Inter Coach Antonio Conte: “Nicolo Barella Has Shown He Can Replace Brozovic If Necessary”

Inter coach Antonio Conte spoke to gathered reporters in a press conference earlier today, after the Nerazzurri’s 2-1 win over Spezia. His words were collected by Italian media outlet FcInterNews.

First, he spoke about the Milanese club’s performance in the win.

“It was a positive and deserved result for what we saw on the pitch. Having said that, it was a game in which Spezia tried to make life difficult for us, trying to close down all the space and to break through thanks to their technical skills.

“Congratulations to them. I’m disappointed we conceded the goal at the end, we should have been more careful. We should have been more careful, but this was the ninth of ten games in which we had to play every three days.

“The physical and mental fatigue is certainly starting to show. We have to grit our teeth, on Wednesday there’s Verona and they’re going to be very demanding.”

The 51-year-old Italian coach touched on the performance of Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, who played a more defensive role in front of the back three.

“I changed Brozovic because he was booked, we didn’t want to risk a second yellow. Marcelo played a good match. Barella is less of a regista but at the same time more of a specialist than the Croatian.

“He showed against Sassuolo that he can replace Brozovic if necessary, he’s the only one who can replace him in that position among the players at my disposal.”

Finally, Conte spoke about the return of Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, who has recently recovered from thigh problems.

“Absolutely. Vidal will now have to work to catch up with the others, making up for lost time and ground.”

The 23-year-old Barella, who is contracted to the Nerazzurri until 2024, has made 19 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 1484 minutes.

In that time, he has scored one goal and provided five assists, being an incredibly core part of coach Antonio Conte’s tactical system.

Inter’s next game is against Ivan Juric’s Hellas Verona next week on Wednesday, a tough game against a strong opponent.