In today’s edition of Tuttosport there’s a long interview with Inter’s coach Walter Mazzarri, who analyzed his first months with Inter and the progress his team has made:
Mazzarri, in Pinzolo, you called Inter a work in progress, where are we today?
“I think we’ve done a lot, perhaps better than any expectations. We’re not perfect, but in a good place.”
What is Inter?
“A great club, experienced from within, it feels like one big family and that’s very nice.”
How would you describe it to Thohir?
“As long as it’s not official, I prefer not to comment. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a true team with a group of players who are trying to give me everything and believe in what I’m proposing. However, I have prepared the team on certain issues that are sensitive, because here in Pinetina everyone focus solely on doing their duty.”
Would Europa League be a good result?
“Given what happened last year with the club, we have always talked about ‘ aiming to return to being competitive.’ I’ve added ‘as soon as possible ‘ because I know that there is very little patience in the Italian football. It’s a new start, almost a year zero. I want to see see a united spirit, a team that plays, that has a logical thread, that the guys are fighting and this can, slowly but surely, already be seen. We also think about rejuvenating and therefore you will see results in 2-3 years. For that reason, I say that it will require patience as well.”
Are you a little jealous of a person like Klopp ?
“The word jealousy is not part of my being. Those who are jealous are the ones who have not achieved anything and I have achieved things. I’ve never been jealous of anyone. I have responded to unnecessary and unjust provocations, I want to point that out. That’s normal, as I’m a coach who works and let what happens on the pitch speak and who wants the time needed to create something meaningful. What a coach does should be assessed by the resources he has at his disposal. Unfortunately there is a shallowness and it’s difficult to see what a coach does for a business, in terms of both performance and economy.”
Would your career have been easier if you called yourself Mazzarinho or if you were foreign?
“We Italians are provincial. It is often said that no one is a prophet in his own country and that is true. Maybe someone from abroad will arrive, who has the exotic charm that no Italians from the ranks have, meanwhile the latter has achieved, done things. Mazzarinho, but also Kloppinho… There is a typical provincial preference for foreign things in our country. It seems as if there are some problems with bringing in those who were born in Italy.”
Would you coach a player like Balotelli?
” Of course I would. A coach has an obligation to handle each player the best way possible, I’ve always done it and I would do it with him.”
Do you feel a little as both coach and manager?
“Everyone who works with me knows that it is easy to take measures to improve the team because there is a definite tactical plan, a precise organization and this helps the club.”
Where do you set your sights after Inter: abroad or the national team?
“Let’s see how it goes in Inter, I could stay here all my life and finish my career here. Because, as I’m thinking now, when and if I will end the contract with Inter, I would rather coach a club than a national team and I would love to gain experience abroad.”
When he comes back, where will you put Zanetti?
” He is so multifaceted, so he can do everything. Unless we change formation, although it could happen, he would be able to play as a winger on the left or right, or mezzala to the left or right. If we end up in an emergency he could also play at left-back in defense.”
Meanwhile, Milito suffered an injury again…
“It’s a shame because I was trying to speed up his way back into the team this week and because Diego allows us to take another leap in quality. Milito is one of those players who, when he is in shape, shifts the balance. He is one of the few ‘top players’ in the world.”
Source: fcinternews.it
Photo: Thomas Salme
