Will Taremi turn his fortune around in Italian Super Cup final?
Mahdi Taremi will be looking to lift a first trophy with Inter when his team takes on archrival AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh’s Al Awwal Park tonight.
On top of that, however, the Iranian international striker will have personal reasons to seize the occasion in Derby della Madonnina: Ending a frustrating goal drought with the Nerazzurri colors.
Taremi, who became Porto’s third all-time leading marksman with 91 strikes in 182 outings before embarking on a new chapter of his career in July, is yet to find his scoring boots for the Serie A champion. His contribution has been limited to a single goal in 20 games across all competitions – a penalty kick during a 4-0 win against Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League in October.
The bad news for the 32-year-old Iranian has been the dazzling form of French teammate Marcus Thuram, who is the joint top scorer – alongside Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui – in the Italian top flight with 12 goals.
Barely given a chance in the starting XI for the domestic games, Taremi came off the bench at halftime to replace injured Thuram before a second-half brace from Dutch wing-back Denzel Dumfries secured a 2-0 win against Atalanta in Thursday’s Super Cup semifinal.
the Frenchman remains a major doubt for the final with a thigh injury and Taremi will be hoping to be trusted with a place in the front duo alongside skipper Lautaro Martinez, who has been dealing with his own slump in form of late as his strike against Cagliari on December 28 has been the Argentine’s only goal in 10 games in all competitions.
Stats have been against the Lautaro-Taremi partnership as the two have found the net once apiece in 366 minutes together on the pitch – the game against Red Star – which could see head coach Simone Inzaghi pick Joaquin Correa or Marko Arnautović, who have three goals between them this season, over the Iranian.
However, Taremi has proven to be the man for the finals.
During his illustrious four years with Porto, the prolific Iranian won two Super Cups, scoring twice in the 2022 triumph, while contributing with three final strikes to inspire the Dragons to three successive Taça de Portugal titles.
The Iranian will be eager to play yet another decisive part in a final showdown, if only given a chance against his Porto coach Sergio Conceicao, who is now in charge of the Rossoneri bench.