Former Inter striker Aldo Serena spoke exclusively to Italian media outlet FcInter1908 today discussing the start of Inter’s season and the Nerazzurri’s 2-1 loss to Juventus in the Derby d’Italia.
“The start was unstoppable and in line with the expectations of the club and the fans. A brave and aggressive Inter in principle until the first half against Barcelona. Against the Blaugrana the first half was beautiful, conducted with lucidity, personality and rhythm. In the second half the team dropped a bit and the champions of Barcelona made a bit of a difference. Against Juventus, on the other hand, there was the best game of the Bianconeri of this season. I didn’t sincerely expect that the three of the Nerazzurri defence would have suffered so much.”
The 59-year-old Italian didn’t count Inter out of the title race despite their 2-1 defeat to Juventus.
“There’s still a long way to go for the Scudetto. The events in Naples, after the superb match against Liverpool, tell us that they have problems and Juventus themselves against small teams have had some difficulties, so everything is still open. All three, including Inter, have situations to sort out, but they’re in the running. The one that seems a little further back at the moment is Napoli.”
Finally, Serena spoke of Inter’s most expensive summer signing Romelu Lukaku.
“Lukaku’s reference point against Juventus was missing, partly because of physical problems. He has not yet found the condition that could give Inter the volume of offensive play that Conte expects. We need the continuous movements to attack the depth and free up important spaces that the midfielders are ready to exploit. Conte doesn’t ask the centre forward to stay in the penalty area to wait for the right ball, otherwise Icardi would have been perfect in that kind of game. The philosophy of the coach of Inter requires active participation in the game by all and Lukaku is definitely the type of player you need, although he may require some more opportunities to score goals than Icardi. The idea is that the Belgian will work hard for the team.”
