Mercato, Lautaro, Icardi, Inzaghi and the future. Inter, Zanetti speaks 360 degrees

Javier Zanettivice president ofIntergave a long interview to the microphones of DAZNstarting to talk about winning the scudetto: “What remains? Above all, the happiness of the fans and then the journey made, from the beginning to when we won the championship. Simone, the players and the staff did a great job. The team she’s strong, but she had to be demonstrated on the pitch and with great personality they showed that she was the strongest.”

Was there a moment when Inzaghi was at risk of being sacked?
“Not on our part, but there was a moment of difficulty. Not just for the coach, but for all of us who work at Inter. The results weren’t arriving, especially in the league.”

Was the Champions League final the turning point?
“The fact of reaching the final was already a great achievement. Everyone thought that Manchester City should win easily, but then seeing how it unfolded… The regret remains, we could have won, but we came away from that match with the awareness that we were a great team that could fight for important goals.”

How much impact did Inzaghi have?
“A lot, he brought his ideas. The team played well, had fun, because he gave serenity, calm and awareness of being a strong team. He also works hard on the sidelines, he cares, the boys followed him in everything and you could see the attitude in every game.”

How did Calhanoglu experience the change in role?
“He accepted this challenge, the coach gave him a lot of trust and he felt like a great protagonist. He was important not only in the defensive phase, but also in attack.”

How did the Thuram idea come about?
“Piero (Ausilio, ed.) and Baccin, who have followed him for a long time, were good. He had a knee injury, we waited for him because we had great faith in him. When you arrive in a championship like ours it’s not easy to adapt, he he did it right away. He found this feeling with Lautaro right from the start and it was decisive.”

Have you ever thought that without Lukaku it wouldn’t have been the same?
“No one disputes Lukaku’s skill, he behaved very well with us. We won a championship with Antonio and he was decisive. Then he chose not to stay, we took note of that…”.

He never would have expected it.
“No one expected it due to the timing. If he had said it before, our strategy would have been different. For us too, it was a great challenge to find an alternative. A very important human group was created.”

Does Lautaro stay?
“He is happy at Inter, as is his family. He demonstrates a great sense of belonging, he has held the role of captain in an exemplary manner. When Milito worked for Racing we followed him, I spoke to him often, Piero said he was strong, strong, he was 18-19 years old. He was surprised when he scored 3 goals in a match and he said he was happy with the goals, but not with his performance. If you answer like that, it means he has something that makes you think of course he was going to Atletico Madrid, one of his agents called me and told me that there were problems and that if we were still interested we could talk about it ‘Immediately’, I told him. They came to Milan, then Piero went to Argentina and finished with Racing. He has improved every year, now he has reached a very important maturity and is a reference.”

How can Inter improve?
“All the boys felt important, everyone who came in gave their contribution. Carlos Augusto comes to mind, but also Darmian, who is very intelligent. Everyone wanted to show off, we won a lot in the end because we believed in it, Frattesi scored decisive goals. The most difficult thing is to continue, but we do it by working in the same way, humbly. If we want to be competitive we must defend what we have won. The conditions are there, beyond the game, there is an important human group “.

How important is the company on the market and beyond?
“The market depends on the possibilities and opportunities we have. To win you have to build a team off the pitch that works at the same level as the one on the pitch. When you win it’s easy, you have to be present in moments of difficulty. We talked about moments of difficulties of the coach? There the club must support him, help him find solutions… If you believe in the coach you always do so.”

How do you experience daily relations with the president?
“We are always in contact, he asks us how things are going. He was disappointed not to be able to be there. When he sees that the club is working he is calm, I think, he knows that the club is in good hands.”

What type of market will it be?
“If you look at the Champions League final it seems that there is no gap, but in reality there is. We cannot compete with the Premier League on the market, but we must try to find alternatives, bring functional players who we know can wear the Inter shirt and playing in a team with a lot of pressure and objectives. Everyone we signed agreed with us, we hope that whoever arrives will also enrich the team.”

Do you ever think back to Madrid? What remains of the return of the Champions League?
“The regret remains because we had the opportunity to pass and we didn’t manage to do so, both in the first leg and in the second leg. We could have scored that goal… The Champions League is a competition of details, but you learn from everything.”

There are few flags. Can Inter give one to Italian football?
“It would be wonderful, it means that someone is well and cares. Lautaro has been with us for 6 years, Bastoni, Dimarco, Barella… If you see them play and hear them talk they identify with our values. I would really like them to do a career with us. When you have great players it’s normal for them to be interested, then it’s up to you to refuse a lot of calls. Our peace of mind is that if you hear from us, our guys are all very happy to stay there Champions League will have many matches, there is the Club World Cup, we have to defend the title… We have to make a very competitive team.”

Did you give any advice to Dimarco?
“He has grown a lot, you can see the class he has. He is a true Inter fan, he shows it on the pitch and also off it with the chants (laughs, ed.)”.

Inzaghi really likes his attackers. These are not superficial declarations.
“What he says is true, he uses them all. There are many games, all the coaches need everyone.”

They said that Icardi’s dream was to become Zanetti with tattoos. Does he still feel it?
“There may be this desire of his. We know how things went, I haven’t heard from him in a long time, sometimes I like to see him in Milan”.

Can you open a cycle?
“We don’t have to open a cycle, ours began in Antonio Conte’s first year. The last 4-5 years we have won a lot, the team has always proven to be very competitive. We were good at keeping the team that way despite the exits “.

How did you experience Milan’s Scudetto?
“It can happen, it was a great opportunity, but they did well to earn it.”

Is it better to win as a player or as a manager?
“They are different sensations. From the outside you suffer more, I am overjoyed. The fact of being part of something makes you very happy.”

Does Mourinho feel it?
“Yes, yes. He’s calm now. I was sorry because I know how much he cares for his teams. He didn’t expect to be sent away like this… De Rossi is doing a great job anyway.”

Many have said that this emotion was even greater than the Triplete. Why?
“There was this desire for the second star, then the Scudetto arrived against Milan and the way it was, they were waiting for this celebration. They all came to celebrate, it’s right. The boys don’t realize it now, but they wrote important pages for the history of the club”.

How Italian do you feel and how do you see Italy at the European Championship?
“Now I feel Italian, my three children are. I don’t forget my homeland, but Italy has become my country. Spalletti will have to do a great job, unfortunately we missed the last two World Cups, no one expected it. I I hope we qualify for the next one because a World Cup without Italy is not a World Cup.”

Did you expect Napoli to be so low in the standings?
“Nobody expected it. I put Napoli among the protagonists at the start of the championship.”

Which player has improved the most?
“Carlos Augusto surprised me, I didn’t know him. He’s very intelligent, he can play as a full-back, as a centre-back, then physically you never see him in trouble and he has personality. I really like Darmian, wherever you put him he has a high performance. Frattesi is there he showed the desire to smash everything every time he entered, it’s part of his characteristics.”

How much did the defeat against Sassuolo bother Inzaghi?
“It bothered everyone, Inzaghi, the players, us. Sassuolo found the goal, they defended very well, we created the chances. We want to finish as best we can. The boys were all angry too.”

Can we rest assured about Lautaro? Will he still be Inter’s captain?
“Yes, you can rest assured. He said so too.”

Are Milan, Napoli or Juventus more scary next year?
“I don’t know whether to talk about fear, respect for all three. Reconfirming yourself is always difficult, but it will be our great challenge.”

What else does Zanetti dream of?
“Being able to raise a Champions League as a manager”.