Roberto Mancini held a pressconference ahead of tomorrow’s Serie A fixture against Juventus at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano’s San Siro district. SempreInter.com give you Mancini’s entire pressconference below in English.
Are you the favorites?
“No, Fiorentina are the favorites because they are top of the league. The league is long and difficult for everyone, the strongest teams will fight for the title.”
Is playing 4-2-3-1 the best line-up to use Kondogbia in?
“He doesn’t have any problems, we can play this formation when we have the players with us for a long period of time. I could play him but I need to evaluate him.”
What’s missing for you to become the ‘real’ favorites?
“We’re there but there are teams who are better equipped than us. We want to be in the top of the league until the end. I’m sure that a win tomorrow will bring a lot of enthusiasm.”
Do you have any doubts?
“A few, I want to see how the players who were on international duty are doing.”
What does Medel’s position on the pitch depend upon?
“He is one of those who I have to evaluate. We will see.”
What happened when Sampdoria scored their goal?
“We made a mistake, then when their full-back crossed the ball we were doomed. These are things that we need to avoid but everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes it’s thanks to the opponents, sometimes it’s not.”
Is Kondogbia struggling defensively?
“I don’t have many problems with him. We believe a lot in him, he’s just arrived. It takes time, there is absolutely no problem.”
Can the approach to the matches be a problem?
“We always try to stand tall, we conceded to Sampdoria what they wanted. They have fast players, it’s normal to take risks. Hopefully tomorrow, with the whole group back, we can get back to how we were during those 5 straight wins.”
Is tomorrows match a signal of how mature the team is?
“It will definitely be very important, above all from a mental perspective.”
Do you think the players will feel under pressure tomorrow? Are they ready?
“We have to have the right impact, everyone must be fully concentrated. We can’t get this wrong, then I don’t know what will happen. Tomorrow we will understand where we are in the standings.”
If you lose the match, will certain processes begin?
“There is still a lot left of the season, no-one has yet created a good string of results. It’s an important match but we must be calm.”
Is Inter more free mentally than Juventus?
“We’re in second place, the standings are tight and some big teams are behind us. I can agree with President Moratti, it’s the most beautiful thing in football to play in this way.”
Is tomorrow Juventus last chance?
“If they’re 11 points behind us things will get complicated. There are many teams that are equipped to win but they are a string team and can string a couple of useful results together.”
Juventus have a couple of fast players when counter-attacking. How will you face this threat?
“Last year it was almost impossible for us to lose this fixture, yet we still managed too [laughs]. All matches have their pitfalls. If we concede too much space we will be in a lot of trouble.”
Is the Inter of today different to last years Inter when playing against big teams?
“We gave gifts against Fiorentina. We are more solid but anything can happen in football. We have to improve everything but if we win 1-0 tomorrow and play poorly then I’m fine with that too. The concentration shown in the first few matches could be enough.”
How’s Jovetic?
“He’s fine, he made the last training sessions. Everything ok with him.”
Is Serie A so bad?
“Ancelotti and I have given so much to the Serie A, so if one is clever he doesn’t return. But I am not sorry to be back at Inter.”
Who do you fear most in Juve? Did Thohir ask for a special gift?
“He did not ask anything. At Juventus Dybala and Morata are very good, Cuadrado has speed, Pogba is one of the best in the world. Then Khedira and Marchisio… They have no average players.”
Will you play Juan Jesus or Telles or tomorrow night?
“I do not know [laughs]. There is also Nagatomo. It is one of the questions for tomorrow.”
Could the high price paid for Kondogbia be a problem?
“Absolutely not.”
What is different about this Inter-Juventus match compared to in the past?
“It will be as beautiful and important as ever. We are at the top in the standings, so this gives us more pleasure than in recent years.”
Can we see Guarin, Melo, Medel and Kondogbia together simultaneously with Miranda and Murillo in defense?
“It takes time, but it is possible. But one of them maybe won’t not play.”
Did you scold Manaj?
“No, actually, I’m nice. I told him to call De Biasi, he knows very well that he was wrong, he has perspective, then at the Euros can’t make mistakes. He apologized, in the end he did the right thing.”
Could Manaj be like the Balotelli of a few years ago?
“There may be similarities, but Mario was more technical. They are a little different.”
What do you think of the latest statements of Kovacic?
“I read his words, I never went to dinner or to the movies with him. I always wanted to teach him, but quality sometimes is not enough. He can still become one of the best in the world.”
Do you feel the weight of so many years without a win against Juventus?
“In recent years I was not here, so I don’t. I won only once against Juventus, but tomorrow we could lose if we win the Scudetto at the end.”
Does Telles have the right characteristics to counter Cuadrado? “I do not think there’s a full back as fast as Cuadrado, but we should not be totally influenced by the Colombian. Keeping up with him is difficult, but it is for everyone.”
By: Nima Tavallaey & Ian Kerr.
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