Gian Piero Gasperini has been fired by Inter Milan after just three months in charge of the Serie A powerhouse.
The club announced that Gasperini let go because the club was not performing up to standard. Inter has just one point from three league matches, lost the Italian Super Cup to rivals AC Milan, and fell in their opening Champions League game, at home to Turkish minnows Trabzonspor.
The last loss was the most damning, a 3-1 defeat to Novara, a side back in the top division of Italian soccer for the first time in 55 years.
The move comes just ahead of a busy schedule for Inter, with three games in eight days. After playing at Bologna this weekend Inter travels to Russia to play CSKA Moscow in a now-critical Champions League affair. After that it’s back home to face quick-starting Napoli in a Serie A showdown.
With little time to make a decision Claudio Ranieri is being hailed as the favorite to replace Gasperini at the San Siro. Ranieri has big club and Serie A experience with stints at Roma and Chelsea. Another candidate is former soccer star Luis Figo, who has an executive role with Inter Milan. Figo does not possess the experience of Ranieri, but he knows the club and could start work immediately.
The firing continues a tumultuous beginning to they year for Inter, which has included star striker Samuel Eto’o leaving for Russia and replacement Diego Forlan having been ineffective so far.
Who should replace Gasperini? Does Inter Milan still have a shot at Serie A and Champions League? And most importantly, was this too quick a firing?
