfielder sitting behind the strikers the focal point of attack. With a superstar like 62M record signing Rogerio to stick into that role, Mattia Destro, Ademilson, and Lorenzo Insigne have benefited greatly and looked a far greater threat in the final third.

The defensive side of the game looks strong as well. Employing tactics similar to these at the very start of his tenure, Bergomi went on a record 15 game streak without conceding a goal. In their last match with this tactic a few days ago, a rejuvenated Nerazzurri had thrashed capital city side Lazio 4-1, and things looked rosy.

Smart move, but does that signal the end of Sterling's career at Inter?

Pauker: Perhaps, perhaps. He'll have to step up his game if he wants to stay.