“Everyone is sad because it’s a long and painful injury. I’ve been there and know what it means. Then it’s regrettable that it’s the captain, he’s been that since I was born, he is a symbol for everyone but I am sure that with the physical and mental qualities he has, he will be able to return to the field in a short time.”
It was inevitable for Andrea Ranocchia not to open the exclusive interview with Sky Sports with first talking about Javier Zanetti and the injury he underwent surgery for yesterday.
The captain’s armband that always sat on the Argentinian champion’s arm was passed directly to Ranocchia in Palermo: “It is a heavy armband because it has been worn by Javier for many years and previously also by many other bandieri in football. I hope I can meet the expectations during the time I wear it. If the coach would leave it to me as long Zanetti isn’t back on the field? It would be an honor, for sure, but there are also a lot of other guys who have been here for a long time, the heroes from the triple season, and it would be right that the armband temporarily went to them.”
He then talked about football and the continuity that Inter had difficulties to achieve: “I would say we only had it in the first half of the season with ten victories in a row that we won. Subsequently injuries affected. Now it seems that there is a curse, we lose two players per match and then it becomes difficult.”
The Inter defender then talked about the fragility of the part of the team he plays in (“I like talking about the defense, even if it is normal that blame is placed on the defenders when you let in goals. In some games, we have not worked well in the defensive phase as a team.”) and the possibility that the fact that so many teammates have been lost to injuries affects players psychologically for fear of getting injured:” When you play you don’t think about it, or at least I never do it. The fact that you players will influence when there are no players returning, then you lose more. It is normal that the balance of the team is falling apart this way. We are now nine, we must hope that someone else will recover otherwise we are counted.”
Reaching the Europa League is still possible. Ranocchia explains: “Yes, it is. Since I got here is the biggest difference with other teams is the fact that you always have to go out there to win every game. It is part of the spirit of this club.”
This is also why the Inter defender’s focus is and always will be the same: “I came to a big club, I’ve always wanted to stay in this team, even last year when I played little and there was talk about a different future for me. I wanted it last year and with greater right, I want it now with even greater force: my desire is to stay at Inter as I wanted last season when I wanted to prove I was not a hoax.”
Work with Stramaccioni continues: To continue with Stramaccioni provides some continuity even if it is always the president who decides. Presently, his thought is to keep our current coach and for us players, it is clearly easier to restart in this way, with a coach who is the same that has tried to put his footprint in this team.”
Finally, he talked about Napoli, Inter’s next opponents at the San Paolo: “It’s a game that offers great motivation. We have, even in a difficult year like this, always managed to bring forth a litte extra for the big matches and I’m sure we will do it again on Sunday night. If Cavani is the hardest player to watch? When I wasn’t playing at Inter and I encountered Milito, according to me he was the most difficult player to mark.”
Source: fcinternews.it
