Inter coach Antonio Conte spoke to the gathered reporters at a press conference which ended a short while ago, ahead of tomorrow evening’s Serie A clash against Sampdoria, with his statements reported by Italian media outlet FcInterNews.
First, Conte spoke about the difficulty of facing an opponent who is desperately trying to avoid relegation.
“The difficulty is that we face a healthy team, despite the last defeats. A living team, with an experienced coach like Claudio Ranieri and good quality players in the squad.
“People with experience like Fabio Quagliarella who surprises year after year for the quality of the player and the human depth. We will have to be very careful in order to get the three points.”
He then spoke about the troubles Inter faced preparing for tomorrow’s game after their Thursday night commitment against Ludogorets in the Europa League.
“Playing Thursday night is difficult because you only have one day today to prepare for the game. There isn’t much time to totally change strategy and offensive situations, but we have to get used to it.
“On the subject of intensity, I think we’re prepared, a lot of times it also depends on the opponent. But we are prepared for this.”
The former Juventus and Chelsea coach touched on the growing fears around the Coronavirus, and if he’s worried.
“You must always be balanced and not be an alarmist. At the same time, it’s right to be alert and not underestimate the situation. In Italy there are those who deal with the situation, we’ll do what they tell us and it’s right to do.
Conte didn’t think that the comments of Barcelona star Lionel Messi have distracted Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez.
“Absolutely not, because the player is serious and focused. He’s doing well and must continue to do so. He has considerable margins of growth, he’s only 22 years old and compared to last year he’s already grown up impressively. He’s a serious guy, he’s committed and working. I’m glad to have him at my disposal.”
The 50-year-old Italian coach spoke about the remaining half of the season.
“I reiterate a tired, drawn-out concept. We think about ourselves and try to improve game by game. Let’s not forget that there is Atalanta who are doing great things and now they’re a reality of our football.
“But as I said and I continue to say we have to make our own path and handle obstacles and falls, just like in life. The important thing is that we always have the strength to look ahead and see that something is being built, without getting caught up in particular anxieties.”
He refused to reveal whether Alessandro Bastoni and Marcelo Brozovic are fit enough for tomorrow’s game.
“Yesterday they attended training, today we will try to understand what the situation is.”
Finally, Conte spoke about any tactical changes that may be deployed in tomorrow’s game.
“I don’t know, it depends on the guarantees that the system changes can give. In some games where there is more ease, there is the possibility to start trying something different but do not forget that things must be tried, in both the offensive and defensive phase. We need certain balance and then we’ll see if we’ll have time to implement some new things if necessary.”
