Inter coach Antonio Conte spoke to gathered reporters at the official post match press conference yesterday after the Nerazzurri’s 3-0 win over Torino at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, with Italian media outlet FcInterNews reporting his words.
“We were very afraid of this match, because we faced a strong team, who are well organized. We were fierce, in our approach, in the understanding of the game, in exploiting the situations. We were very good at making the match for Torino problematic, who are a very good team with a great coach.”
He spoke about the Nerazzurri’s rivals in the title race, Juventus.
“Look, what I always say to our players is that we have to do our own thing. You don’t have to look at who’s in front of you, because in that case you understand that they’re doing something extraordinary. They’ve won eleven games and they’ve drawn two.”
“But then, if you look at the table, you’ll see that we’re only one point behind them. This gives you an incentive. But we have to have our season, give our all, as we did today.”
“We need to look at ourselves, because thinking about others can hurt us. We’re doing important things, I’m especially happy for the guys who get paid for the work they do. It’s a pleasure for me and my staff to go to Pinetina and work with them.”
The 50-year-old Italian then touched on how the squad feels after such an impressive start to the season.
“Very positive. A state of mind that must warm the hearts of us and the fans, because we are doing important things. Having said that, you know very well that we’re at the beginning, only thirteen games have been played.”
“For now, we work hard and quietly, and we see that compared to other teams, they are more equipped than us because they have worked for more time with the same coach and because they have strengthened the squad, we are at an important stage.”
“This should make us proud, if there was no Inter, you would have closed all the books and would have already awarded the Scudetto. This must give us strength and give us a stimulus, to try to improve ourselves. We work hard every game, just as I think the people in front of us are working hard too.”
The former Juventus and Chelsea coach discussed the support from the travelling Inter fans in last night’s game.
“The Inter fans have welcomed me in the best possible way and I can give my all and make them proud of the team as I have always done.”
Finally, Conte spoke about Italian midfielder Nicolo Barella, who limped off the pitch just before the end of the first half.
“He will undergo tests tomorrow, but I want to be positive.”
