Inter Milan's interest in Achraf is old; two summers ago, when he was loaned to Borussia Dortmund During two courses by Real Madrid, he was in the group of teams that applied for his loan, although Achraf ended up choosing Germany as the option to continue his growth, an option that time has revealed to be very successful. However, this course the contacts intensified strongly, with the end of the transfer of the Spanish-Moroccan in Dortmund near and knowing Inter of his desires to look for an exit far from Madrid where to continue forming and enjoying many minutes. The boiling point in that interest was the duel between Dortmund and Inter on November 5, 2019 at Signal Iduna Park, in the group stage of the Champions League.
At half-time, the match seemed made for Inter Antonio Conte: 0-2 with goals from Lautaro Martínez and Matías Vecino. But in the second half Borussia turned him around with an improvised hero: Achraf, with two goals, came back together with another goal from Brandt the party for the Germans. The 'Borusser' team, with Sancho, Thorgan Hazard and Götze in their attack, again resorted to Achraf's skills as a finisher, which he had already shown a month earlier with another double at the Slavia in Prague. That day, Conte saw clearly that he was the ideal man for the next interista project and to give the relief to the veteran Candreva, 33 years old.
The Conte system
While Achraf welcomed the option of continuing in Dortmund, if this and Madrid reached an agreement in this regard, The Real Madrid youth squad was attracted by the possibility of playing in a great team from the Old Continent such as Inter, winner of three European Cups, and under the command of a coach like Conte with a very marked personal seal.
Achraf, with Dortmund after a comeback against Inter.
Getty Images
The system used by Conte, a 3-5-2 that gives special importance to the figure of the lanemen, fits perfectly into Achraf's idea, who has also exploited playing in that position at Dortmund. In defense of four, his deficiencies in defense gain weight and it costs him more to be decisive in attack, but As a pure laneman he has found his best level, the one he hopes to maintain and improve in Milan at Conte's command.