Cassano: “Our fans should be very proud of our president”

Antonio Cassano spoke to Sky Sport Italia a day on from Siena v Inter. You can read it in full on inter.it. Here’s part one:

It shows character, the fact that you’ve chosen to speak to us after yesterday’s defeat, which also saw AC Milan move level with Inter thanks to a Mario Balotelli brace.

“It’s right to talk about it, there comes a time when you need to take responsibility. I don’t talk very often but now’s the time to do so. Everyone is making out that Inter are dead and buried, but we’re three points off the Champions League places, in the last 32 of the Europa League and still have the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final to play – we could still make the final. They’ve caught us up? This means they did very badly at the beginning, but no one mentioned it, while now everyone’s saying Inter are struggling. But hey, that’s fine. I accept that, I like this situation.”

Was the defeat at Siena Inter’s worst since you’ve been at the club?

“We’re not playing well at the moment, that’s the reality. We’ve brought in two or three quality players who can help but yesterday we played badly, and Siena deserved to win. We’re not playing well at the moment, we need to show great character to get back on track. We all need to give more, especially our best players.”

How do you get back to winning ways?

“I don’t know if there’s a formula. I’ve been playing for 15 years but I don’t know of a formula. I believe the people with character we have here need to give that bit extra and that everyone needs to follow them. That’s it.”

Do the forwards also need to put a bit more effort in?

“I hadn’t scored in three months. Diego got injured. Poor Rodrigo has played a lot of matches on his own because I’d come deep and he’d often be up there by himself, busting a gut. I don’t think it’s only an issue with the forward line or it’s the defence’s fault when we concede. There’s something wrong with the balance of the side and we need to try and find solutions to resolve this. I’m sure the coach knows better than us what we need to do to get through this.”

Now you need the squad to really help out the coach…

“I’ve been playing a long time and I’ve never seen a better team spirit than the one we have here. The lads are humble, champions who are always there to help the youngsters. This is a really special squad, I really like it. I didn’t even used to like Milan, but since I’ve been at Inter I’ve come to like the city: this shows how happy I am here. Obviously now we need to get out of this with classy players, with great individuals. And there are a lots of those here.”

Clear this one up for us: did Andrea Stramaccioni do a good imitation of you in the tunnel at the derby or not?

“There he made me look… like a mug. But he’s a lovely bloke, a great person, a coach who really knows what he’s doing. This is a tough time but I think Inter and our fans should be very proud of our president. Our president keeps us very calm, he’s unique, nothing like all the other false people and phoneys you get in football – at big and small clubs alike.”

You seem to already have a great understanding on the pitch with Mateo Kovacic. Is he really a big talent?

“I saw him in the first training session and he’s got great ability. Inter have spent big and spent well on him, he’ll be here for the next ten years. He’ll become a great player, I’m 100% sure of that.”

Have you heard from Balotelli?

“No.”

You’ve had quite similar careers, you’ve both played for big clubs as well as for both Inter and AC Milan. At Balotelli’s age, who’d made the headlines more for the wrong reasons, you or him?

“There’s one difference: he probably likes being in the papers, whereas I don’t. But I did a lot worse. I left training sessions, I drove my car onto the pitch, you name it, I did it. He’s a good lad. Honestly, I know him well. I got up to more than my fair share of ‘Cass-antics’. I was kicked out of five clubs, imagine what I did to deserve that.”

Does the derby scare you?

“Absolutely not. I’m sure my team-mates and I can get back to our best this Sunday and go on an unbeaten run like we did in our first meeting against them this season.”

Is Yuto Nagatomo the player who’s been on the receiving end of your jokes more than anyone else?

“Yuto makes me laugh. There’s always something I can say or do to him, you ask him one thing and he replies with another. He always makes me laugh, he’s a joker!”

Did you ever imagine that a ballboy wouldn’t give you the ball back. What went through your mind yesterday?

“Everything you can think of, but when I was a kid and Bari were winning, I used to waste time too. So I need to accept it! But I was about to lose it on Sunday… But he was just a kid, you could say ‘he did well.'”

Do you have a farewell message for Wesley Sneijder?

“Absolutely. I’d like to wish him good luck but it’ll always be ‘Forza Inter.'”

How do you need to approach the Chievo game?

“We need to show what we’re about and the crowd will help us from the first whistle to the last. We need to win on Sunday, one way or another, and get back to winning ways.”

Source: inter.it