It was a sad sight to see during Inter Milan's 1-0 defeat to Palermo last weekend. Captain and stalwart Javier Zanetti was stretchered off the Stadio Renzo Barbera pitch in the 17th minute after tearing his left Achilles tendon, an injury that would not only sideline the Argentine until November, but also see the club's injury list grow that one player longer.
In the days following the defeat, a starting XI of the club's injured stars was making its way across the internet, with goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi the only player that wouldn't find himself in Andrea Stramaccioni's first team, such is the form and consistency of Samir Handanovic, with Inter's very own Iron Man the final piece to complete this sad puzzle.
Nevertheless, it has highlighted the problems the Nerazzurri are facing between now and the end of the season, with the gladiatorial right-back joining the likes of Walter Samuel, Diego Milito, Antonio Cassano and Esteban Cambiasso - all regular starters for the Serie A giants - sidelined at the time of writing.
The mounting list of unavailable players has continuously grown from the turn of 2013 to the present day and with four games left of the season, the injuries have come at exactly the wrong time for Stramaccioni, all but derailing his side's pursuit of a European finish this term.
It's been such a hindrance on their domestic campaign that, since their seven game winning streak between September and November, Inter have failed to register back-to-back wins. The last time they did so was when the 3-1 victory over Juventus on the 3rd of November succeeded the 3-2 victory at home to Sampdoria.
In that span, the Milanese side have picked up just seven wins in Serie A as their Champions League quest has disappeared quicker than Andrea Ranocchia's defensive ability without Samuel alongside him in a three-man defence.
Regardless, Stramaccioni has continued with his day-to-day duties and despite the senior squad being thin, the young tactician has utilised the available personnel at his disposal. However, without being able to call upon Zanetti, the 37-year-old has lost a predominant member of his starting XI and one that the head coach could call upon to reliably perform for the team.
Such has been Zanetti's impact on the first team that the 39-year-old has been called upon to fill in seven different positions for Inter this season - the joint highest of any player in Serie A. Being employed at left back, right back, right wing back, holding midfield, right midfield, centre midfield and left midfield highlights the significant injury worries Stramaccioni has continuously faced over the season.
That figure is matched only by Pescara's Vladimir Weiss, who like Zanetti has also filled the void on the left of midfield and in the centre of midfield, but also on the left wing, as a left forward, a centre forward, right forward and attacking central midfielder across his 22 appearances for Serie A's bottom team.
The continued swapping of position of the 23-year-old, however, could well be down to Pecara's continued managerial changes, with the Delfini now operating under Cristian Bucchi - their third head coach of the season following the resignation of Giovanni Stroppa and Cristiano Bergodi's dismissal by chairman Daniele Sebastiani. It's therefore more understandable that they have looked to make changes, with the nine different formations they have used this season only behind Inter and Genoa (both 10).
Focusing on Inter, the Milanese side have also played a regular formation the fewest times, with Stramaccioni utilising a 3-4-1-2 and 3-5-2 on seven separate occasions this season. As a result, the young head coach has fielded 32 different starting XI's over 34 games this year, with the successive wins over Fiorentina and AC Milan (3-4-1-2) and the win over Juventus and draw with Cagliari (3-4-3 - a formation they've only used three times this season) representing the two different sets of domestic games in which Inter have fielded the same personnel this term.
In the process, the Nerazzurri are one of the 95 teams to have fielded the same team more than once this season, with Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez the only manager to have named the same starting XI on six separate occasions over the course of their Premier League campaign - the most out of any team in Europe's top five leagues. Meanwhile Ligue 1 side Lorient and Serie A duo Genoa and Pescara are the only three teams to have fielded a different starting XI in every game this season.
Although it isn't uncommon for a manager to alter the players in his starting XI, the differentiation in the number of formations used is particularly pertinent when compared with the current table toppers in each respective league. Antonio Conte has fielded three different formations for Juventus, Jupp Heynckes just the one for Bayern Munich, Tito Vilanova two for Barcelona and Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti five for Manchester United and Paris-Saint Germain, respectively. Furthermore, when looking across Europe's top five leagues, only one other team have used 10 different formations, with Aston Villa matching the tactical changes.
Interestingly, the position in their respective league couldn't be more contrasting. While Genoa and Villa are both battling to stave off the threat of relegation, Inter remain in the hunt to secure a place in the Europa League next season.
While much of the changing in the Inter starting XI has been as a result of injury, with the list stretching to 15 players at the time of writing, not to mention recently confirmed signing Ruben Botta now set to miss the next six months with a knee injury, it remains a relatively poor turn of events when 10 different formations need to be utilised. However, it also notes the coaching uncertainty surrounding Stramaccioni.
This may be the first full season at the helm of the Italian giants following his time with the youth team, but the continuous changes in the formation were inevitably going to prove a hindrance on the team, regardless of the success it may have delivered.
During their most successful stint of the domestic campaign - a seven game winning streak starting with a 2-0 win over Chievo and culminating in the momentous 3-1 victory at Juventus - Stramaccioni utilised his joint most used formation - 3-4-1-2 - in three of the victories, over Fiorentina, AC Milan and Catania, all of which were back-to-back.
The swap to four at the back, something Stramaccioni has done 16 times this season alone, has evidently hindered their domestic campaign. Though the club have conceded half of their goals (23) when playing three defenders and half with four at the back, Inter are shipping 1.43 goals per game when utilising a four man backline, compared to 1.27 with just three defenders.
Furthermore, in playing three defenders, Inter's attacking capabilities improve marginally, with the club scoring 1.5 goals per game compared to 1.43 with four defenders on the pitch. One of the reasons as to why this may have improved is due to the likes of Yuto Nagatomo - another to have played numerous positions for Inter this season (6) - Álvaro Pereira and Zanetti being handed free reign to push forward from wing back in order to support the attack.
Either way, the continuous changes in system, approach and personnel has evidently seen Inter's season falter when the onus was on securing as high a finish as possible. The lack of regular first team players has, at times, failed Stramaccioni, with the young Italian on occasion forced into utilising Cambiasso as a make shift centre-back in the absence of Samuel, with the former another of those to have played in six different positions for the club this campaign.
However, while there is little the head coach can do when a player is ruled out through injury, the inability to settle on a formation has undoubtedly hampered the team, disrupting the consistency and rhythm of the side. Unfortunately for them, Inter's hopes of a top three finish have diminished as a result of Stramaccioni's insistence on using 10 different formations this season.
