Spezia Coach Vincenzo Italiano: “Inter Are One Of The Strongest Teams In Europe”

Spezia coach Vincenzo Italiano spoke to gathered reporters in a press conference earlier today, ahead of tomorrow’s Serie A clash against Inter. His words were collected by Italian media outlet FcInterNews.

First, he commented on the Ligurian side’s 2-2 draw against Bologna and the performances of his substitutes.

“When I made the changes during the match it was being directed by many of our counter attacks and chances where we were 3-on-3 in their half, which should have been better exploited.

“Sometimes you can do that, but coming into the game and making an impact is never easy. It’s not easy to go on and make important and decisive plays.

“Whoever can do it is often decisive, it’s happened often, but I think that the players who went on did so with the right spirit. It’s a pity I wasn’t incisive, because we could have done more up front, but when there’s this spirit I can’t complain.”

The 43-year-old Italian coach then moved onto discussing tomorrow’s Serie A clash against Antonio Conte’s Inter.

“I expect a challenge of great sacrifice on our part. We know that in both halves we have to give something extra. We’re going to face one of the strongest teams in the league, one of the strongest teams in Europe and overall.

“A team that has a lot of players at their disposal, a great coach and to do well we have to give everything we have. Sometimes we have to look for a little bit more than what we think we have.

“Sometimes we talk about teams, about a squad, but we have to play as a collective. In these specific moments, even on an individual level, we need to bring out a little pride and the desire not to always lose the duels, the desire to bring home the result.”

The Spezia coach discussed the mindset needed by the squad to battle the Nerazzurri.

“If we enter the pitch unmotivated and not with the competitive fury that a match like this requires, we could face many difficulties, but by trying to fight and fight back we might even have some chances.

“Football is now made up of one-on-one duels and we need to focus on that. We’ve got three very close games, the first one was tough, also because of the tough pitch. We had to push until 96^th minute and this will be another similar match, which forces us to manage our forces for Wednesday.

“We’ll do the necessary analysis and reflections to manage the guys’ minutes of work. We’ll let some players catch their breath, but Inter are a difficult mountain to climb and then we’ll think about Wednesday’s challenge.”

The newly promoted Spezia are currently 16^th in Serie A after 12 games, sitting on 11 points, four ahead of relegation battlers Genoa.

The Ligurian side have not won in their last five league outings, only managing three draws and two losses.

Inter, on the other hand, are currently second in Serie A, with 27 points. Conte’s side have won all of their last five domestic fixtures, finally managing to overcome the sluggish start to the season.

The Nerazzurri will be looking for a strong win against Spezia tomorrow as they look to keep up the pressure on league leaders AC Milan, who are one point ahead of them.