Red Star Belgrade coach and former Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic answered questions from fans about his past and present in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia earlier today.
First, he discussed how he was doing considering the ongoing Coronavirus emergency.
“Fine, we’re all fine. Let’s deal with this situation with respect and intelligence, staying at home.”
The 41-year-old spoke about which of his famous goals against Schalke, Genoa and AC Milan that he prefers.
“Good question. The strangest one, against Schalke, whose ninth anniversary is today, even if the match didn’t go well. The one in Genoa was the most difficult, the one against AC Milan wasn’t the only one like that.”
He revealed that the team were deeply affected by that loss to Schalke.
“Not mine, but the whole teams. We lost everything in a few days, after that game we lost the derby badly. But we were stretched out, there were a lot of injuries. We were unlucky.”
Stankovic spoke about the progress of his son, Filip, who is part of the Inter Primavera squad.
“He’s good, he’s on his way. He’s doing well, he’s taking advice. He even spent a month with the first team, the only advice I could give him was to listen, as well as work.
“In that group, with Antonio Conte, there’s so much to learn. I’m happy because he deserves everything, he has worked since he was a child. We needed a goalkeeper and we chose him.”
He revealed the reason why his son decided to be a goalkeeper.
“Yes, training was tiring for him so he chose to wear gloves.”
He spoke about the strengths of the Inter squad in 2010 and the Lazio squad in 2000 and which team was better.
“They’re two different teams, football changed every year. They were two very tough teams, Lazio won compared to how strong we were, we could have done better in the Champions League too.
“We wrote history with Inter. Over time I see what we’ve done, something really incredible. A difficult goal to reach, Juve for example hasn’t yet managed to repeat something like that. The treble remains in history.”
The 41-year-old touched on the team’s attempt to rebuild after the Treble winning campaign.
“Yes, even though we tried to build the following year, changing the team a little. I can only thank Massimo Moratti and his family for what he gave us, then cycles begin and end. But we gave everything we had.”
He spoke about when the team realized that they wouldn’t be as strong in the 2010/11 season.
“We were working, even the year before we had won but we were still missing something. José Mourinho’s second year was very important, with player choices, lineups and the personality we had. We wanted to win everything, Inter can’t choose which titles to win and not.
“I’d say we were lucky in Kiev, so we thought why not take advantage of it. We beat Chelsea, then in the last 2 months we played with 13-14 players, only recovering a little. There was nothing else in mind but winning on May 22 to close the circle and write history.
“The difference, besides Mourinho, was made by the men in the locker room. In the last 45 days we were finished, but Mourinho pulled something more out of us. We also grew up on a human level.”
Stankovic touched on which derby was his favourite to play in.
“In 2004, at my first derby, I scored, we played a beautiful first half and then Milan asphalted us. My favourite derby is the 4-0 derby with Mourinho, we could have scored more. We were spectacular.”
The former Inter midfielder highlighted what it means to play in the Milanese derby.
“Our derby’s were fought, but we respected each other. I played the derby for nine years, something could happen on the field, but beyond that, we didn’t carry anything off it.
“There was great respect, the players respected their shirts and their fans. I went from Red Star-Partizan, where I played in the Red Star jersey and also won as captain.
“The Milan derby is prestigious, incomparable with nothing else. But I’m also keeping the ones in Belgrade and Rome. Even though the one in Milan is a gentleman’s derby.”
He touched on which coach he felt most inspired by.
“I’ve worked with great gentlemen before coaches, I get what I need from everyone. I’m having fun coaching Red Star, I take it very seriously. Then I went from Eriksson to Mancini to Mourinho, with all the coaches I had in Serbia.
“I take everything I need from them and build my football. I see what’s important for the players, not giving up, having respect, knowing how it works off the pitch. I quit recently so I still know the players well, I’ll try to create my own identity.”
Stankovic then told a story about Roberto Mancini.
“Everyone made fun of me because I was Mancio’s ‘son’, but I also felt protected by him as a teammate. And when he was a coach, I learned a lot from him, he was already a coach on the pitch. I grew up with him a lot, he was a pain in the ass, but it was right.”
The Red Star coach spoke about what Inter need to do to beat Juventus for the league title.
“I think the gap has narrowed a lot, which is what was hoped for with Conte doing a great job with the players. With a few top-notch purchases, without taking anything away from the current squad, they can be a candidate for the Scudetto.
“I don’t know whether or not the break will be good for those who fight for the Scudetto, we’ll see when it starts again. But Inter can do great things, a little piece is missing and it will be a top Inter.”
The former Nerazzurri star touched on the other team in the title race, Lazio.
“Simone Inzaghi is doing a great job, he deserves a renewal. Now he’s a model of a young coach from whom you can learn a lot. I’d like my team to play football similar to his. Lazio can still fight until the end, the team has been playing together for years and it can be a surprise.”
Finally, Stankovic spoke about whether he was close to joining rivals AC Milan.
“I don’t know, when I was 18-19 I was close to PSG and Roma along with Lazio, as well as the Glasgow Rangers. Savicevic knew me, but I had no contact with AC Milan.”
