In an interview with Italian YouTube star Er Faina, legendary Inter defender Marco Materazzi has spoken on a range of Inter related topics and firstly spoke about former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“I don’t know why he has this grudge with me, but I have no problems with him. He is a great man and made history in football like Henry, Totti and Neymar. He is a phenomenon and I thank him for the titles. He went to Barca and whilst a certain Eto’o came to us…” Materazzi told Er Faina during an interview which took place via social media platform Instagram.
He then went on to speak about Rafa Benitez’s brief stint in charge of Inter and the best manager he ever worked with.
“Everyone knows about the relationship I had with Jose Mourinho, but with Rafa there was no time to have a relationship since he was gone in six months. The best manager I had? Mourinho but I could say Lippi, Mancini or Mazzone. Everyone taught me something.”
Next he spoke on whether it was better to win the World Cup with Italy in 2006 or win the Champions League with Inter as part of a historic treble win in the 2009/10 season.
“It’s impossible to choose. I won the World Cup as a protagonist and won the Champions League with Inter and although I did not play much, I still felt like a protagonist.”
He then spoke on the player he thinks can be the next Materazzi: “For the future, I would say Alessandro Bastoni. As for now Francesco Acerbi for what he has done in recent years.”
He then sang the praises of former Inter teammate Julio Cruz: “He was tall, fast, technically gifted and he also scored goals. He massacred you. Then we were teammates and everyone saw what he was worth.”
Next Materazzi discussed Mario Balotelli and the relationship that he has with him.
“I really love him and he loves me too. An anecdote? I have a billion. In the first training session he tried to nutmeg me and Cordoba…I also recommended him to my father who coached Bari at the time. He didn’t want to go despite the great competition at Inter and in the end he was right to stay because he played. Mario was strong and still is.”
He concluded the interview by naming a team made up of the best players he played alongside during his playing career.
“That’s impossible to choose, I played with some of the best. I played with goalkeepers like Julio Cesar, Buffon, Toldo. Defenders like Samuel, Mihajlovic, Chivu, Cananvaro, Nesta and then midfielders and attackers like Totti, Stankovic, Cambiasso, Veron, Maxwell, Recoba, Veiri, Ronaldo, Eto’o, Ibra and Milito.”
