After Benitez took over Inter Milan last summer, he vowed to free Cambiasso. However, under the Spaniard, although Cambiasso no longer bore excessive defensive responsibilities, his attacking abilities were also not fully utilized. It was only after entering the Leonardo era that Cambiasso's offensive capabilities were unleashed, with three goals in two matches being the best proof. This has a lot to do with Leonardo's new tactics. After Leonardo arrived, he abandoned Mourinho's 4-2-3-1 formation and instead set up a system of three central midfielders. He placed the technically skilled Motta and the defensively outstanding Zanetti beside Cambiasso. In this way, Inter Milan's midfield not only ensured defensive strength but also enhanced its ability to organize attacks. The cooperation between Cambiasso, Motta, and Zanetti better liberated Cambiasso, which is essentially different from Benitez's dual holding midfielder system aimed at freeing Cambiasso.
Cambiasso started as an attacking midfielder when he debuted for River Plate. After joining Real Madrid, his position was pulled back, eventually becoming an organizing defensive midfielder. In the Mourinho era, in order to strengthen Inter Milan's midfield defense, Cambiasso's main task was fixed on defense. He gave up his characteristic of making attacking runs under Mancini and devoted himself to forming a purely defensive partnership with Zanetti, building a barrier in front of the backline. After the match, Leonardo said that Inter Milan's midfield players have similar characteristics and can switch positions smoothly, making the attack more varied. After two games, Inter Milan scored five goals, accounting for one-fifth of their current league total, far exceeding the Benitez era. Among these five goals, both holding midfielders Motta and Cambiasso claimed all of them. One could say that under the circumstances where Milito was out of form and Eto'o had yet to adapt to Leonardo's system, the true liberation of Cambiasso was especially important for Inter Milan.
The "Milan Sports Daily" referred to Cambiasso as the "turning point of today's game." At the 72nd minute, Catania's fierce attack on Inter Milan paid off. After Gomez's continuous shots were blocked twice by Maxi, Gomez finally managed to score against Cesar. But just two minutes later, everything changed abruptly, as Cambiasso equalized for Inter Milan within two minutes. At that time, Stankovic made a diagonal pass, Cambiasso successfully broke through the offside trap and pushed the ball into the net from 11 meters out.
Within five minutes, Cambiasso took advantage of Catania's instability again, reversing the score. At the 79th minute, Mc孔on crossed the ball from the right flank with the outside of his foot, Cambiasso leapt high at the far post, heading the ball into the lower left corner from eight meters out after it bounced off the ground. Inter Milan tenaciously and magically completed the turnaround within five minutes, breaking Catania's proud record of losing only one home game since December 2009. This was Cambiasso's second goal-scoring performance for Inter Milan in three days. In Leonardo's debut match, Inter Milan was once tied 1-1 by Napoli. It was Cambiasso who headed in a goal from Mc孔on's cross from the right flank, expanding Inter Milan's lead. Unbelievably, the two collaborated again in today's match, and Cambiasso once again scored the decisive goal for Leonardo's victory.
Leonardo brought consecutive victories, and Cambiasso was the first hero on the field. As veteran Cordoba said, "Leonardo inspired us, but Cambiasso is our superstar; he brought Inter Milan three points." After scoring the decisive goal, Cambiasso specially ran to the sidelines to passionately embrace his coach. After the match, Coach Leo himself couldn't stop praising Cambiasso, "He's a bomb! I think... he's a striker; he's equivalent to one and a half people." Opta's post-match statistics indeed confirmed what Leonardo said: Cambiasso made 64 passes throughout the game, successfully completed two of four tackles, achieved three successful interceptions, and his two attempts on goal resulted in two goals, achieving a shooting efficiency of 100%.
After the winter break, Inter Milan presented a completely refreshed face. Moratti should thank himself for appointing Leonardo, and Leonardo should thank Cambiasso. In two matches, Cambiasso scored three goals, and in this match, he scored two goals to achieve a miraculous comeback, just as "Slow Lens" headline said, "Two Cambiassos, one Leonardo, Inter Milan 2-1." It was these two individuals who dominated this remarkable comeback.