Former Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni discussed the Nerazzurri’s big victory against Juventus in their stadium in Turin in an interview with Italian media outlet Calciomercato.com yesterday.
“It was a victory of Inter-ness, I know I was the first coach to win at the Stadium and I know that the rivalry between Inter and Juve is also sometimes higher than that with AC Milan.”
Stramaccioni then spoke about that Juventus squad, as well as some of the players that he had at his disposal.
“That Juve was almost invincible, coached by a master like Antonio Conte, but Inter with their champions played a great game with Milito, Cassano, Cambiasso, Samuel, Handanovic, I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Palacio was there, Guarin was there, that game gave us a lot and it was worth three times more than three points.”
The 44-year-old Italian spoke about the build up to the game and a brief interaction with then Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta.
“We played it on equal footing. There had been some skirmishes before the match, it was tense on the eve of the big match, Beppe Marotta commented about the three points, and I clarified it with him. We entered the field very pumped, a victory as champions against a super Juve.”
Stramaccioni touched on his relationship with former Inter president Massimo Moratti.
“He was a great president, I would like more presidents like him, now I see more commercial figures. I showed him my Inter and told him what a little of what I could do. In front of those champions it’s technically difficult to teach them anything, you have to convince them in an important way. Besides, I wasn’t a great player. I had a team of champions. Moratti is an enthusiast, but also a connoisseur and at the end of the chat he told me that I was the new coach of Inter.”
Finally, Stramaccioni discussed how it felt to go from a lawyer to a coach and how Moratti watched him closely.
“It was a dream for me, really, I graduated in law and I used to coach, but in the meantime I worked in a law firm. Him behind the bench when I was coaching the Primavera squad to hear what I told the players? We played in Tottenham’s stadium against Ajax and I was very impressed, the atmosphere and everything. Moratti was there behind me, instead of going into the VIP stands he stood behind me. A few words escaped me, of course, but I don’t think that’s why the president was there.”
Stramaccioni replaced Claudio Ranieri in 2012 after the latter was dismissed due to poor results. His first derby victory against rivals AC Milan ensured that the Rossoneri wouldn’t win the league title that season, currying favour with the Nerazzurri fans, despite the 6th place finish. He lasted 14 months in the role before being dismissed at the end of the 2012/13 season.
