Speaking to Sky Sport, the former Inter manager Andrea Stramaccioni spoke about the upcoming game between Juventus and Inter this weekend.
The current Sparta Prague coach was the first manager to go to the Allianz Stadium and win back in 2012 when his Inter side came home with a 3-1 against that “invincible” Juventus side then managed by Antonio Conte. He spoke first about the two managers.
“The greatest attribute of the two managers, Spalletti and Allegri is that they are to bind together a group of players that they have at their disposal and get the best out of them managing to hide their problems or defects. The best example of this is Allegri. He noticed straight away what wasn’t working this season and changed it putting his side back on track.”
Stramaccioni then drew similarities between his side and the modern day Inter.
“Having spoken to Spalletti and Ausilio, I can tell that there is a great enthusiasm at the club right now. I remember well that my Inter team went into that game against Juventus on a good run of results and we too had a great enthusiasm at that time, something that is vital in the world of Inter. The Inter environment is one that has highs and lows. It’s easy to get carried away with either emotion. I think that this level of enthusiasm is the best similarity I can draw from the two teams.”
When asked to relive the aforementioned 3-1 game he added, “We decided we would go there and try to play an open game. They were the better team, the best team, they had the best defence and were very aggressive in attack. You could spend 5-10 minutes trapped in your own area suffering a barrage of onslaughts, but we knew that when we got out we could cause them problems. From a tactical point of view I just told Cassano to stay on Lichtsteiner because I could see he was having difficulty coping at that point and in fact Conte substituted him not long after for fear of him getting a red card.”
Back to today and this weekend’s game Stramaccioni said “Spalletti certainly doesn’t need any advice from me. He has done something amazing giving the team a strong defensive identity almost straight away. To think at the start he was being criticised for not playing very well. I believe that this solidity and if Inter manage to get forward too, lies the key to this game. I think Juventus are a team that includes some key players that are nearing the end of their careers. This could be a difficult time because they have to choose wisely in which players come in to help with the rebuilding of the team because they need to have the same mentality of the players that are leaving them. Allegri was forced into changing his formation and style of play. His adaptability is one of his greatest traits.”
He finished with a quick word on potential January transfer moves for Inter.
“As a a fan I think Inter need to buy a trequartista or second striker who can change a game when nothing else works. They need someone who can work well with Icardi and together can stay between the lines.”
