Legendary former Inter captain Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Bergomi has shared his belief that Inter have what it takes to go all the way and win the Europa League.

“Inter can win it. The matches are single legged and you cannot afford to go wrong and therefore there may be some surprises,” he explained in an interview with Italian daily newspaper Tuttosport, which appeared in today’s print edition.

“It is difficult to say that Inter are a favorite but they have been playing a lot recently unlike the Spanish and German sides who have not played in several weeks.

“I have to say that as far as Inter are concerned, it seems to me that the team is doing well and is healthy. I personally commented on the match against Napoli and then I followed the victory in Bergamo with Atalanta. I have seen a good Inter. Certainly the Nerazzurri, being favoured on paper, will have more pressure on them, but they have everything they need to beat Getafe.”

Bergomi then spoke on Inter’s upcoming opponents in the competition Getafe, who they will face off against in a one legged match, the winner of which will face the winner of the match between Rangers and Bayer Leverkusen.

“Getafe ended the season badly, they did not do well after the lockdown, they are a mangy team who defend in blocks and concede very little space always ready to hit you on the counter.”

“Inter have struggled against such teams in the league, so much so that they have picked up more points away from home. In my opinion, Inter will have to have patience and take advantage of the combinations between the two strikers as they did especially at the beginning of the season.

“The speed of the build-up play will be fundamental. Inter don’t have a player who can beat their man, maybe Sanchez can, but I think it is hard to not start Lautaro so it will be important to play quickly.”

The World Cup winner was then asked whether he thinks winning the Europa League could change the opinion of Inter’s season as a whole.

“Yes, absolutely. If Inter make a good run in the Europa League and even wins it, the season would be very positive with second place in the league and the Europa League.

“In my opinion it was not obvious that Inter would come second in Serie A. Inter started strong, then had a significant drop before the lockdown which cost them their chance to fight for the title until the end. The defeats against Juventus and Lazio mattered more than the missteps against Bologna and Hellas Verona.”

Bergomi, who spent his entire playing career with Inter, then went on to speak about Inter manager Antonio Conte’s recent public outburst which has cast doubt over his future at the helm of the club.

“When you are at Inter, where I was for many years, you always have the feeling that the pressures from outside are stronger. When I was playing, from the inside, I said to myself that Juventus had greater protection outside, Milan had TV behind them, whilst we felt like flags in the wind.”

“When I listen to Conte, I seem to hear Trap when he said that coaching Inter was like being in a centrifuge. On the one hand, I understand it when he says that his work is not well evaluated, on the other hand, I think he wants to flush out the club and to make it grow at all levels. Having said that, I find that the last outburst after the match against Atalanta was very strong, perhaps too much.”

In conclusion he was asked whether it is possible for Inter and Conte to continue together or if Conte was trying to lay the foundations for a departure.

“I don’t know, he certainly has it in for certain people. As I listened to him, I asked myself, “Why are you doing this?” With his words Antonio wanted to recompact the team by talking well about the whole environment of Appiano, in fact he mentioned Oriali, the warehouse workers and those who work at the sports center.

“Conte said: “We are here, it is the others who do not help us. Maybe he instead wanted to create a tear between himself and the club. However, I repeat, I can’t exclude that it could have been a way to say, in his way, strongly, ‘we will grow together.'”