All the words of Simone Inzaghi on the eve of the match against Leipzig in the Champions League at San Siro as the best way to understand the mental state and not only of the Nerazzurri, who want to at least secure qualification for the playoffs on the fifth day of the Champions League.
“We work to give satisfaction to our fans, to our club and to win trophies. We must continue like this, in the last eleven matches we have won nine and drawn two. Despite this, we are together with all the others. It will be a long journey, this “year even more: the rivals have strengthened themselves, they have spent a lot on the market and like Inter they will want to get as high as possible.”
How can this team still raise the bar?
“We always have to work harder, this positive moment is the best to push and improve even more. We always try to see where we can do better: on Sunday in Verona we scored five goals in one half, but we saw where we made some carelessness which it could have cost us dearly. Last year it was one thing, this year it’s different: in the league and in the Champions League there are many pitfalls.”
Leipzig must score points: will you wait for them? Were you surprised by yesterday’s calm regarding refereeing issues?
“I expressed my thoughts on the referees, we need to try to help them. Even I, who sometimes during matches go beyond the technical area due to adrenaline. All of us professionals should help them, I’m not saying this as a cliché but because that’s right. As for Leipzig, they are a team that has been in the Champions League for six years and until Saturday they had the best defense in the Bundesliga. In the four Champions League matches they have played they deserved more, they only lost clearly against Celtic .He has a coach who is there for many years, they have many quality players and the ranking does not reflect their performances in Europe. We know they faced a strong team.”
Is there the possibility and the belief of reaching the end of the Champions League again this year?
“That’s the hope. We know that there are 35 other teams that have our desire. We need points, we must continue our path doing what we have done up to now. We have to think about Leipzig without thinking about the championship.”
How are Calhanoglu and Frattesi?
“Frattesi has had a little problem, he’s been carrying a little ankle problem for 10 days. It will have to be evaluated, yesterday he gave him some problems and even today he didn’t feel at his best. We hope not to lose him because he is a very decisive player for us and he it will still be the case. Calhanoglu and Lautaro were absent in Verona both yesterday and today and had two good training sessions: tomorrow morning I will evaluate the training. Acerbi has had a contracture, there is no injury: let’s see between now and Sunday if we can recover it, but it’s shorter than last time.”
Besides De Vrij, who can play in the centre? How did you find the playing field?
“We came to train here for this reason. They tried to improve him compared to the last matches because in the last match against Napoli the players of the two teams complained a bit about his condition. The surface was redone before Milan-Juventus , at this time of year it’s a bit like that. Then in January they’ll do it again and they’ll do it as well as they did until the first week of November.”
Can you tell us about the development of Bisseck? Can San Siro give you something more? How important would it be for you to build a new stadium?
“San Siro is a boost for us, it’s an important stadium and our players feel it. I hope to stay here for a long time because I like the San Siro area, we feel good here and we hope to stay here for a long time. We hope our fans can drag us along as they always have. Bisseck is a player who deserved the space and everything he got with his work, he came from a different league, the Danish one, and he was good at understanding our game principles, for example. learn Italian He immediately tried to understand everything we asked of him: he must continue like this, he is constantly improving and I am happy for him.”
Is there a Bisseck-Bastoni run-off? How’s Taremi?
“Taremi has fitted in well. Coming to Inter he knew he would find competition and so he did: at the end of the training camp he had a small problem which slowed down his preparation a bit, but he is a great professional well-liked by his teammates. I have great faith in him. Bisseck can play on the left, Bastoni played 60 minutes on Sunday and despite the two matches with the national team I think Bastoni can start even if I haven’t chosen Bisseck yet, I’d like to see him as a central defender more to Sticks because he also does it in the national team.”
You are growing physically: did you also take this into account when preparing for the Club World Cup?
“Yes. We know about this and it has been taken into account. We made the same preparation for everyone, even if they arrived at different times of the summer. Clearly whoever arrived first disposed of it first.”
Do you consider yourself one of the best coaches in the world?
“I can only say that I was lucky enough to have arrived at an important club. In three and a half years, then, I have always had a group of extraordinary guys, players who followed me in everything. We know what we did, we know what we have to do, our ambition is that when you make a mistake in a formation or a substitution you are criticized, but we are in a football field and everyone wants to be coaches. My hope is to continue to do well for Inter.”