Former AC Milan defender Alessandro Costacurta discussed Inter’s Coppa Italia semi-final clash against Napoli and striker Lautaro Martinez in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia yesterday.
“Surely Inter will want to start quickly, but the first game will be the most difficult of all. I still see the Napoli as the favourites, especially after the result in the first leg. I think it will be a balanced match as a result, this is not a normal restart, but recovering after 3 months of nothing.”
The 54-year-old Italian, who spent all but one season of his career with the Rossoneri, then discussed 22-year-old Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, who is heavily wanted by Spanish giants Barcelona.
“My advice to him is to stay at Inter, but I think there is a chance he will go to Barcelona. In my opinion he could also do a year in Spain without being a starting player, but after the first season the hierarchies in the Blaugrana attack could change and he could be a starter then.”
Inter are facing Napoli in the Coppa Italia semi-finals tonight, playing their first game in three months after the Coronavirus pandemic caused Italian football to totally stop. The Nerazzurri are currently 1-0 down on aggregate after losing the first leg at home, and so need to approach tonight’s game positively in order to walk away with a result.
Coach Antonio Conte is incredibly keen to win the competition with the Milanese club, especially considering that he has never won the Coppa Italia as a coach, and so has identified it as a priority. The club disappointingly exited early from the Champions League and seem like outsiders in the title race.