Former Inter defender Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Colonnese has shared his thoughts on Inter’s poor performance in last night’s Coppa Italia semi final first leg defeat to Napoli.
The Nerazzurri came into the match in high spirits after coming from 2-0 down to win the Derby della Madonnina over AC Milan 4-2 at the weekend but could not repeat that performance as they fell to a 1-0 defeat, which was just their second defeat in domestic competition all season.
“Great teams need to be able to reset after a good performance and be capable of putting in another similar performance immediately. Inter are still growing from this point of view,” he explained in an interview with Italian radio station Radio Nerazzurra earlier on today.
“The Nerazzurri did not deserve to lose yesterday, the game was almost always played in Napoli’s half of the pitch. Clearly this is an important game as it is the semi final of the cup and nobody likes to lose games. Inter are in a decisive period where matches are worth twice as much.
“I hope there is improvement as it is necessary to end the season in a positive manner.”
Colonnese then spoke on Inter’s next match which sees them travel to the Italian capital city of Rome to take on fellow title challengers Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico this coming weekend.
“Lazio will be a complicated opponent. They are a team who do not come out and press you high up the pitch. They let you play your game but limit the spaces. Inter will have to be good at finding solutions for this.”
In conclusion he spoke on the current state of the Inter team and what he thinks the team still needs to improve.
“When building a team, a lot starts from the team leaders. Lukaku is proving he is one, there is Handanovic and De Vrij too. Brozovic is having a great season in the middle of the park.
“One more player would help, but Inter have bought a champion in Eriksen. He has just arrived, he should give the inspiration and the personality that the team lacks.”
Colonnese spent three years with Inter between 1997 and 2000 and made 80 appearances across all competitions in the Nerazzurri shirt, in which he scored two goals.
