The national team break is now over. For Inter, it is time to start thinking about Bologna. A potentially tricky away game in a stadium where Walter Mazzarri has experienced trouble in the past. But in the hunt for the top spots in the league, the match at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium is as important as any other. Here is what Inters head coach had to say during the press conference ahead of the game against Bologna:
Bologna have not had a great start to the season, but concentration will be needed, especially after the break..
“There are several factors that will need to be taken into account. The players are returning from their national teams,and after a break like this you have usually lost some of your physical condition. In addition, it is never easy to play an away game in the Serie A. Bologna are on the way up, they have important players like Diamanti, Bianchi, Koné and Pazienza. They have a good team, we need to pay attention but still focus on ourselves because we know that if we play well, we can get a positive result. This is our football philosophy”.
How is Campagnaro feeling?
“I still have to evaluate his physical status, the tempo in official games is on a different level than the one during practices. We will see after today’s training session, which will include a practice game. We will also do some heavy excercises and after that I will know more”.
Is Guarin the right player to play behind Palacio?
“Kovacic is still developing. Football is played with eleven players. The team has important guidelines for how to play, but we shouldn’t be to predictable for our opponents. We are still growing as a team. Alvarez can play either behind Palacio or further down as a midfielder. The same thing goes for Kovacic, but he has different characteristics. I also pay attention to who is playing on the corresponding position in the other team. The most important thing is that the players know what to do, that’s what we focus on. I can make changes, tomorrow we will see which choices that seem good based on today’s practice”.
What about Erick Thohir has impressed you the most?
“I got a very good impression of him, he already knew a lot about me and being assured of having his confidence must be a good thing. Other than that, me and my co-workers stay concentrated on what happens on the pitch, just like we will be tomorrow”.
Has the target of reaching the Champions League final 2016 reached the expectations on the team?
“I know how logic works in the football world, the link between what the club wants to do and the statements that are made. If the club makes adequate operations and investments, then why not. We need to be smart and make good business decisionsto reach the goals we talk about”.
Does Juventus’ win over Napoli mean that the balance of the league has been changed?
“Those conclusions cannot be drawn until later, but this is the beauty of the Serie A. However, both teams have enough quality to perform well until the very end”.
How much is missing for Inter to be at their level?
“We are in the beginning of a new project. It is still early, we need regular tests to mark our progress. We need to analyse game after game to see how far we can come”.
Does it bother you that we’re only talking about the club and not about the game itself? Are there any risks with this?
“I haven’t brought this up, because then you would accuse me for avoiding questions about the club.. There are certainly some risks, but not for me. It could lead to a poorer level of concentration and focus, but we have been working hard to make sure we don’t make this type of mistakes”.
Do you prefer to start the game with Campagnaro who has been out for two months, or Andreolli who has played a total of 10 minutes this season?
“I will make sure that both of them are ready because regardless of who I start with, a substitution will probably be needed. At the moment, neither Hugo nor Marco is ready to play 90 minutes in our tempo”.
You gave a realistic answer to the question about the Champions League final 2016. What is needed in today’s Inter in order to get there?
“I think it is important to have a clear game plan, and that I know every player in the team very well. Then we always need to keep improving, in line with the observations that I make together with the club. We have an adequate number of players in the squad that is linked to the number of competitions we participate in this season. Both me and the club are experienced when it comes to signing important players who we occasionally look for. This is how you develop a team, this is how I did in the beginning of my time at Napoli and this is how we could do at Inter”.
Inter will play both Napoli and Milan before the first half of the season is over. Could those games be decisive?
“They won’t be decisive for how this season will turn out for us, but they will definitely tell us something that we do not know yet. I believe that a team’s position after 19 league games can tell a lot about how far that team has come. These two games will reveal a lot, but after Bologna we have two home games that we need to win if we want to continue fighting for certain goals. Continuity is important, both against big and smaller teams”.
You talked about objectives, and with Branca and Ausilio you discussed the transfer market. Will there be a transfer budget in January?
“I would like to answer the question as it is well put, but we have agreed with Thohir that we will respect our respective roles at the club even more in the future. This is the key to success in all kinds of companies, not just football clubs. Therefore questions like this one will have to addressed to Branca or Ausilio, but I can confirm that we have had a meeting. The budget and everything else is decided by the club. I will send them my wish list (Mazzarri laughs). We have an organisation, I have two-three scouts who are always observing the most fitting players, who are adequate for a certain level. Together we come up with suggestions to the club that evalutes if it is possible, from an economical point of view as well as other aspects”.
Is the group the key to success for this Inter?
“Yes, definitely. One of the things that I enjoyed hearing from Thohir is how he managed groups, it indicates the direction in which we are heading. The individual can improve if the group is functioning well, not the other way around. Everything has to be done from the perspective of the group. The new owners work in a way that is similar to how I see things”.
Thohir compared you to Mourinho. Is that a compliment or not?
“Mourinho is fantastic, and history proves it. If someone sees similarities between us then I can’t complain, but every coach creates his own things. Everyone is different. I don’t know if there has been any more comparisons, but I have 10 years in the Serie A speaking for me, with both successes and setbacks. I am not embarrassed by these comparisons”.
How are Samuel, Milito and Icardi doing?
“Milito is fine, we’ll see when he will be available to play or sit on the bench. Samuel could feel one of his earlier injuries, I can’t give ou a deadline but he is improving every day.. It’s not a very serious injury. Icardi is still recovering after his surgery, we are supervising his recovery but I can not answer how long it will take”.
Källa: FcInterNews.it
