From the press conference, the coach spoke about contact with Erick Thohir: “Of course I’ve had contact with him, but I keep these things to myself”
“If I had wanted to talk then I would have done so. Now I’m only going to speak about tomorrow’s match against Verona.” In this evening’s press conference, this was how coach Walter Mazzarri responded when asked why he refused to give post-match statements after Inter’s last league match against Torino.
“Now isn’t the time to discuss these things. Maybe in the future there will be a more appropriate moment based on our interests,” continued the Nerazzurri coach regarding the refereeing, before he then went on to speak about certain doubts ahead of tomorrow’s line-up: “Kovacic is a player I have available tomorrow. In Turin I immediately told him it was a logical choice based on how the game could have gone, which he understood. And if he plays tomorrow it’s because I believe he can help us.”
Verona will arrive at the San Siro tomorrow with one point more than Inter in the standings: “I have to congratulate Mandorlini on the excellent work he’s been doing,” stated Mazzarri. “We’re talking about a team that has shown good play and organisation. When Toni is healthy he’s a difference maker, and he has a lot of other good lads playing alongside him. They deserve the points they’ve got so far, and they’re a difficult side to play against. We’ll need to stay focused in defence and pay attention to the details, without being afraid of making mistakes. Why are we afraid of making mistakes? First of all, there was the need to pick ourselves back up again after the end of last season and the string of losses, and we needed to be sure of certain things. At the beginning of the season certain predictions were being made about us. I wouldn’t like to see us slipping up in defence now or in the small details, and during the week I tried to get the players to reflect on this.”
Mazzarri also spoke about the fact that his team has earned just one point in three matches: “As I’ve said many times, I look at the performances and how the team plays. What matters is what a team can do over the course of an entire season. We could have had a game to remember against Torino. Then we saw what happens when a team plays with ten men for 86 minutes. I congratulated my boys, and then you all know how the other results went. In Week 8 a team has to be judged on how it plays, as well as other factors that go beyond the result.”
“Has Campagnaro’s absence had an effect on the goals we’ve conceded, or is it more a matter of the team’s overall balance? The game against Roma wasn’t a normal one. We dominated against Cagliari and they didn’t have a shot on goal. You all saw how they drew it. These things defy the logic of work, and you have these kinds of moments in football. But you also have to look at how Inter played in Trieste and Turin with 10 men, and all the other matches were played with the same spirit. And to me this matters. People on the outside need to take into account how I transmit the culture of work, which is what Thohir has noticed by following Inter.”
And on the subject of Erick Thohir, Mazzarri was asked if he has had any contact with the new investor yet: “When it comes to issues regarding the club’s ownership I keep things to myself. Of course I’ve had some contact with him. But as for the rest of it, as well as how things went between us or how they go between Moratti and myself, those are things I’ll be keeping to myself.”
Source: inter.it