Andrea Stramaccioni: “If I Hadn’t Taken The Inter Job I Would Have Regretted It For Rest Of My Life”

Former Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni discussed his career move from the Primavera squad to the first team, his time in charge of the squad and his relationship with president Massimo Moratti in an interview in yesterday’s paper edition of the Turin based newspaper Tuttosport.

“The morning after beating Ajax, among other things in the stadium where seven months earlier there was that match against Tottenham and those seven goals, I turned on my phone and saw that I had received two thousand calls from Piero who said, the president this morning has some strange ideas but, whatever he tells you, refuse.”

He then explained why the Piero Ausilio told him to refuse what he was offered by Massimo Moratti.

“I’ll say that Ausilio said it because he loved me. Inter was a powder keg, they had burned extraordinary coaches like Benitez, Gasperini and Ranieri, and he would have liked me to follow another path starting from Serie B.

“I told him I wasn’t stupid, I knew he talked like that because he loved me, but I, a guy in his thirties who came from nothing, how could I refuse Inter.”

Stramaccioni continued discussing what happened when he was being offered the job by the Nerazzurri president.

“I would have regretted turning it down all my life. It’s not part of my character, I’m not a coward and I’ve always worked to get this chance. When the call came, I was on my way to collect a prize with Roberto Samaden.

“Ausilio called me and said, don’t even tell Roberto, make up an excuse and come here. And he gave me an address where I had to show up. I, acting, told Samaden, look Robè, something happened, I have to go. So, I got out of the car and took a taxi instantly.”

The former Inter coach touched on how Ausilio’s tone was different when he called him again.

“Half an hour later, I called Ausilio to ask for an explanation. And he, who was probably on speakerphone, said in a different tone, we’re here with the president, everything’s going great, we’re having a chat, be yourself because you’re strong, you’re great.”

Stramaccioni discussed his meeting with president Moratti and how that helped to shape his future.

“After three minutes of pleasantries, Moratti changed his tone, pulled down his glasses. He looked at me, took a block of white paper, a pen and said a sentence that I will always remember, so mister, how would you make this Inter play? And he gave me a pad and pen.”

He spoke about what he told Moratti and wrote on that paper, and the Italian businessman’s reaction.

“And I said what I thought, that the team, with Sneijder’s injury, lacked a real playmaker and that could have been Stankovic. Then I said that Chivu couldn’t stay on the wings any longer and that Milito couldn’t be put in a duel with Pazzini.

“After fifty minutes, the words, ‘you know what, I don’t give a damn what they’ll think, but you’re the new Inter coach.’ Bam. I fell off my chair. The unthinkable had happened.”

Stramaccioni spoke about his relationship with former Roma and Real Madrid striker Antonio Cassano.

“When Inter began to have problems with the rumours of Moratti selling the club, many of the player in the squad began to waver because the bond with the president was almost patriarchal.

“And probably Antonio, in the second part of the season, saw himself less at the centre of the project. Small problems began there. He wanted a personal trainer, but it was explained to him that at Inter, unlike at other teams, nobody had one.”

He continued talking about his fractured relationship with Cassano which only got worse after his reaction.

“In the end we all know what happened. If I went back, I would have understood him more. I don’t want to use the word protect. But, in those moments, someone like Antonio must be understood.

“Instead I took some situations head-on, counting on the fact that there was a relationship between us. But the situation, paradoxically, has degenerated more than if he had been a normal player. This is because I, for what I had done for him, expected more, and the same was true for him with me.”

Finally, Stramaccioni highlighted how this issue was one of the mistakes of his career with the Nerazzurri.

“I wouldn’t do it again today and I have no problem saying that, as I told the president in the heat of the moment, that, even if the player had gone too far, I was wrong. That was one of the mistakes of my young career.”