Maicon's Tragedy

When Su Dong saw Maicon again, the Brazilian right-back had lost his former confidence and flamboyance. In its place was a heavy air of dusk. Gareth Bale had clearly dealt him a devastating blow.

In terms of age, Maicon was not yet thirty. He should have been in his prime. Unfortunately, he had run into the otherworldly Gareth Bale—not only was Bale younger, but his speed was frighteningly fast.

Sometimes, fans saw only a humiliating defeat or a particular player's poor performance, but much of what happened behind the scenes was often beyond the players' control. In other words, a player's performance was not always the decisive factor.

Maicon being destroyed by Gareth Bale was actually the failure of all of Inter Milan, from the management and coaching staff to the players. If someone had to take the blame, Maicon really did not necessarily deserve the most of it.

Why was that?

First of all, Inter Milan had rapidly declined after a peak season. It was not just Maicon—Sneijder, Diego Milito, Eto'o, and the others were all in the same boat. The squad was also packed with veterans around thirty years old.

Anyone with even a little knowledge of football knew that the most reasonable squad composition was a mix of veterans, players in their prime, and youngsters. Having too many veterans created enormous problems.

After Moratti began handing out large-scale contract extensions to Sneijder and the others, Inter Milan had essentially established a squad built around veterans. The club had taken care of their feelings, but lost its competitiveness in the process. No one could stop those veterans from declining after their peaks.

There was also the tactical side of things.

Mancini had previously adopted a cautious defensive approach, which was perfectly suitable for a team with too many